A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants

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A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants: Melody, Fidelity, Quantity
A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants: Melody, Fidelity, Quantity cover
Compilation album by They Might Be Giants
Released May 3, 2005
Genre Alternative rock
Length 70:33
Label Rhino Records
Producer(s) Various
Professional reviews
They Might Be Giants chronology
Here Come the ABCs
(2005)
A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
(2005)
Venue Songs DVD/CD
(2005)


TMBG compilation chronology
Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
(2002)
A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
(2005)
Venue Songs DVD/CD
(2005)

A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants is a 2005 (see 2005 in music) 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", and 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.

[edit] Song Origins

[edit] Track listing

All songs by They Might Be Giants unless otherwise noted

  1. "Minimum Wage" – 0:46
  2. "Meet James Ensor" – 1:33
  3. "Particle Man" – 1:58
  4. "Don't Let's Start" – 2:36
  5. "She's an Angel" – 2:36
  6. "Cyclops Rock" – 2:42
  7. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (Jimmy Kennedy, Nat Simon) – 2:35
  8. "Purple Toupee" – 2:38
  9. "James K. Polk" (Matthew Hill, They Might Be Giants) – 3:05
  10. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" – 3:19
  11. "Ana Ng" – 3:21
  12. "The Guitar" (Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss) – 3:51
  13. "Bangs" – 3:14
  14. "The Statue Got Me High" – 3:06
  15. "New York City" (Robynn Iwata, Lisa Marr, Lisa Nielsen) – 3:04
  16. "Doctor Worm" – 3:02
  17. "Boss of Me" – 2:59
  18. "Your Racist Friend" – 2:55
  19. "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" (Lou Singer, Hy Zaret) – 2:54
  20. "They'll Need a Crane" – 2:31
  21. "I Palindrome I" – 2:21
  22. "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" – 2:10
  23. "John Lee Supertaster" – 2:00
  24. "Older" – 1:54
  25. "We're the Replacements" – 1:50
  26. "Dr. Evil" – 1:51
  27. "No!" – 1:29
  28. "Clap Your Hands" – 1:22
  29. "Spider" – 0:51
They Might Be Giants
John Flansburgh | John Linnell
Dan Miller | Danny Weinkauf | Marty Beller
Brian Doherty | Dan Hickey | Graham Maby | Tony Maimone | Eric Schermerhorn
See Also: Dial-A-Song
Discography
Albums: They Might Be Giants | Lincoln | Flood | Apollo 18 | John Henry | Factory Showroom | Long Tall Weekend | Mink Car | No! | The Spine | Here Come the ABCs
EPs: Wiggle Diskette | 1985 Demo Tape | Don't Let's Start | (She Was A) Hotel Detective | They'll Need a Crane | Purple Toupee | Birdhouse in Your Soul | Istanbul (Not Constantinople) | The Statue Got Me High | The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) | I Palindrome I | Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) | O Tannenbaum | Back to Skull | S-E-X-X-Y | Working Undercover for the Man | Boss of Me | Man, It's So Loud in Here | They Might Be Giants in Holidayland | Bed, Bed, Bed | Indestructible Object | The Spine Surfs Alone
Live albums: Live!! New York City 10/14/94 | Severe Tire Damage | Live | The Spine Hits the Road | Almanac | Venue Songs
Compilations: Don't Let's Start | Miscellaneous T | Then: The Earlier Years | Best of the Early Years | They Got Lost | Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants | A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants | Venue Songs DVD/CD
Songs
"Don't Let's Start" | "Ana Ng" | "Birdhouse in Your Soul" | "Particle Man" | "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" | "Doctor Worm" | "Experimental Film"
Video Releases
Direct From Brooklyn | Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) | Here Come the ABCs DVD/CD | Venue Songs DVD/CD

[edit] External links