Long Tall Weekend

Long Tall Weekend is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, released in 1999. It was released exclusively online through the digital music service eMusic. The album was the band's first since their departure from the major label Elektra.^[1] Long Tall Weekend was also the first full-length album released exclusively on the Internet by an established major label band.^[2] Although the album's primary release was digital, CDs of the album were issued promotionally.^[3] Following the success of the album's release through eMusic, TMBG went on to issue a digital series of rarities collections — TMBG Unlimited — through their website.^[4]

Song origins

Many of the songs that appear on Long Tall Weekend existed as demos and selections from the band's Dial-A-Song service. "Drinkin'" was originally written six years prior to the release of the album. "Maybe I Know" had been in TMBG setlists since the 1980s. Many songs were intended for release in different forms on later albums.^[3] "She Thinks She's Edith Head" and "Older" resurfaced on Mink Car in 2001. The next year, "Rat Patrol," "Token Back to Brooklyn," "Reprehensible," "Certain People I Could Name" and "They Got Lost" appeared on the rarities compilation album They Got Lost, and "The Edison Museum" appeared on No!. "The Edison Museum" was originally written and recorded in 1991 and featured on the Edisongs compilation that year. The recorded version appearing on Long Tall Weekend is largely the same as the Edisongs version, though the mixing varies.

Some songs, such as "They Got Lost" and "Lullaby To Nightmares" had also existed in different forms prior to the release of Long Tall Weekend. The former was a live track with a much faster tempo from the band's live compilation Severe Tire Damage.^[5]

"They Got Lost" and "Certain People I Could Name" were both originally slated for inclusion on Factory Showroom.^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
The A.V. Club	(mixed) link
CMJ	(favorable) link
Pitchfork Media	(7.6/10) link
Robert Christgau	A− link
Spin	(favorable) link

Following the digital release of Long Tall Weekend, They Might Be Giants became the most downloaded band of 1999.^[6] John Flansburgh speculates that the feat was based not only on the content of the album, but also on the band's early willingness to embrace digital formats, having been urged to do so by the Restless Records label.^[1]

The album received generally favorable reviews from critics.

Track listing

"Drinkin'" – 1:36
"(She Thinks She's) Edith Head" – 2:33
"Maybe I Know" – 2:07
"Rat Patrol" – 2:07
"Token Back to Brooklyn" - 1:04
"Older" - 1:57
"Operators are Standing By" – 1:24
"Dark And Metric" – 1:44
"Reprehensible" – 3:20
"Certain People I Could Name" – 3:33
"Counterfeit Faker" – 2:15
"They Got Lost" – 4:42
"Lullaby To Nightmares" – 2:31
"On Earth My Nina" – 1:27
"The Edison Museum" – 2:00

Personnel

They Might Be Giants^[7]

John Linnell – songwriting, vocals, keyboard, organ, accordion, bass saxophone, baritone saxophone, programming, banjo, bass, horn, clarinet, fiddle
John Flansburgh – songwriting, vocals, acoustic, electric, and baritone guitar, programming

Additional musicians^[7]

Brian Doherty – drums
Yuval Gabay – drums
Dan Hickey – drums
Nick Hill – vocal on "The Edison Museum"
Graham Maby – bass guitar
Dan Miller – additional guitars
Eric Schermerhorn – additional guitars
Jay Sherman-Godfrey – additional guitars, cello
Danny Weinkauf – bass guitar

Production^[7]

Patrick Dillett and They Might Be Giants – producers
Annette Berry – design
Michael Kupperman – illustration

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 Flansburgh, John (2007-08-13). Interview: They Might Be Giants Part Two. (Interview). Geek.com. http://www.geek.com/gadgets/interview-they-might-be-giants-part-two-1374525/. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
↑ Gigantic (A Tale Of Two Johns). Dir. AJ Schnack. 2002. Plexifilm, 2003.
↑ 3.0 3.1 Linnell, John (1999). John Linnell, They Might Be Giants. Interview with Daniel Aloi. Westnet. http://www.westnet.com/consumable/1999/08.23/inttmbg.html.
↑ Linnell, John (2001-02-28). Interview: John Linnell of They Might Be Giants. Interview with Don Zulaica. Live Daily.
↑ 5.0 5.1 Flansburgh, John and John Linnell. "New studio tracks from TMBG!". TMBG Info Club. 1999.
↑ They Might Be Giants Top Downloaded Band in '99, CMJ Network, Inc., 2000-01-31, p. 5, ISSN 08900795, retrieved 2013-08-03
↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Long Tall Weekend (PDF). They Might Be Giants. GoodNoise. 1999.

External links

Long Tall Weekend page at This Might Be A Wiki
Long Tall Weekend page at eMusic, available for download with paid subscription

v t e They Might Be Giants

John Flansburgh John Linnell Dan Miller Danny Weinkauf Marty Beller Hal Cragin Brian Doherty Jonathan Feinberg Dan Hickey Kurt Hoffman Graham Maby Tony Maimone Eric Schermerhorn

Rock 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) The Spine (2004) The Else (2007) Join Us (2011) Nanobots (2013)

Children's albums	No! (2002) Here Come the ABCs (2005) Here Come the 123s (2008) Here Comes Science (2009)

EPs	Why Does the Sun Shine? Back to Skull Working Undercover for the Man They Might Be Giants in Holidayland Bed, Bed, Bed Indestructible Object The Spine Surfs Alone

Singles	"Don't Let's Start" "(She Was A) Hotel Detective" "They'll Need a Crane" "Ana Ng" "Purple Toupee" "Birdhouse in Your Soul" "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" "The Statue Got Me High" "I Palindrome I" "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" "O Tannenbaum" "S-E-X-X-Y" "Doctor Worm" "Boss of Me" "Man, It's So Loud in Here" "Experimental Film" 'Kids Go! "Can't Keep Johnny Down"

Other notable songs	"Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" "Particle Man" "You're on Fire"

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 Album Raises New and Troubling Questions

Video releases	Direct from Brooklyn Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) Here Come the ABCs Venue Songs DVD/CD Here Come the 123s Here Comes Science

Related articles	Discography Dial-A-Song Mono Puff State Songs The Brothers Chaps International Space Year

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