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Apollo 18

 
Album Review: Apollo 18

  • Artist: They Might Be Giants
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: March 24, 1992
  • Total Time: 42:37
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Although it lacks a standout single like "Birdhouse in Your Soul," Apollo 18 is a more consistent album than Flood, overflowing with ideas and pop hooks. The most noteworthy idea may have been "Fingertips," a "suite" of 21 song fragments designed to make each random play a new experience, but the meat of the album lies in pop songs like "I Palindrome I," "My Evil Twin," "She's Actual Size," and "Which Describes How You're Feeling." The album has a slightly darker feeling than its predecessors, but that just gives the album a resonance that was missing on Flood. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Dig My Grave (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (1:08)
I Palindrome I (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (2:22)
She's Actual Size (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (2:05)
My Evil Twin (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (2:37)
Mammal (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (2:14)
The Statue Got Me High They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (3:06)
Spider (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:50)
The Guitar They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (3:49)
Dinner Bell (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (2:11)
Narrow Your Eyes (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (2:46)
Hall of Heads (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (2:53)
Which Describes How You're Feeling (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (1:13)
See the Constellation (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (3:27)
If I Wasn't Shy (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (1:43)
Turn Around (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (2:53)
Hypnotist of Ladies (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (1:42)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:12)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:06)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:10)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:05)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:06)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:07)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:12)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:06)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:08)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:05)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:04)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:05)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:08)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:11)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:27)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:04)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:28)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:08)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:22)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (:10)
Fingertips (Lyrics) They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (1:01)
Space Suit They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (1:36)

Credits

Jim Thomas (Drums), Laura Cantrell (Vocals (Background)), NASA (Photography), Elma Mayer (Vocals (Background)), Paul Angelli (Engineer), Amy Allison (Vocals (Background)), John Flansburgh (Producer), Brian Pollack (Mixing), John Linnell (Producer), Joshua Fried (Technical Support), Randy Meisner (Guitar (Bass)), Alan Winstanley (Mixing), Rolf Conant (Design), Peter Stampfel (Vocals (Background)), Bo Orloff (Art Assistant), Chris Cush (Technical Support), Jim Thomas (Technical Support), Brian Dewan (Vocals), Nicholas Hill (Vocals), Nicholas Hill (Vocals (Background)), Frank London (Trumpet), John Linnell (Vocals), Garo Yellin (Cello), John Flansburgh (Vocals), Peter Stampfel (Vocals), John Flansburgh (Keyboards), Bruce Calder (Mixing), They Might Be Giants (Producer), Laura Cantrell (Vocals), Paul Angelli (Mixing), UE Nastasi (Mixing), Brian Dewan (Vocals (Background)), Peter Stampfel (Banjo), Amy Allison (Vocals), John Linnell (Keyboards), Patrick Dillett (Mixing), John Flansburgh (Guitar), John Linnell (Accordion), Randy Meisner (Vocals), John Linnell (Horn), Mark Feldman (Violin), Kurt Hoffman (Art Assistant), Julie Cohen (Vocals), Elma Mayer (Vocals)
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Games: Apollo 18
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Game Description

President John F. Kennedy's stated goal for the United States of "...landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth" was realized in 1969 with the historical voyage of Apollo 11. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, numerous Apollo missions rocketed teams of brave explorers into outer space, on and around the moon. Now you can share in their collective experiences from countdown to splashdown with Apollo 18: Mission to the Moon for the Commodore 64.

To successfully accomplish a complete mission in Apollo 18, you must first blast off, perform docking and correction maneuvers, land on the moon, and perform "Extra Vehicular Activity" (EVA) on the surface. Following those tasks, you then lift off from the moon, re-dock with the Command Module (CM), perform a space walk, practice satellite capture, re-enter Earth's atmosphere, and splashdown. At the end of each of these sub-missions, you are shown a mission status/score screen. Speed and efficiency with each task are of the utmost importance.

A number of gauges and indicators are used to help you perform in the sub-missions. For example, an altitude indicator helps you execute a lunar landing at minimum velocity, and to achieve a perfect blast off you must press the fire button when a red bar reaches the mid-line. Multiple graphs and views are used as well, such as the three landing site approach windows in the lunar landing sequence, and the NASA flight director's control panel in the Mission Control Room.
~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide

Roots & Influences

This game was obviously influenced by Activision's Space Shuttle -- A Journey Into Space (1983) for the Atari 2600.
~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide

Production Credits

Design: Rick Banks, Paul Butler; Technical: J. Stuart Easterbrook; Programming: Phillip Armstrong, Lise Mendoza; Graphics: Grant Campbell; Sound: Paul Butler; Producer: Jon Corell
~ Brett Alan Weiss, All Game Guide
Wikipedia: Apollo 18 (album)
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Apollo 18
Studio album by They Might Be Giants
Released March 24, 1992
Recorded March 1991
Genre Experimental Rock
Length 42:37
Label Elektra Records
Producer They Might Be Giants
Professional reviews
They Might Be Giants chronology
Miscellaneous T
(1991)
Apollo 18
(1992)
The Statue Got Me High
(1992)
TMBG studio album chronology
Flood
(1990)
Apollo 18
(1992)
John Henry
(1994)

Apollo 18 is They Might Be Giants' fourth studio album. It was released in 1992 and named after the Apollo missions, the last of which was Apollo 17.

