Are you ready to rock in a pseudo-pop-intellectual sort of way? Are you ready to feel a strange, ska-ish new-wave groove that you can’t quite put your finger on?

Then this Sunday’s They Might Be Giants at Pearl Street (starting at 8:30 with tickets costing a slim $17.50) is the show for you. Quirky beyond weirdness, They Might Be Giants’ strange professional odyssey from New York City club performer to national underground super status – it can be argued that TMBG is the first and only group to survive the college rock revolution as college rockers – to quirked out guys nearing middle age.

But lest anyone assume that they aren’t still rocking, the group’s shows still feature a band-led conga line, and with more than eight albums in tow, TMBG can rock off any number of their greatest hits. Started in the early-80’s, TMBG’s self-titled first album wooed listeners with a polished strangeness – drum machines, samples, simple guitars and eccentric lyrics. On their sophomore effort, when they seemed poised to join with R.E.M. as the major underground act to pop onto the national scene, they stuck to their creative guns, going with Lincoln, a mellow album that seemed more refined that their first effort.

Lincoln may not have blown up, but it was enough for Elektra, who signed the group and pushed Flood. Easily the band’s most well-known album – casual TMBG fans know it as the album with “Istanbul, Not Constantinople” and “Particle Man” – it went gold and again had the band on the verge of the popular plunge.

But again, TMBG again avoided the fall. Apollo 18 scared Elektra into simply releasing the subsequent John Henry with little fanfare. Why couldn’t they just go corporate? Both albums were gems, just not easily digestible ones for mass media. Dropped after their contract came up, TMBG has floated on the choppy waves of music in their own dingy; it may not net them millions of dollars, but it’s going to keep the band around.

Now touring to support Mink Car, the group’s latest release, expect TMBG to fire on all cylinders and play from all albums. While all have their own unique sound – from Factory Showroom’s infectious pop hooks to Apollo 18’s oddities – the band has played long enough to blend it all into one delicious soup.