They Might Be Giants (album)

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They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants cover
Studio album by They Might Be Giants
Released November 4, 1986
Recorded 1985–1986
Genre Alternative rock
Length 38:28
Label Bar/None, Restless (U.S.)
Rough Trade (Australia)
Producer(s) Bill Krauss, Matthew Hill
Professional reviews
They Might Be Giants chronology
They Might Be Giants
(1986)
Don't Let's Start
(1987)


TMBG studio album chronology
They Might Be Giants
(1986)
Lincoln
(1989)

They Might Be Giants is the eponymous first album from They Might Be Giants, also known as the "Pink Album". It was released in 1986.

The lyrics on the Pink Album feature the wry, humorous treatments of dark themes that would frequently reappear in They Might Be Giants' later work: death and mortality ("Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes", "I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die", "Youth Culture Killed My Dog"); obsession and delusion ("32 Footsteps", "Absolutely Bill's Mood"); working at a dispiriting, menial job ("Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head'), no job at all ("Alienation's For The Rich") or sometimes the just plain weird ("Chess Piece Face", "Rabid Child"). The music is spare, mostly uptempo synthesizer-and-guitar pop punctuated with odd sound samples and occasionally veering into country- or folk-like arrangements. "Rhythm Section Want Ad" comments on the perceived oddity of the group's style and then two-man roster. "Don't Let's Start" was the album's best-known song. "Boat of Car" prominently samples the Johnny Cash song "Daddy Sang Bass."

The album's cover art was designed by Rodney Greenblat.

This album is included in Then: The Earlier Years, compilation of the band's early material, in its entirety, except that it includes the single version of "Don't Let's Start" instead of the album version heard here.

[edit] Track listing

All songs by John Flansburgh and John Linnell.

  1. "Everything Right Is Wrong Again" – 2:20
  2. "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" – 2:12
  3. "Number Three" – 1:27
  4. "Don't Let's Start" – 2:36
  5. "Hide Away Folk Family" – 3:21
  6. "32 Footsteps" – 1:36
  7. "Toddler Hiway" – :25
  8. "Rabid Child" – 1:31
  9. "Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes" – 1:58
  10. "(She Was A) Hotel Detective" – 2:10
  11. "She's an Angel" – 2:37
  12. "Youth Culture Killed My Dog" – 2:51
  13. "Boat of Car" – 1:15
  14. "Absolutely Bill's Mood" – 2:38
  15. "Chess Piece Face" – 1:21
  16. "I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die" – 1:58
  17. "Alienation's for the Rich" – 2:25
  18. "The Day" – 1:27
  19. "Rhythm Section Want Ad" – 2:21

[edit] External links

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)
In other languages