The album marked the first conscious effort by John Linnell and John Flansburgh to branch out of their early sound, opting for more traditional rock rhythms and fuller arrangements. The duo adopted a backing band with live drums during the supporting tour.

Despite its lack of a chart-topping single and somewhat mixed reception from critics, Apollo 18 remains a fan favorite. The group even performed the album in its entirety at a few special shows in 2003.

Contents

Song notes and miscellanea

The fabled underwater encounter between the sperm whale and giant squid, from a diorama at the American Museum of Natural History.
  • "Fingertips" is a series of twenty-one short tracks ranging in duration from four to sixty-one seconds (although most of them are under fifteen), totaling four minutes and thirty-five seconds. The liner notes, in an apparent reference to these tracks, have the message "The indexing of this disc is designed to complement the Shuffle Mode of modern CD players". Due to a mastering error, the UK and Australian issues of this CD have "Fingertips" as one track, while the U.S. edition has it as twenty-one tracks. The song became somewhat of a TMBG staple, appearing not only on the "Dial-A-Song" greatest hits compilation, but also as a must-play in their live setlists. A possible inspiration for "Fingertips" is The Residents' Commercial Album, an album-long series of very short songs, one of which (the 36th track) is even named "Fingertips."
  • "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)," spawned from a jam session of The Tokens song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" and was originally intended to simply be called "The Guitar." Due to the legal ramifications of this, the record label required the band to add the title of the original song to the track.
  • "Which Describes How You're Feeling" originally appeared on They Might Be Giant's 1985 demo tape[1]. This version was later included in Then: The Earlier Years.
  • The album's cover depicts a giant squid locked in combat with a sperm whale in space.
  • The story for their inclusion as "Musical Ambassadors to International Space Year," as mentioned on the back cover of the album, is as follows: While Linnell and Flansburgh were searching the NASA Archive Center for photographs and visual materials appropriate for the album's cover, staff members at the NASA facility took notice of John and John and inquired about their business in their research. Linnell responded that they "were in this band, we're making this record, and we're going to start touring next year...They were particularly interested in that, because they said that 1992 was International Space Year. It was the first time we ever heard of that, but they said because we were a band going to be touring around the world in 1992 they wondered if we wanted to be spokesband for the International Space Year. So we said why not?”[2]

Track listing

  1. "Dig My Grave" – 1:08
  2. "I Palindrome I" – 2:25
  3. "She's Actual Size" – 2:05
  4. "My Evil Twin" – 2:37
  5. "Mammal" – 2:14
  6. "The Statue Got Me High" – 3:06
  7. "Spider" – 0:50
  8. "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" – 3:49
  9. "Dinner Bell" – 2:11
  10. "Narrow Your Eyes" – 2:46
  11. "Hall of Heads" – 2:53
  12. "Which Describes How You're Feeling" – 1:13
  13. "See the Constellation" – 3:27
  14. "If I Wasn't Shy" – 1:43
  15. "Turn Around" – 2:53
  16. "Hypnotist of Ladies" – 1:42
  17. "Fingertips: Everything Is Catching On Fire" – 0:12
  18. "Fingertips: Fingertips" – 0:06
  19. "Fingertips: I Hear the Wind Blow" – 0:10
  20. "Fingertips: Hey Now, Everybody" – 0:05
  21. "Fingertips: Who's That Standing Out the Window?" – 0:06
  22. "Fingertips: I Found a New Friend" – 0:07
  23. "Fingertips: Come On and Wreck My Car" – 0:12
  24. "Fingertips: Aren't You the Guy Who Hit Me in the Eye?" – 0:07
  25. "Fingertips: Please Pass the Milk Please" – 0:08
  26. "Fingertips: Leave Me Alone" – 0:05
  27. "Fingertips: Who's Knockin' on the Wall?" – 0:04
  28. "Fingertips: All Alone" – 0:05
  29. "Fingertips: What's That Blue Thing?" – 0:08
  30. "Fingertips: Something Grabbed Ahold of My Hand" – 0:12
  31. "Fingertips: I Don't Understand You" – 0:27
  32. "Fingertips: I Heard a Sound" – 0:04
  33. "Fingertips: Mysterious Whisper" – 0:28
  34. "Fingertips: The Day That Love Came to Play" – 0:08
  35. "Fingertips: I'm Having a Heart Attack" – 0:22
  36. "Fingertips: Fingertips (Reprise)" – 0:10
  37. "Fingertips: I Walk Along Darkened Corridors" – 1:01
  38. "Space Suit" – 1:36

References

  1. ^ http://tmbw.net/wiki/1985_Demo_Tape
  2. ^ Jackson, Joab. "How They Might Be Giants Became the House Band for NASA." New Route Magazine, May 1992.

External links


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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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