| | They Might Be Giants Else CD They Might Be Giants Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
Initial Pressings Includes "Cast Your Pod To The Wind" Bonus Disc.
With 2007's THE ELSE, the alternative-pop duo They Might Be Giants adds yet another album to its remarkably prolific and varied career. Featuring gleefully odd artwork by lauded Canadian artist Marcel Dzama, the record presents a pleasantly assured batch of John Linnell and John Flansburgh's eclectic and quirky tunes, arguably making it the pair's best full-length outing since its early-1990s heyday.
In addition to working with frequent producer Pat Dillett, Linnell and Flansburgh enlisted the Dust Brothers (Beck) for some of these sessions, resulting in a fuller, edgier sound, as best exemplified by the electronica-tinged "Careful What You Pack" and the guitar-heavy "Feign Amnesia." While a number of THE ELSE's tracks are surprisingly straightforward, TMBG's signature whimsy is showcased on "The Cap'm," a harmony-laden tune, and the piano-led "Bee of the Bird of the Moth," a song that continues the act's fascination with both playful lyrics and the natural world. Essential for any devoted fan and thoroughly enjoyable for newcomers, THE ELSE reveals that Linnell and Flansburgh still have a bevy of tricks up their sleaves after more than two decades as They Might Be Giants.
They Might Be Giants: Dan Solder Miller (guitar); John Flansburgh (guitars); John Linnell (keyboards); Danny Weinkauf (bass guitar); Marty Beller (drums).
Additional personnel: Sharon Jones (vocals); Lyle Workman (guitar); Stan Harrison (saxophone); Jim O'Connor (trumpet); Dan Levine (trombone); Justin Meldal-Johnsen (acoustic bass); Mauro Refosco (percussion).Spin (p.109) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[With] witty lyrics and solid songwriting..."
Alternative Press (p.170) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "THE ELSE is a funky adventure in deliberate awkwardness."
Magnet (p.110) - "The Dust Brothers' production pushes the songs popwards with loops, textures and effects....The strongest songs here are seriously hilarious and hilariously serious..."
No Depression (p.104) - "Best of all is 'The Mesopotamians', which once again reveals the key influence of early '70s Saturday-morning cartoon theme songs." Else Music | List Price | $17.98 (You save $2.93) | | Category | Rock/Pop Albums, Rock CDs, Pop, Alternative | | Label | Idlewild / Rounder | | Orig Year | 2007 | | All Time Sales Rank |  38232  | | CD Universe Part number | 7446249 | | Catalog number | 431117 | | Discs | 1 | | Release Date | Jul 10, 2007 | | Studio/Live | Studio | | Mono/Stereo | Stereo | | Producer | They Might Be Giants; The Dust Brothers; Patrick Dillett | | Engineer | Anthony Ruotolo; Yuki Takahashi; Patrick Billard; Jon Altschuler; Greg Thompson; Danny Kalb; Alan Ford; Patrick Dillett | | Recording Time | 38 minutes | | Personnel | John Flansburgh - guitars
John Linnell - keyboards
Danny Weinkauf - bass guitar
Marty Beller - drums
Dan Solder Miller - guitar
Also: Sharon Jones, Stan Harrison, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Lyle Workman, Dan "The Machine" Levine, Mauro Refosco, Jim O'Connor | | Additional Info | Bonus CD |
They Might Be Giants Else Songs Else Music Review Average Rating: (4.7 out of 5 stars)   It grew on me like the Spine and I got to love it
Musically this one is somewhat similar to the previous Spine CD, with a bunch of modern rock styles parodied, running from recent pop-punk to some late '60's rock. The lyrical targets this time range from political tyrants and conspiracy nuts to a wide gamut of mental delusions and illnesses. While the Spine loosely related topics to literal and metaphorical spines, this one seems to revel in poking fun at depression, amnesia, paranoia and delusion, not in a mean way but by pointing out the absurdities of life. And to top it all, there's one of their funny babushka doll within a doll type word play songs, bee of the bird of the moth, a total delight. All around a tour de force, but it took me about 5 listenings to get to like it. Once I got what they were up to this time, I loved it.
Submitted by Andrew M. (Santa Rosa, CA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
 TMBG are right on with this title
Like every TMBG disc this one really delivers classic sound we've come to expect.
Submitted by eris08 (Bath, ME)
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Classic TMBG
They're all great catchy very "TMBG" tunes. My fav in awhile.
Submitted by beege_man (Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
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Purchase Else CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Chills Kaleidoscope World CD (1990) (Import) Import; New Zealand
Else
 $19.69
KALEIDOSCOPE WORLD contains 10 bonus tracks and represents everything the band recorded through early 1986, including all of the LOST EP, and the I LOVE MY LEATHER JACKET/THE GREAT ESCAPE 12"
KALEIDOSCOPE WORLD, The Chills' 18-track compilation culled from The Chills early and mid-'80s EPs and singles, is highlighted by the song "Pink Frost."
