They Might Be Giants - The Else
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Music CD Cover
Artist: They Might Be GiantsBrand: Baker & Taylor
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2007-07-10
Music Label: Idlewild/Zoe Records
Soundtracks:
- I'm Impressed
- Take Out the Trash
- Upside Down Frown
- Climbing the Walls
- Careful What You Pack
- The Cap'M
- With the Dark
- The Shadow Government
- Bee of the Bird of the Month
- Withered Hope
- Countrecoup
- Feign Amnesia
- The Mesopotamians
Free Music Notes for The Else
Free Music Review: Listen to this album...or ELSE!
Hit: 5 Stars
First off, let me apologize for the title of this review. I couldn't help myself!
The Else, the 12th official release from They Might Be Giants, does not disappoint. The CD offers a total of 13 tracks and there's not a throw-away in the bunch. Obviously there are some songs that are better than others, but all are entertaining and witty. (And I'm sure your favorites will probably be different from mine...that's one of the joys of TMBG - there ability to appeal to various listeners in different ways.)
This album is a worthy addition to the TMBG canon. In the pre-release publicity for The Else, John Flansburg (who, along with John Linnell, forms the core of the band) said that "We wanted to be sure this was an album that was our best effort from beginning to end and I am very excited to report I believe we've actually done it!" I certainly agree with his assessment.
Some of the best songs on the disc are "The Mesopotamians," "The Cap'm," "Upside Down Frown," "Feign Amnesia," and the odd and quirky "Bee of the Bird of the Moth." However, without question, my personal favorite moment is the new extended version of "Contrecoup."
The demo version of Contrecoup has been floating around since 2005 and has appeared on the TMBG podcast as well as the TMBG Clock Radio (an Adobe Flash-powered application, originally released on tmbg.com in 2003, that streams MP3s from tmbg.com). The song had its origins in a challenge issued to John Linnell on WNYC's "The Next Big Thing" radio show to create a song using the almost-forgotten words contrecoup, craniosophic, and limerent.
I loved the original demo, but now the song has truly been "finished" with a much larger band sound. The length of the song has doubled from from just over a minute and a half to a full 3 minutes and 11 seconds. If you ever needed proof that John Linnell is a lyrical genius, then this song should do the trick.
And if all of this wan't already enough to make you want to add The Else to your CD collection, the first printing also contains an additional disc with 23 extra songs on it! The bonus disc, called Cast Your Pod to the Wind, is primarily made up of songs that had been previously featured on a TMBG podcast. In fact, 21 of the 23 songs were previously released through via podcast, including the title track. Two songs, "I'm Your Boyfriend Now" and "We Live In A Dump" have been entirely re-recorded for the disc, while many others have been remixed, remastered and partially re-recorded for release on CD.
Admittedly, some of the songs on the bonus disc aren't fantastic (I absolutely HATE "The Mexican Drill"). However, it is a fantastic bonus with some really enjoyable moments, like "We Live In A Dump," "Microphone," and "Metal Detector." The full track listing is as follows:
1. Put Your Hand On The Computer (1:57)
2. I'm Your Boyfriend Now (2:40)
3. Why Did You Grow A Beard? (1:08)
4. We Live In A Dump (1:40)
5. Brain Problem Situation (2:55)
6. Sketchy Galore (2:21)
7. Microphone (2:04)
8. Vestibule (1:58)
9. Greasy Kid Stuff (1:40)
10. Metal Detector (Live) (3:42)
11. Employee Of The Month (1:24)
12. Homunculus (2:15)
13. No Plan B (Live) (1:40)
14. Morgan In The Morning ID (1:06)
15. Kendra McCormick (0:51)
16. Yeah, The Deranged Millionaire (1:23)
17. My Other Phone Is A Boom Car (0:28)
18. I Hear A New World (2:09)
19. (She Was A) Hotel Detective In The Future (2:04)
20. Haunted Floating Eye (1:24)
21. Scott Bower (1:23)
22. The Mexican Drill (1:10)
23. Cast Your Pod To The Wind (1:25)
The Else (and the bonus disc) will ensure that your frown remains upside down! You won't regret buying this release!
The Else Poster
The Else is They Might Be Giant's first studio album since 2004's The Spine. The Else was co-produced by The Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys) Initial orders include 23 song bonus CD.Twenty years after their debut album introduced a well-read duo with a peculiar wit and a gift for contagious melodies, They Might Be Giants--a.k.a. John Linnell and John Flansburgh--still come across as exhilarating and spanking fresh as the theme song to Comedy Central's Daily Show. (Oh yeah, that's them, too.) Fresh off the Giants' second children's record (2005's Here Come the ABCs), the New York twosome began a production alliance with L.A.'s Dust Brothers that resulted in The Else, another collection that ranks with any in their memorable discography. From the fast-tempo opener "I'm Impressed" through the '60s pop edge of "The Mesopotamians," endearing hooks reel you in just far enough for the humorous, often oddball lyrics to bury you. But several times the implications in the lyrics are all too real, such as the love undertones of "Contrecoup" and "Take Out the Trash," an uncannily catchy dump-your-boyfriend song that suggests "Once you get him out, tell him not to come back again." Contradictions like these never bother to disrupt the sequencing, but rather drive home what we already know about They Might Be Giants: they already are. --Scott Holter
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