The Else
2007 studio album by They Might Be Giants
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The Else is the twelfth studio album by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released by Idlewild Recordings on May 15, 2007. The album was produced in part by the Dust Brothers, along with Pat Dillett and the band.
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| The Else | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 15, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2006–2007 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 38:12 | |||
| Label | Idlewild, Zoë Records | |||
| Producer | The Dust Brothers Pat Dillett They Might Be Giants | |||
| They Might Be Giants chronology | ||||
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The Else was first available for download through the iTunes Store on May 15, 2007. The CD version was released in stores on July 10, 2007, with initial runs accompanied by a full-length bonus disc of rare material, Cast Your Pod to the Wind (the title being a parody of jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi's 1962 hit "Cast Your Fate to the Wind").[1] On September 11, 2007, the band released a gatefold LP of the album. Cast Your Pod was made available separately on iTunes in July 2009.
A video created by Hiné Mizushima for "With the Dark" was released on the band's YouTube page on June 7, 2007. Two additional videos, for "The Shadow Government" and "I'm Impressed", were also later released. A full-length video for "The Mesopotamians" was released on Stereogum.com on October 2.
Recording
"Contrecoup" was originally written and recorded in 2005 as part of a challenge issued on the Next Big Thing in which lexicographer Erin McKean implored John Linnell to use the words "contrecoup", "craniosophic", and "limerent" in a song so that the words could be added to or remain in the dictionary.[2]
"Careful What You Pack" was originally written for the soundtrack of 2009 film Coraline, though it never appeared in the film.[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by John Flansburgh and John Linnell except as noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm Impressed" | 2:39 | |
| 2. | "Take Out the Trash" | 3:14 | |
| 3. | "Upside Down Frown" | 2:17 | |
| 4. | "Climbing the Walls" | 3:15 | |
| 5. | "Careful What You Pack" | 2:40 | |
| 6. | "The Cap'm" | 3:11 | |
| 7. | "With the Dark" | 3:17 | |
| 8. | "The Shadow Government" | 2:37 | |
| 9. | "Bee of the Bird of the Moth" | 3:31 | |
| 10. | "Withered Hope" |
| 2:54 |
| 11. | "Contrecoup" | 3:11 | |
| 12. | "Feign Amnesia" | 2:29 | |
| 13. | "The Mesopotamians" | 2:57 | |
| Total length: | 38:12 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Brain Problem Situation" | 2:55 |
| 15. | "We Live in a Dump" | 1:40 |
| 16. | "I'm Your Boyfriend Now" | 2:40 |
Cast Your Pod to the Wind (bonus disc)
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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" | 1:59 |
| 9. | "Greasy Kid Stuff" | 1:40 |
| 10. | "Metal Detector (live)" | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Employee of the Month" | 1:24 |
| 12. | "Homunculus" | 2:16 |
| 13. | "No Plan B (live)" | 1:40 |
| 14. | "Morgan in the Morning" | 1:07 |
| 15. | "Kendra McCormick" | 0:51 |
| 16. | "Yeah, the Deranged Millionaire" | 1:23 |
| 17. | "My Other Phone Is a Boom Car" | 0:27 |
| 18. | "I Hear a New World" | 2:09 |
| 19. | "(She Was A) Hotel Detective in the Future" | 2:05 |
| 20. | "Haunted Floating Eye" | 1:25 |
| 21. | "Scott Bower" | 1:23 |
| 22. | "The Mexican Drill" | 1:10 |
| 23. | "Cast Your Pod to the Wind" | 1:26 |
Personnel
- They Might Be Giants
- John Flansburgh – songwriting, vocals, guitars, programming
- John Linnell – songwriting, vocals, keyboards, programming
- Backing band
- Marty Beller – drums
- Dan Miller – guitar; piano on "Careful What You Pack"
- Danny Weinkauf – bass guitar
- Additional musicians
- Mauro Refosco – percussion (track 9)
- Justin Meldal-Johnsen – acoustic bass guitar (9)
- Dan Levine – trombone (9, 10)
- Stan Harrison – saxophone (9, 10)
- Jim O'Connor – trumpet (9, 10)
- Lyle Workman – guitar (6, 9)
- Sharon Jones – vocals (10)
- Production
- They Might Be Giants – producers (except 3, 6, 9, 10, 12)
- Patrick Dillett – producer (except 3, 6, 9, 10, 12), engineer
- The Dust Brothers – producers (2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12)
- UE Nastasi – mastering
- Yuki Takahashi – engineer
- Greg Thompson – engineer
- Jon Altschuler – engineer
- Marcel Dzama – artwork, costumes, photography
Reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (73/100)[4] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [5] |
| The A.V. Club | B[6] |
| IGN | (8.5/10)[7] |
| The Music Box | [8] |
| Now | [4] |
| Pitchfork Media | (5.3/10)[9] |
| PopMatters | [10] |
| Robert Christgau |  [11] |
| Spin | (6/10)[4] |
| Stylus | B+[12] |
The album reached #9 on the Billboard Top Digital Albums chart.[13]
