A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
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A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
- Artist: They Might Be Giants
- Rating:
- Release Date: May 03, 2005
- Total Time: 70:33
- Type: Compilation (best of)
- Genre: Rock
Review
They Might Be Giants have a surprisingly large amount of collections in their discography; most of them, like Then: The Earlier Years, are dedicated to cataloging the band's first few years. Rhino's double-disc set Dial-a-Song remains an excellent, extensive overview, but until A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants, there hadn't been a worthwhile single-disc collection of the band's music. This is somewhat understandable, considering just how many songs They Might Be Giants have written over the years -- and at 29 tracks, this collection isn't that much bigger than some of the band's regular albums. As its title implies, A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants tries to represent as many of the group's different kind of songs as possible within a relatively small package. For the most part, it succeeds, balancing the Giants' best-known songs with some more offbeat choices. "Don't Let's Start," "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)," "Birdhouse in Your Soul," and "Ana Ng" are all present and accounted for, along with educational/historical favorites like "Meet James Ensor," "James K. Polk," and "Why Does the Sun Shine (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)." The band's more surreal side is represented by "Purple Toupee" and "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" as well as by the album's quirky opening and closing choices, "Minimum Wage" and "Spider," but there's also room for some of They Might Be Giants' more affecting songs, like "They'll Need a Crane" and "She's an Angel," which is still one of the sweetest songs John Linnell has ever written. A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants also has its fair share of later career highlights, such as "Cyclops Rock," "Older," and "No!" (like the children's album that this track comes from, this album is also a darn fine collection for kids). A sampling of TMBG's soundtrack work, including their fabulous "Dr. Evil" theme from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and the full version of "Boss of Me" from Malcolm in the Middle, round out the collection. A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants concentrates on the band's brightest, poppiest material, which might disappoint die-hard fans looking for their own personal favorites, but this album isn't designed for them. However, it does do a good job of giving an overall feeling of what They Might Be Giants' two-decade career is about, especially for new listeners. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi| A User's Guide (1998 Album by Ultramarine) | |
| An Udderly Fowl Release (2000 Album by Various Artists) |
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A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
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A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
| A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants: Melody, Fidelity, Quantity | |||||
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| Compilation album by They Might Be Giants | |||||
| Released | May 3, 2005 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 70:31 | ||||
| Label | Rhino Records | ||||
| Producer | Various | ||||
| They Might Be Giants chronology | |||||
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| TMBG compilation chronology | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.2/10) [2] |
A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants is a 2005 compilation album by the group They Might Be Giants.
In the April 29, 2005 "TMBG News" online newsletter, bandmember John Flansburgh describes the album as such:
- "Rhino is releasing the single disc compilation A User's Guide To They Might Be Giants – kind of a simple reduction of Dial-A-Song – on May 3. It is a very interesting introduction to the band. If you were looking for a single disc to lay on the uninitiated, this might be the one. The liner notes, put together with our pal Barbara Glauber, are quite extensive. We've tried to compile all the songs and all the shows since the band's inception. Obviously this was a bit of a research nightmare (I'm not even sure if the show list includes in-stores!) but it is a very interesting object to look at, especially if you have good near-field vision."
Although it is referred to as a condensed version of Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants, it includes two songs not on Dial-A-Song, "John Lee Supertaster" and "Clap Your Hands", it deletes the single "Man, It's So Loud In Here", and adds two different versions of songs, the original versions of "Why Does the Sun Shine?", and "Don't Let's Start" as opposed to the live and single versions respectively found on Dial-A-Song.
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Contents
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Song origins
- Tracks 1, 3, 7, 10 and 18 originally from Flood (1990)
- Track 2 originally from John Henry (1994)
- Tracks 4, 5 and 22 originally from They Might Be Giants (1986)
- Tracks 6, 13 and 24 originally from Mink Car (2001)
- Tracks 8, 11 and 20 originally from Lincoln (1988)
- Tracks 9 and 15 originally from Factory Showroom (1996)
- Tracks 12, 14, 21 and 29 originally from Apollo 18 (1992)
- Track 16 originally from Severe Tire Damage (1998)
- Track 17 originally from Boss of Me EP (2000) and is the theme song for Malcolm in the Middle, although a shorter version is usually used
- Track 19 originally from Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) EP (1993)
- Tracks 23, 27 and 28 originally from No! (2002)
- Track 25 originally from Don't Let's Start EP (1987), and later Miscellaneous T (1991)
- Track 26 originally from More Music from the Motion Picture Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
Track listing
All songs by They Might Be Giants unless otherwise noted
- "Minimum Wage" – 0:47
- "Meet James Ensor" – 1:33
- "Particle Man" – 1:59
- "Don't Let's Start" – 2:34
- "She's an Angel" – 2:37
- "Cyclops Rock" – 2:38
- "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" – 2:38
- "Purple Toupee" – 2:40
- "James K. Polk" – 3:04
- "Birdhouse in Your Soul" – 3:20
- "Ana Ng" – 3:23
- "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" – 3:49
- "Bangs" – 3:09
- "The Statue Got Me High" – 3:06
- "New York City" – 3:02
- "Doctor Worm" – 3:01
- "Boss of Me" – 2:58
- "Your Racist Friend" – 2:54
- "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" – 2:53
- "They'll Need a Crane" – 2:33
- "I Palindrome I" – 2:22
- "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" – 2:12
- "John Lee Supertaster" – 2:01
- "Older" – 1:58
- "We're the Replacements" – 1:50
- "Dr. Evil" – 1:48
- "No!" – 1:29
- "Clap Your Hands" – 1:22
- "Spider" – 0:51
References
- ^ Phares, Heather. A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants at Allmusic
- ^ Pitchfork Media review
External links
- A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants on This Might Be a Wiki
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