Track Listing

1. I'm Impressed
2. Take Out the Trash
3. Upside Down Frown
4. Climbing the Walls
5. Careful What You Pack
6. The Cap'M
7. With the Dark
8. The Shadow Government
9. Bee of the Bird of the Month
10. Withered Hope
11. Countrecoup
12. Feign Amnesia
13. The Mesopotamians

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9563 in Music
• Released on: 2007-07-10
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Japanese pressing of this full-length comes with three additional bonus tracks, 'Brain Problem Situation', 'We Live In A Dump', & 'I'm Your Boyfriend Now'. 3D. 2008.

Amazon.com
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

Amazon.com
Since 1982, a few years before they released their 1987 debut, John Flansburgh and John Linnell have been They Might Be Giants, an independent band named after a 1971 George C. Scott movie who are, to echo their own description of their current collaborators The Dust Brothers, pop musicians unto themselves. Their work provides, in the prescient judgment of The SPIN Alternative Record Guide (1995) "a fabulous example of just how far the concept of punk can stretch." In subsequent years, They Might Be Giants have elongated things further, although never to the breaking point. They have released twelve albums, of which The Else, a wildly rocking and sturdy collection of thirteen unfailingly acute songs co-produced by The Dust Brothers (Beck, Beastie Boys), is the latest. It features Linnell (who sings and plays keyboards, primarily) and Flansburgh (who sings and plays guitar, primarily) working in tightest accord with their current band of guitarist Dan Solder Miller, bassist Danny Weinkauf, and drummer Marty Beller.

Customer Reviews

Listen to this album...or ELSE!
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!

A Great Album
I would say that The Else is an even stronger album overall than The Spine was (though, in truth, there are far catchier songs to be found on the previous record). The Else is a weird, moody, and intriguing record. I've heard, and would agree, that there are no real standout tracks to be found...maybe in the future when the whole thing can be listened to with more perspective. I have to say, though, that it really sucked me in when "With The Dark" came on. Like a little rock opera unto itself, it paves the way for the rest of the album. To illustrate this, and I don't know if this would have any meaning to anyone else, but on first listen, that was the song that made me take the inlay back out and follow along with the lyrics, as I did with the rest of the album.
I've listened to it in its entirety a few times now and I still feel that it's a strong album. Very interesting arrangements and especially strong guitar work. As the album progresses, a fair amount of horns work their way into the mix, leaving me wanting to compare this with John Henry. The songwriting strikes me as similar to that album, as well.
The bonus disc, only to be included with the first pressing but sure to be released on its own in due time, collects 23 unreleased tracks, many of which seem album-worthy. Which leads me to one complaint, if you can call it that: The Else, with it's thirteen tracks, is too short, a bit too one-sided. Had a few of the bonus songs been incorporated into the album, The Else would have been classic. I get the feeling that They Might Be Giants are playing it a little too safe musically. Their artwork and overall presentation is at an all-time high (this album and The Spine both boast incredible, eye-catching art), but one of the things I've always loved about the band is that they seem willing to toss a weird little vignette or a strange little song about nothing in particular onto an album, whereas most bands generally save these for the archives or a bonus disc, or never release them at all.
I suppose I shouldn't complain. They Might Be Giants could have easily allowed the 23 fine tracks on the bonus disc to remain unheard outside of podcast or dial-a-song venues. I just wish they'd loosen up a bit, I guess.
But enough complaining...after all, like I said, The Else is a very good album. One that I'll be listening to regularly. I suppose it's just that, being used to getting twenty or so songs for so long, thirteen is kind of a disappointment. I thought the same thing when Factory Showroom came out. But I still listen to that album; I still think it's great. It doesn't bother me anymore that it's relatively short. I'll feel the same way about The Else someday soon. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy it for what it is. They Might Be Giants' 12th Album.

The More You Listen, the Better it Gets!
The first time I listened to The Else, I came away incredibly disappointed. How could They Might Be Giants have lost their way? Where were the classic tracks? Every past album TMBG has released has had at least one classic; why wasn't that the case with their latest effort?

The answer was that the classic tracks were right here, staring me in the face. I found that the more I listened to the album, the more I liked it which, strangely enough, was exactly how I felt when I first listened to John Henry. My complaint with John Henry was that it was too rock-oriented; there weren't enough playful tracks as there were with Apollo 18 or Flood. But the more I listened, the more I realized that TMBG had simply progressed in their music. Today, John Henry is one of my favorite TMBG albums. And I can easily say the same thing about The Else.

As with John Henry, it has taken me several playings to fully appreciate The Else, TMBG's 12th album. Their music has progressed quite a bit, and they have a great "full" sound in this latest effort. My personal favorites include "I'm Impressed," "The Cap'M," "Withered Hope," and "The Mesopotamians," each of which is worth the price of admission.

Included with this first edition CD is a bonus disc of songs from the TMBG podcast. It is worth noting that the bonus disc is as good as the official album itself, so it's like you're getting two albums for the price of one! I had never listened to the TMBG podcast until I heard these songs; now I'm a subscriber in iTunes! So many of the songs on the bonus disc evoke memories from their early days, and a number of them are very catchy. My favorites include "Why Did You Grow a Beard?," "We Live in a Dump," "Brain Problem Situation," and "(She Was A) Hotel Detective in the Future." A live version of "Metal Detector" is included, which is nice, but I would have preferred another new song rather than a rehash of a classic.

If you're a fan of the They Might Be Giants, definitely pick up this album. And make sure you listen to it two or three times. Once just isn't enough to appreciate how the band's sound has changed. You'll be glad you gave it a chance; I know I am!