The Chills' Martin Phillipps mixes up melodic pop with elements of garage rock and punk, creating songs with a sweet melancholy all their own. Phillipps has always been the focus of the Chills, writing and singing the band's songs. His group has also rivaled Menudo in its sheer number of personnel changes. In a just world, the Chills would have sold just as many records.
KALEIDOSCOPE WORLD showcases the shifting line-ups and many moods of the early to mid-'80s Chills. "Rolling Moon" captures a mood of shambling joy, its simple, repeated keyboard riff sounding like a distant caravan crossing New Zealand's big-sky country. "Pink Frost" is undoubtedly one of the Chills' two or three finest songs, an eerie tale of finding one's lover dead and being stricken with waves of icy panic. Phillipps's ghostly voice floats over glacial, plucked chords, its elegance and restraint only adding to the menace. "I Love My Leather Jacket" could have been written for the wake of "Pink Frost'"s dead lover. The Chills' pumped-up fuzz guitars and a celebratory chorus of "I love my leather jacket/I love my absent friend" turn a song of ...
| | Cure Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me: Deluxe Edition CDs (1987) Bonus Tracks; Remastered
Else
$18.05  
This hefty double album often sounds more like a compilation than a coherent whole, with musical ideas bouncing frantically back and forth. Nevertheless, in typical Cure style, KISS ME, KISS ME, KISS ME successfully combines catchy pop with bitter despair. Through 17 immensely sensual songs, Robert Smith is at his most poetic ("strange as angels, dancing in the deepest ...
| | Cure Head On The Door: Deluxe Edition CDs (1985) Bonus Tracks; Remastered; Deluxe Edition
Else
$12.25
With THE HEAD ON THE DOOR Robert Smith and the boys achieve a distinctively Cure-like pop sensibility. These 10 songs combine the dreary dreamscape that is Smith's mind with melodies that are about as catchy as Goth music gets (just try not clapping your hands to "Close to Me"). Included on the album are "In Between Days" and "A Night Like This," each a successful single, and each a staple of the Cure's live ...
| | Danny Kirwan Second Chapter CD (2008) (Import) With Book; Limited Edition; Digipak; Germany
Else
$18.75
| | Legend CD (2007) (Import) With Book; Limited Edition; Digipak; Germany
Else
$26.49
| | Crowded House Time On Earth CD (2007)
Else
$10.69
In the days when hair metal ruled the rock roost, New Zealanders ...
| | 38 Special Flashback Best Of CD (2009) (Import)
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| | Let's Go Surfside With The Denvermen CD (2002) (Import) Import; Australia
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$35.49
| | Wonderland Follow Me CD (2004) (Import) Bonus Track; Japan
Else
$35.49
| | Summon Night 4-Vol 1 Radio CD CD (2007) (Import)
$47.29 | | Phathom Zombie Love CD (2007)
Else
$11.49
There’s something about an outdoor live show that just doesn’t sound or feel like anything else. Put that show in New York’s Central Park, and now you’ve got a unique feel, a sound, an overall singular experience not quite like any other. New York’s own Jefferson Thomas has hosted an artist residency series in the park for the last two years now, and no one is more awestruck at the experience than the indie/twang/alt-rock singer-songwriter himself. Jefferson Thomas Live is his attempt to capture it. And more.“You do clubs, there’s a certain energy, and I like that. You do concerts, there’s that ‘huge’ thing, which is cool, too. You do acoustic listening rooms, there’s a purity and an intimacy there. The first time I did Central Park, it was all three. I was so ready for this ‘huge’ concert vibe, and it blew me away how wrong I was. Suddenly, it wasn’t about how much ass you and the band are kicking; there’s this vast frigging CITY out there. They gather around you, and there’s this whole community just buzzing, and if you try too hard to be the happening thing, you actually lose them. It’s like a Zen thing - if you try to dictate to them, you won’t get much out of it, but if you let them lead you, they’ll pull a show out of you that you never knew you had in you. What I love about the Central Park recordings is that we managed to capture it all; lots of people listening, some people actually not listening, kids running around, skateboard dudes wiping out, dogs barking, weddings going by - it’s all there.”What also is there is some fine rocking by Thomas and his band. The lazy boogie of “Rocket Rider” stretches out past the six-minute mark with a full swing breakdown, achieving jam-band proportions. “Mary’s Night Out” exudes a cannabis-tinged swagger that would make Tom Petty proud. “Dusty”, a rustic, swampy acoustic trip on 2005’s Come Alive album, gets downright noisy and nasty here. A daring a capella rendering of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” closes out the Central Park segment, and shows that Thomas doesn’t necessarily need a guitar to hide behind.But the best part about Jefferson Thomas Live might be six tracks in, where the setting changes to solo acoustic performances in smaller ...
| | Dover Follow The City Lights CD (2007) (Import)
Else
$35.49
| | Barbara Dickson Collection CD (2007) (Import) Import
Else
$11.29
| | Edan Primitive Plus CD (2009) (Import)
Else
For Sale Pre-Order Now! Available: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
$23.65
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