During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a musical duo, often accompanied by a drum machine.

The two attended separate colleges after high school and Linnell joined The Mundanes, a new wave group from Rhode Island.

According to Dave Wilson, in his book Rock Formations, the name They Might Be Giants had been used and subsequently discarded by a friend of the band who had a ventriloquism act.

He clarified this in the documentary movie Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) by explaining that the name refers to the outside world of possibilities that they saw as a fledgling band.

[17] The duo began performing their own music in and around New York City at the East Village Pyramid Club[18] – Flansburgh on guitar, Linnell on accordion and saxophone and accompanied by a drum machine or prerecorded backing track on audio cassette.

[19] Their performances also featured absurdly comical stage props such as oversized fezzes and large cardboard cutout heads of newspaper editor William Allen White.

[22] At one point, Linnell broke his wrist in a biking accident, and Flansburgh's apartment was burgled, stopping them from performing for a time.

During this hiatus, they began recording their songs onto an answering machine, and then advertising the phone number in local newspapers such as The Village Voice, using the moniker "Dial-A-Song".

The machine played one track at a time, ranging from demos and uncompleted work to mock advertisements the band had created.

In August, Dial-A-Song ceased production and because fans started taking advantage of the internet, it was replaced with a page promoting the They Might Be Giants podcasts.

John Linnell stated in an interview in early 2008 that Dial-A-Song had died of a technical crash, and that the Internet had taken over where the machine left off.

Flood earned them a platinum album, largely thanks to the success of "Birdhouse in Your Soul" which reached number three on the U.S. Modern Rock chart, as well as "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", a cover of a song originally recorded by the Four Lads.

John looked at a globe and figured out that if Ana Ng is in Vietnam and the person is on the other side of the world, then it must be written by someone in Peru".

[citation needed] Following Apollo 18, for live shows, Flansburgh and Linnell (who themselves play the guitar and accordion or saxophone, respectively) decided to move away from recorded backing tracks and recruited a supporting band (Kurt Hoffman of The Ordinaires on reeds and keyboards, longtime Pere Ubu bassist Tony Maimone, and drummer Jonathan Feinberg).

The band had quickly moved away from the feel of John Henry, and Factory Showroom returns to the more diverse sounds of their earlier albums, despite the inclusion of two guitarists, the second being Eric Schermerhorn who provided several guitar solos.

Over their career, the band has performed on numerous movie and television soundtracks, including The Oblongs, the ABC News miniseries Brave New World and Ed and His Dead Mother.

They also performed the theme music "Dog on Fire", composed by Bob Mould, for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Contributing the single "Boss of Me" as the theme song to the hit television series Malcolm in the Middle, as well as to the show's compilation CD, brought a new audience to the band.

Not only did the band contribute the theme, but songs from all of the Giants' previous albums were used on the show: for example, the infamous punching-the-kid-in-the-wheelchair scene from the first episode was done to the strains of "Pencil Rain" from Lincoln.

For the album's first single, "Experimental Film", TMBG teamed up with Homestar Runner creators Matt and Mike Chapman to create an animated music video.

The compilation was released by Barsuk and featured indie, alternative, and high-profile acts such as Death Cab for Cutie, The Flaming Lips, and Bright Eyes.

[40] Flansburgh and Linnell made a guest appearance in "Camp", the January 11, 2004, episode of the animated sitcom Home Movies.

[41] On May 10, 2004, they made a guest appearance on the final episode of Blue's Clues called "Bluestock" alongside Toni Braxton, Macy Gray, and India.Arie.

To promote the album, Flansburgh and Linnell along with drummer Marty Beller embarked on a short tour, performing for free at many Borders locations.

The band has produced and performed three original songs for Playhouse Disney series: one for Higglytown Heroes and two for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

The band was recruited to provide original songs for the Henry Selick-directed film adaptation of Neil Gaiman's children's book Coraline but were dropped because their music was not "creepy" enough.

[52][53] On October 3, 2011, Artix Entertainment announced that the band would be performing in-game for a special musical event to commemorate the 3rd birthday of their popular MMORPG AdventureQuest Worlds.

Also in 2015, the band reactivated its Dial-A-Song service under the banner of Dial-A-Song-Direct, promising to release one new song every week for the entire year, beginning with the track "Erase" on January 5.

[58] On March 8, 2016, the band released Phone Power, their nineteenth studio album and the third containing songs from the 2015 revival of their Dial-a-Song service.

[64][65] The band announced a 30th anniversary Flood tour for 2020; however, it was postponed, and dates were rescheduled several times due to the COVID pandemic.