''Long Tall Weekend'' is the seventh studio album by American
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
duo
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 d ...
, released in 1999. It was released exclusively online through the digital music service
eMusic
eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of MP3 tracks per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquartered in New York Ci ...
. The album was the band's first since their departure from the major label
Elektra.
''Long Tall Weekend'' was also the first full-length album released exclusively on the Internet by an established major label band.
['']Gigantic (A Tale Of Two Johns)
''Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)'' is a documentary profiling the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, featuring interviews with Frank Black, Sarah Vowell, Dave Eggers, Mark Hoppus, and others. It was directed by AJ Schnack and premiered at ...
''. Dir. AJ Schnack. 2002. Plexifilm, 2003. Although the album's primary release was digital, CDs of the album were issued promotionally.
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.
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.
"She Thinks She's Edith Head" and "Older" resurfaced on ''
Mink Car
''Mink Car'' is the eighth studio album by They Might Be Giants, released on September 11, 2001, on the Restless Records label.
One of the band's most eclectic efforts, its variety reflects its recording process; it was put together in a number ...
'' 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
''They Got Lost'' is a rarities compilation album by the group They Might Be Giants. It was issued in 2002 (see 2002 in music) in the United States and 2005 in the United Kingdom. It was available through online order several years before it went ...
'', and "The Edison Museum" appeared on ''
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 ...
''. "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 "Lullabye 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''.
"They Got Lost" and "Certain People I Could Name" were both originally slated for inclusion on ''
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 ...
''.
[Flansburgh, John and John Linnell. "New studio tracks from TMBG!". TMBG Info Club. 1999.]
Reception
Following the digital release of ''Long Tall Weekend'', They Might Be Giants became the most downloaded band of 1999.
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
Restless Records is a record label that was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal, and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade R ...
label.
The album received generally favorable reviews from critics.
Track listing
Personnel
;They Might Be Giants
*
John Linnell
John Sidney Linnell ( ; born June 12, 1959) is an American musician, known primarily as one half of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to singing and songwri ...
– songwriting, vocals, keyboard, organ, accordion, bass saxophone, baritone saxophone, programming, banjo, bass, horn, clarinet, fiddle
*
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.
Common ...
– songwriting, vocals, acoustic, electric, and baritone guitar, programming
;Additional musicians
*
Brian Doherty – drums
*
Yuval Gabay
Soul Coughing was an American alternative rock band composed of vocalist/guitarist Mike Doughty (also known as M. Doughty), keyboardist/sampler Mark Degli Antoni, bassist Sebastian Steinberg, and drummer Yuval Gabay. Soul Coughing developed a ...
– drums on "Token Back to Brooklyn"
*Dan Hickey – drums
*Nick Hill – vocal on "The Edison Museum"
*
Graham Maby
Graham Maby (born 1 September 1952), is an English bass guitar player. He has recorded and toured with Joe Jackson since his first album, appearing on most of Jackson's albums and tours. He has continued to record and tour with Jackson even w ...
– bass guitar
*
Dan Miller – additional guitars
*
Eric Schermerhorn
Eric Schermerhorn is an American guitarist and composer. He played with Iggy Pop on the '' American Caesar'' and ''Naughty Little Doggie'' albums, and David Bowie on the Tin Machine '' It's My Life Tour'' (as background vocalist and guitarist ...
– additional guitars
*Jay Sherman-Godfrey – additional guitars, cello
*
Danny Weinkauf
Danny Weinkauf (born 4 December 1963) is a Grammy-winning New York-based musician and composer. He has been the longtime bassist for They Might Be Giants (TMBG). He has recorded and toured with the band since the late 1990s. Weinkauf had previou ...
– bass guitar
;Production
*
Patrick Dillett Patrick may refer to:
*Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name
*Patrick (surname), list of people with this name
People
*Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint
*Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...
and
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 d ...
– producers
*Annette Berry – design
*Michael Kupperman – illustration
References
External links
*
''Long Tall Weekend'' page at This Might Be A Wiki
''Long Tall Weekend'' pageat
eMusic
eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of MP3 tracks per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquartered in New York Ci ...
, available for download with paid subscription
{{Authority control
1999 albums
They Might Be Giants albums
Albums produced by Pat Dillett