Crucial Track for January 26, 2026

"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" by They Might Be Giants

Listen on Apple Music

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What was your favorite song in high school? Why did it resonate?

There were a lot of songs I liked. Some I liked a lot. But this was the closest to my consistent favorite. I first discovered the band (and song) on Tiny Toons and it was the first non-Weird-Al music that really made me take notice. Other things were catchy, or were songs I knew I was supposed to like because they were popular, but this made me say "I need to get to a Waxie Maxie and buy this cassette to hear more of this band." It was the first time I cared about non-parody songs other than the singles that I heard on tv.

I only listened to TMBG and Weird Al until probably 10th grade when I discovered PUSA then alternative music in general, but that's another post (from just a couple days ago).

Yes, I'm aware this is a cover.