Severe Tire Damage

Severe Tire Damage is primarily a live album by They Might Be Giants, released in 1998. It also features a few studio tracks, including a new single Doctor Worm.

The live cuts, some recorded at soundchecks without any audience, feature at least one track from every album since their debut, which include a few old fan favorites that have been reworked since the duo adopted a full backing band. Songs like She’s An Angel, from their debut They Might Be Giants and Birdhouse in Your Soul from their major label debut Flood, are treated to multiple guitars and a horn section. Conversely, the song Meet James Ensor originally appeared on their first full band effort John Henry and surfaces here in a bare-bones rendition, with only vocals and an accordion.

Besides the aforementioned lack of an audience on several tracks, some tracks have also undergone studio “retooling” - most notably Ana Ng which appeared in its untampered form (with an uncropped intro and heavily distorted voice saying, “I don’t want the world…”) on the 1994 promo-only release Live!! New York City. In truth, this ‘live album’ is not particularly representative of a live TMBG show, failing to show the on-stage improvisation, humor, and audience participation that are characteristic of a They Might Be Giants concert.