Birdhouse in Your Soul

Last updated
"Birdhouse in Your Soul"
Tmbg birdhouse ep.jpg
Single by They Might Be Giants
from the album Flood
B-side
  • "Hot Cha"
  • "Hearing Aid"
  • "Ant"
ReleasedDecember 19, 1989
RecordedFall 1989
Genre
Length3:19
Label Elektra (US)
Elektra / WEA (EU)
Songwriter(s) John Flansburgh, John Linnell
Producer(s) Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
They Might Be Giants singles chronology
"Purple Toupee"
(1989)
"Birdhouse in Your Soul"
(1989)
"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"
(1990)
Audio sample

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [20] Silver200,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

A cover of "Birdhouse in Your Soul" was featured in the Pushing Daisies episode "Pigeon", which premiered on October 24, 2007. This version was arranged and performed by series composer Jim Dooley with vocals from actors Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene. The cover also appears on the show's official soundtrack. [21] In a 2015 Decider article revisiting the episode, Joe Reid wrote that the selection of "Birdhouse in Your Soul" contributed to "a moment that must have felt tailor-made for the audience members who responded to it". [22]

The song was also covered by Neil Cicierega as Lemon Demon on his second album, Live From the Haunted Candle Shop, which was released on July 23, 2003. [23] The cover is 129 BPM, which is 29 faster than the original at 100 BPM. [24] [25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Simpson, Dave (29 November 2021). "'I wrote it from the perspective of a night light': How They Might Be Giants made Birdhouse in Your Soul". theguardian.com . Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  2. Considine, J.D. (2004). "They Might Be Giants". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 808–809. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  3. 1 2 Ferris, DX (February 22, 1990). "They Might Be Giants' "Flood": Track by Track Guide to the Geek-Chic Breakthrough". Rolling Stone . Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Reed, S. Alexander; Sandifer, Elizabeth (February 13, 2014). "Blue Canary in the Outlet by the Light Switch, Who Watches Over You?". Slate Magazine.
  5. DeMain, Bill (January 1, 2004). In Their Own Words: Songwriters Talk about the Creative Process. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-275-98402-1.
  6. Reed, S. Alexander; Sandifer, Elizabeth (November 28, 2013). They Might Be Giants' Flood. 33⅓. Vol. 88. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   978-1-62356-829-0.
  7. Gigantic (A Tale Of Two Johns) . Dir. AJ Schnack. 2002. Plexifilm, 2003.
  8. "Birdhouse in Your Soul (commentary track)". Direct from Brooklyn , produced by John Linnell and John Flansburgh. Restless Records, 2003.
  9. 1 2 Petermann, Emily (2019). "The Music Videos of the Alternative Rock Band They Might Be Giants: Prolegomena for a Theory of Nonsense across Media". In Walter Bernhart; David Francis Urrows (eds.). Music, Narrative and the Moving Image. Vol. 17. Leiden: Brill. ISBN   978-90-04-40131-0.
  10. Flansburgh, John (February 5, 2018). "TMBGareOK". Tumblr . Retrieved June 27, 2019. [self-published]
  11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Flood – They Might Be Giants". AllMusic . Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  12. Mason, Stewart. "Birdhouse in Your Soul – They Might Be Giants". AllMusic . Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  13. Willman, Chris (January 20, 1990). "They Might Be Giants 'Flood' Elektra". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved September 7, 2016.
  14. Billboard Single Chart History for They Might Be Giants. Billboard . Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  15. 1 2 3 They Might Be Giants | Artist | Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  16. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received 2015-07-15". Imgur. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  17. "The Irish Charts - all there is to know - Birdhouse in your Soul". irma.ie. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  18. "They Might Be Giants Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  19. "Top Modern Rock Tracks" (PDF). Billboard . Vol. 102, no. 51. December 22, 1990. p. YE-47. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  20. "British single certifications – They Might Be Giants – Birdhouse in Your Soul". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  21. "Pushing Daisies [Original Television Soundtrack] - Jim Dooley". Allmusic . Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  22. Reid, Joe (October 24, 2015). "Today in TV History: 'Pushing Daisies' Put a Little Birdhouse in Your Soul". Decider. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  23. Lemon Demon - Birdhouse In Your Soul . Retrieved 2024-04-04 via www.youtube.com.
  24. "BPM for Birdhouse In Your Soul (Lemon Demon) - GetSongBPM". GetSongBPM.
  25. "Key and BPM for Birdhouse In Your Soul by They Might Be Giants". Tunebat.