“I’m your only friend
I’m not your only friend
But I’m a little glowing friend
But really I’m not actually your friend
But I am”
If those lyrics mean anything to you, you’ll probably dig Edsel’s next round of two-fers: all four albums released by quirk-rock band They Might Be Giants on the Elektra label.
Formed by John Flansburgh and John Linnell, two teenage friends from Massachusetts who found themselves moving to the same building in Brooklyn on the same day, TMBG gained early cult success with their idiosyncratic live shows (full of absurd asides and tape loops, with Flansburgh playing guitar and Linnell playing saxophone and accordion, as you do), smart lyrical wordplay and wildly prolific output (often captured through the famous “Dial-a-Song,” a working phone number connected to an answering machine that would play literally hundreds of song ideas the Johns would conceive).
After a pair of moderately successful albums on the Bar/None label, TMBG signed to Elektra, marrying their catchy hooks and funny tales to polished pop production: 1990′s Flood was helmed by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, and produced the smash modern rock hit “Birdhouse in Your Soul” as well as the quirky “Particle Man” and a cover of The Four Lads’ Top 10 novelty hit “Istanbul (Not Constantinople).” (Kids of the early 1990s will recognize the latter two as the subjects of music videos on the Warner Bros. series Tiny Toon Adventures.) The follow-up, Apollo 18 (1992) was released as the duo were named Musical Ambassador’s for NASA’s International Space Year campaign; it’s perhaps best known among casual fans, though, for the song “Fingertips” – 21 disparate sketches of songs that, depending on if you used your CD player’s shuffle function or not, would be one continuous freak-out of a song or some humorous snippets sprinkled throughout.
In 1994, after dramatically altering their live shows to include a real backing band, TMBG released the guitar-heavy John Henry to mixed reviews; they followed it up with the more traditional (for them, anyway, while still keeping the backing band concept) Factory Showroom in 1996. Shortly thereafter, they left Elektra over disputes about publicity; the Johns continue to perform to this day, having released their 16th studio album Nanobots earlier this year and earned a new wave of success in the 2000s with a string of children’s albums (No! (2002), Here Come the ABCs (2005), Here Come the 123s (2008) and Here Comes Science (2009), the latter three of which all went gold in America).
Edsel’s pair of two-fers keep each album on one disc and append the contents of a relevant CD single or EP to the track lists, adding almost two dozen bonus tracks between both sets. They hit U.K. shops on December 3; hit the jump for Amazon links and full track lists!
Flood / Apollo 18 (Edsel (U.K.), 2013)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Disc 1: Flood (originally released as Elektra 60907, 1990) and bonus tracks
Theme from Flood
Birdhouse in Your Soul
Lucky Ball & Chain
Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
Dead
Your Racist Friend
Particle Man
Twisting
We Want a Rock
Someone Keeps Moving My Chair
Hearing Aid
Minimum Wage
Letterbox
Whistling in the Dark
Hot Cha
Women & Men
Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love
They Might Be Giants
Road Movie to Berlin
Ant (from “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” CD single – Elektra 66631, 1990)
James K. Polk (from “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” CD single – Elektra 66631, 1990)
Stormy Pinkness (from “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” CD single – Elektra 66631, 1990)
Disc 2: Apollo 18 (released as Elektra 61257, 1992) and bonus tracks
Dig My Grave
I Palindrome I
She’s Actual Size
My Evil Twin
Mammal
The Statue Got Me High
Spider
The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)
Dinner Bell
Narrow Your Eyes
Hall of Heads
Which Describes How You’re Feeling
See the Constellation
If I Wasn’t Shy
Turn Around
Hypnotist of Ladies
Fingertips
Space Suit
The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) (Williamsburgh Remix) (from “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight” CD single – Elektra 66394, 1992)
The Guitar (Outer Planet Mix) (from “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight” CD single – Elektra 66394, 1992)
Welcome to the Jungle (from “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight” CD single – Elektra 66394, 1992)
I Blame You (from “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight” CD single – Elektra 66394, 1992)
Moving to the Sun (from “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight” CD single – Elektra 66394, 1992)
The Guitar (Even Further Outer Planet Mix) (from “The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight” CD single – Elektra 66394, 1992)
John Henry / Factory Showroom (Edsel (U.K.), 2013)
Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.
Disc 1: John Henry (released as Elektra 61654, 1994) and bonus tracks
Subliminal
Snail Shell
Sleeping in the Flowers
Unrelated Thing
AKA Driver
I Should Be Allowed to Think
Extra Savoir-Faire
Why Must I Be Sad?
Spy
O, Do Not Forsake Me
No One Knows My Plan
Dirt Bike
Destination Moon
A Self Called Nowhere
Meet James Ensor
Thermostat
Window
Out of Jail
Stomp Box
The End of the Tour
Ondine (from Back to Skull EP – Elektra 66198, 1994)
She Was a Hotel Detective (from Back to Skull EP – Elektra 66198, 1994)
Mrs. Train (from Back to Skull EP – Elektra 66198, 1994)
Snail Dust (Dust Brothers Remix) (from Back to Skull EP – Elektra 66198, 1994)
Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) (from Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World - Zoom Express/BMG Kidz/Fight 74860 30041-2, 1993)
Jessica (from Why Does the Sun Shine? EP – Elektra 66272, 1993)
Whirlpool (from Why Does the Sun Shine? EP – Elektra 66272, 1993)
Spy (Live) (from Why Does the Sun Shine? EP – Elektra 66272, 1993)
Disc 2: Factory Showroom (originally released as Elektra 61862, 1996) and bonus tracks
Token Back to Brooklyn
S-E-X-X-Y
Till My Head Falls Off
How Can I Sing Like a Girl?
Exquisite Dead Guy
Metal Detector
New York City
Your Own Worst Enemy
XTC vs. Adam Ant
Spiraling Shape
James K. Polk
Pet Name
I Can Hear You
The Bells Are Ringing
S-E-X-X-Y (Radio Mix) (from “S-E-X-X-Y” CD single – Elektra 63995, 1996)
Sensurround (from “S-E-X-X-Y” CD single – Elektra 63995, 1996)
Unforgotten (from “S-E-X-X-Y” CD single – Elektra 63995, 1996)
We’ve Got a World That Swings (from “S-E-X-X-Y” CD single – Elektra 63995, 1996)
S-E-X-X-Y (The Warren Rigg Microwave Mix) (from “S-E-X-X-Y” CD single – Elektra 63995, 1996)
