Flood (album)

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Flood
Flood cover
Studio album by They Might Be Giants
Released January 5, 1990
Recorded 1989
Genre Alternative, Indie rock
Length 43:24
Label Elektra/Asylum Records
Producer(s) They Might Be Giants,
Alan Winstanley,
Clive Langer
Professional reviews
They Might Be Giants chronology
Birdhouse in Your Soul
(1990)
Flood
(1990)
Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
(1990)


TMBG studio album chronology
Lincoln
(1989)
Flood
(1990)
Apollo 18
(1992)

Flood is the third studio album by They Might Be Giants, and their first with a major label, Elektra Records. It was released in 1990. It was recorded in 1989 at Skyline Studios in New York City.

The first single, "Birdhouse In Your Soul," reached number 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart and was a top 40 hit elsewhere, including Australia. Flood also contains another two of their most well-known songs, "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", a cover of The Four Lads' song, and "Particle Man," both of which were made into animated music videos on the children's television show Tiny Toon Adventures, exposing the band to a much younger audience.

Being their most popular record and many fans' first exposure to the group, the album is occasionally performed in its entirety at live shows. At some of these performances, the group essentially 'opens' for itself, taking the stage as "Sapphire Bullets: the only TMBG cover band that matters."

With all the success Flood enjoyed, some fans and critics were disarmed by its polished production and slightly sillier lyrics. The group returned to a more organic sound and darker territory on its 1992 follow-up, Apollo 18.

Contents

[edit] Cover Art

The picture on the cover of the album features a man rowing a boat made out of washbasins strung together in a body of water. The photo was taken by Margaret Bourke-White and was part of a series of photographs taken after a Kentucky flood sometime around 1930. [1] The emblem showing the name of the band and the name of the album is very similar to the logo of the IATSE.

[edit] Track listing

All songs by John Flansburgh and John Linnell unless otherwise noted.

  1. "Theme From Flood" – 0:28
  2. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" – 3:20 (vorbis sample 141K)
  3. "Lucky Ball & Chain" – 2:46
  4. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (Jimmy Kennedy, Nat Simon) – 2:38
  5. "Dead" – 2:58
  6. "Your Racist Friend" – 2:54
  7. "Particle Man" – 1:59 (vorbis sample 105K)
  8. "Twisting" – 1:56
  9. "We Want A Rock" – 2:47
  10. "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair" – 2:23
  11. "Hearing Aid" – 3:26
  12. "Minimum Wage" – 0:47 (vorbis sample 103K)
  13. "Letterbox" – 1:25
  14. "Whistling In The Dark" – 3:25
  15. "Hot Cha" – 1:34
  16. "Women & Men" – 1:46
  17. "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" – 1:36
  18. "They Might Be Giants" – 2:45
  19. "Road Movie To Berlin" – 2:22

[edit] Personnel

[edit] External links

  • Flood at This Might Be A Wiki
They Might Be Giants
John Flansburgh | John Linnell
Dan Miller | Danny Weinkauf | Marty Beller
Brian Doherty | Dan Hickey | Graham Maby | Tony Maimone | Eric Schermerhorn
Discography
Albums: They Might Be Giants (1986) | Lincoln (1988) | Flood (1990) | Apollo 18 (1992) | John Henry (1994) | Factory Showroom (1996) | Long Tall Weekend (1999) | Mink Car (2001) | No! (2002) | The Spine (2004) | Here Come the ABCs (2005) | The Else (2007) | Here Come the 123s (2007)
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
Related Articles
Dial-A-Song | Mono Puff | State Songs (John Linnell solo album)