Factory Showroom
| Factory Showroom | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by They Might Be Giants | ||||
| Released | October 8, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | 1995–1996 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 42:41 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Pat Dillett | |||
| They Might Be Giants chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   link |
| Alternative Press | [1] |
| Chicago Tribune | link |
| Robert Christgau |  link |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [2] |
Factory Showroom is the sixth studio album by the band They Might Be Giants. It was released in 1996 through Elektra Records.
The album reclaims the more diverse and electronic sound of their early work, but differed from previous They Might Be Giants recordings in some ways. Factory Showroom was their first album to feature a second guitarist, Eric Schermerhorn. Factory Showroom also had the fewest tracks of any They Might Be Giants album up until the release of The Else.
John Flansburgh (founding member, guitarist and songwriter) has publicly declared Factory Showroom to be his favorite of the duo's many recordings.[3] Feeling that Elektra Records did not do enough to promote the album, among other disputes, They Might Be Giants left the label after its release.
Factory Showroom was released on vinyl for the first time in March 2012 by Asbestos Records.
Song notes
- "I Can Hear You" was recorded at the Edison Laboratory on a wax cylinder phonograph without the use of electricity.
- "New York City" is a cover of a song by the band Cub.
- "James K. Polk" is a song about James Knox Polk, the 11th President of the United States. A sparser, drum machine driven version had previously appeared on the Istanbul (Not Constantinople) EP (1990). It features singing saw by Julian Koster.
- The hidden track (Track 0) on the CD entitled "Token Back to Brooklyn" is accessible by rewinding from the beginning of Track 1 ("S-E-X-X-Y"), and is not playable on all CD players. It can, however, also be heard on the rarities compilation They Got Lost along with the Internet-only album Long Tall Weekend.
- Much to the disdain of the Johns, a cassette version of the album that claimed to be a "promotional item" from Elektra was leaked by an unknown source. Along with every song from the standard release (including "Token Back To Brooklyn"), this version also included versions of "On The Drag" and "Older" that have not reappeared on an official release, as well as "SenSurround" (the single version), "Counterfeit Faker", "Certain People I Could Name", "Unforgotten", "Reprehensible", "They Got Lost", and "Rat Patrol". All of these tracks were rejects from the Factory Showroom sessions, and were either released on the S-E-X-X-Y EP or the 2002 compilation They Got Lost.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by They Might Be Giants, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0. | "Token Back To Brooklyn" | 0:52 | |
| 1. | "S-E-X-X-Y" (They Might Be Giants, Hal Cragin) | 3:52 | |
| 2. | "Till My Head Falls Off" | 2:53 | |
| 3. | "How Can I Sing Like a Girl?" | 4:32 | |
| 4. | "Exquisite Dead Guy" | 2:02 | |
| 5. | "Metal Detector" | 3:50 | |
| 6. | "New York City" (Robynn Iwata, Lisa Marr, and Lisa Nielsen of cub) | 3:02 | |
| 7. | "Your Own Worst Enemy" | 1:45 | |
| 8. | "XTC vs. Adam Ant" | 3:36 | |
| 9. | "Spiraling Shape" | 4:24 | |
| 10. | "James K. Polk" (Matthew Hill, They Might Be Giants) | 3:05 | |
| 11. | "Pet Name" | 4:04 | |
| 12. | "I Can Hear You" | 1:57 | |
| 13. | "The Bells Are Ringing" | 3:31 | |
Total length: |
42:41 | ||
- Notes
- "Token Back to Brooklyn" is a hidden track.
References
- ↑ Ho, Catherine (January 1997). "Reviews / Editing Factory Showroom". Alternative Press 11 (102): 84.
- ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 808. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ↑ popculturecorn.com
External links
- Factory Showroom at This Might Be A Wiki