- A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
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A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants: Melody, Fidelity, Quantity Compilation album by They Might Be Giants Released May 3, 2005 Genre Alternative rock Length 70:33 Label Rhino Records Producer Various Professional reviews The reviews parameter has been deprecated. Please move reviews into the “Reception” section of the article. See Moving reviews into article space.
- Allmusic
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- Pitchfork Media (7.2/10) link
They Might Be Giants chronology Here Come the ABCs
(2005)A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
(2005)Venue Songs DVD/CD
(2005)TMBG compilation chronology Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
(2002)A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
(2005)Venue Songs DVD/CD
(2005)A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants is a 2005 compilation album by the group They Might Be Giants.
In the April 29, 2005 "TMBG News" online newsletter, bandmember John Flansburgh describes the album as such:
- "Rhino 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 it is referred to 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", it deletes the single "Man, It's So Loud In Here", and adds two different versions of songs, the original versions of "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 (1990)
- Track 2 originally from John Henry (1994)
- Tracks 4, 5 and 22 originally from They Might Be Giants (1986)
- Tracks 6, 13 and 24 originally from Mink Car (2001)
- Tracks 8, 11 and 20 originally from Lincoln (1988)
- Tracks 9 and 15 originally from Factory Showroom (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 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) EP (1993)
- Tracks 23, 27 and 28 originally from No! (2002)
- Track 25 originally from Don't Let's Start 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" – 0:46
- "Meet James Ensor" – 1:33
- "Particle Man" – 1:58
- "Don't Let's Start" – 2:36
- "She's an Angel" – 2:36
- "Cyclops Rock" – 2:42
- "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" – 2:35
- "Purple Toupee" – 2:38
- "James K. Polk" – 3:05
- "Birdhouse in Your Soul" – 3:19
- "Ana Ng" – 3:21
- "The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)" – 3:51
- "Bangs" – 3:14
- "The Statue Got Me High" – 3:06
- "New York City" – 3:04
- "Doctor Worm" – 3:02
- "Boss of Me" – 2:59
- "Your Racist Friend" – 2:55
- "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" – 2:54
- "They'll Need a Crane" – 2:31
- "I Palindrome I" – 2:21
- "Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" – 2:10
- "John Lee Supertaster" – 2:01
- "Older" – 1:54
- "We're the Replacements" – 1:50
- "Dr. Evil" – 1:50
- "No!" – 1:29
- "Clap Your Hands" – 1:22
- "Spider" – 0:51
External links
- A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants on This Might Be a Wiki
Categories:- Rhino Records compilation albums
- They Might Be Giants compilation albums
- 2005 compilation albums
- Allmusic
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