''A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants'' is a 2005 compilation

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

by the group

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

. In the April 29, 2005 "TMBG News" online newsletter, bandmember

John Flansburgh John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Commo ...

describes the album as such: :"

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

is releasing the single disc compilation ''A User's Guide To They Might Be Giants'' – kind of a simple reduction of '' Dial-A-Song'' – on May 3. It is a very interesting introduction to the band. If you were looking for a single disc to lay on the uninitiated, this might be the one. The liner notes, put together with our pal Barbara Glauber, are quite extensive. We've tried to compile all the songs and all the shows since the band's inception. Obviously this was a bit of a research nightmare (I'm not even sure if the show list includes in-stores!) but it is a very interesting object to look at, especially if you have good near-field vision." Although Flansburgh referred to the album as a condensed version of ''Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants'', it includes two songs not on ''Dial-A-Song'': "John Lee Supertaster" and "Clap Your Hands." Additionally, the album contains the original versions of both "Why Does the Sun Shine?" and "Don't Let's Start", as opposed to the live and single versions, respectively, found on ''Dial-A-Song''.

Song origins

* Tracks 1, 3, 7, 10 and 18 originally from ''

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

'' (1990) * Track 2 originally from '' John Henry'' (1994) * Tracks 4, 5 and 22 originally from ''

'' (1986) * Tracks 6 and 13 originally from '' Mink Car'' (2001) * Tracks 8, 11 and 20 originally from ''

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

'' (1988) * Tracks 9 and 15 originally from ''

Factory Showroom ''Factory Showroom'' is the sixth studio album by the American rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released in 1996 by Elektra Records. The album reclaims the more diverse and electronic sound of their early work, but differed from previous ...

'' (1996) * Tracks 12, 14, 21 and 29 originally from '' Apollo 18'' (1992) * Track 16 originally from '' Severe Tire Damage'' (1998) * Track 17 originally from ''

Boss of Me "Boss of Me" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. The song is famously used as the opening theme song for the television show '' Malcolm in the Middle'', and was released as the single from the soundtrack to the show. In 2002, ...

'' EP (2000) and is the theme song for '' Malcolm in the Middle'', although a shorter version is usually used * Track 19 originally from ''

Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) ''Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)'' is an EP by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released in 1993. The EP is notable for being their first release with a full-band lineup, rather than only the two origin ...

'' EP (1993) * Tracks 23, 27 and 28 originally from ''

No! ''No!'' is the first children's album (and ninth studio album) by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released in 2002 on Rounder Records and Idlewild Recordings. Retaining the eclecticism, humor and psychedelic sensibilities of their a ...

'' (2002) * Track 24 originally from ''

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 depar ...

'' (1999) * Track 25 originally from ''

Don't Let's Start "Don't Let's Start" is a song by an alternative rock band, They Might Be Giants from their 1986 eponymous debut album. It was the first single released from the album, released as a maxi-single. The single peaked at #94 on the Australian ARIA si ...

'' EP (1987), and later '' Miscellaneous T'' (1991) * Track 26 originally from '' More Music from the Motion Picture Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999)

Track listing

All songs by They Might Be Giants unless otherwise noted # "Minimum Wage" – 0:47 # "Meet

James Ensor James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor (13 April 1860 – 19 November 1949) was a Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for most of his life. He was associated with the artistic g ...

" – 1:33 # " Particle Man" – 1:59 # "

" – 2:34 # "She's an Angel" – 2:37 # "Cyclops Rock" – 2:38 # "

Istanbul (Not Constantinople) "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is a 1953 novelty song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. It was written on the 500th anniversary of the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans. The lyrics humorously refer to the official ren ...

" (

Jimmy Kennedy James Kennedy (20 July 1902 – 6 April 1984) was a Northern Irish songwriter. He was predominantly a lyricist, putting words to existing music such as " Teddy Bears' Picnic" and " My Prayer" or co-writing with composers like Michael Carr, ...

Nat Simon Nat Simon (6 August 1900, in Newburgh, New York – 1979) was an American composer, pianist, bandleader and songwriter. From the 1930s to 1950s his songs were used in over 20 films. Between 1931 and 1940 he also took part in the musical Vaudeville r ...

) – 2:38 # " Purple Toupee" – 2:40 # "

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

" (Matthew Hill, They Might Be Giants) – 3:04 # "

Birdhouse in Your Soul "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is a song by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released in late 1989 through Elektra Records as the lead single from the album ''Flood'', making the single the band's first release on a major labe ...

" – 3:20 # "

Ana Ng "Ana Ng" ( ) is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released as the lead single from the band's 1988 album ''Lincoln''. Although the song was their first US chart appearance, hitting #11 on the US Modern Rock chart, the ...

" – 3:23 # " The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" (They Might Be Giants,

Hugo Peretti Hugo E. Peretti (December 6, 1916 – May 1, 1986) was an American songwriter, trumpeter, and record producer. Born in New York City to an Italian American family, Peretti began his music career as a teenager, playing the trumpet in the Bors ...

Luigi Creatore Luigi Federico Creatore (December 21, 1921 – December 13, 2015) was an American songwriter and record producer. Creatore was born in New York City in 1921, the son of noted Italian-born bandleader and composer Giuseppe Creatore. After serving w ...

George David Weiss George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Weiss was born in a Jewish fa ...

) – 3:49 # "Bangs" – 3:09 # " The Statue Got Me High" – 3:06 # "New York City" ( Robynn Iwata, Lisa Nielsen, and

Lisa Marr Lisa Marr is a musician, songwriter, film-maker, photographer, and educator from Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, currently based in Los Angeles, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She has performed as a solo artist and as a membe ...

) – 3:02 # "

Doctor Worm "Doctor Worm" is a song by They Might Be Giants. It first appeared on the primarily live album '' Severe Tire Damage'', being one of only three studio-recorded songs on the album. It was also released as a single and featured in a music video di ...

" – 3:01 # "

" – 2:58 # "Your Racist Friend" – 2:54 # "

Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) ''Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)'' is an EP by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released in 1993. The EP is notable for being their first release with a full-band lineup, rather than only the two origin ...

" (Louis Singer,

Hy Zaret Hy Zaret (born Hyman Harry Zaritsky, August 21, 1907 – July 2, 2007) was an American Tin Pan Alley lyricist and composer who wrote the lyrics of the 1955 hit " Unchained Melody," one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century. Person ...

) – 2:53 # "

They'll Need a Crane "They'll Need a Crane" is a single and song by They Might Be Giants. In addition to vinyl and cassette releases, the single was released as a 3-inch CD. "They'll Need a Crane" was the first song the band performed on network television, in 1989 o ...

" – 2:33 # "

I Palindrome I "I Palindrome I" is a song by American alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants. It was the second single from '' Apollo 18'', released in 1992 by Elektra Records. They Might Be Giants performed the song on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' i ...

" – 2:22 # "

Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, from their eponymous debut album ''They Might Be Giants''. It has also been released on several compilation albums, including '' Then: The Earlier Year ...

" – 2:12 # "John Lee Supertaster" – 2:01 # "Older" – 1:58 # "We're the Replacements" – 1:50 # "Dr. Evil" – 1:48 # "No!" – 1:29 # "Clap Your Hands" – 1:22 # "Spider" – 0:51

References

External links

*'' A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants'' on This Might Be a Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:User's Guide To They Might Be Giants, A Rhino Records compilation albums They Might Be Giants compilation albums 2005 compilation albums