| Glean | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 21, 2015 | |||
| Recorded | Late 2014 – 2015 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 39:14 | |||
| Label | Idlewild, Lojinx [1] | |||
| Producer | They Might Be Giants, Pat Dillett | |||
| They Might Be Giants chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
Glean is the seventeenth studio album from New York City-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released on April 21, 2015. It is composed entirely of releases from the first four months of the band's 2015 Dial-A-Song project.
In late 2014, the band began advertising the relaunch of their Dial-A-Song service, which had its origins in the early 1980s when the band would record songs onto an answering machine and advertise the phone number. The service was eventually discontinued in 2006, but the band sought to restart it online. A modified version of the original phone number was reclaimed as well, and both outlets were updated every Tuesday with a new recording starting in December 2014.
Also announced in late 2014 was the return of Instant Fan Club, a year-long subscription service offered by the band upon each of their studio album releases since 2011. Among the products promised to members were free digital downloads of all Dial-A-Song releases, CD copies of the band's upcoming rock and children's albums, as well as LP copies of each for "Super President" tier members. This marked the announcement of the band's 17th (13th rock album) and 18th (fifth children album) albums. In mid-February, They Might Be Giants announced details on their upcoming rock album, including the title, some tracks, and the release date. "Erase", which was released in January as the first Dial-A-Song track of 2015, was announced to be the lead single off Glean.
Glean was released on April 20, 2015 in Europe on Lojinx and April 21 in America on the band's own Idlewild Recordings. CD and vinyl editions were included, along with digital releases of the album, and the original releases of the songs via the Dial-A-Song service. Instant Fan Club members received CD copies of Glean upon its release. Super President tier members received copies with the booklet signed by both John Flansburgh and John Linnell.
Australian copies came with a bonus CD of the Flood Live In Australia album, containing the entire Flood album performed live in reverse running order.
All tracks are written by They Might Be Giants, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Erase" | 2:47 |
| 2. | "Good to Be Alive" | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Underwater Woman" | 2:33 |
| 4. | "Music Jail, Pt. 1 & 2" | 3:10 |
| 5. | "Answer" | 3:26 |
| 6. | "I Can Help the Next in Line" | 1:59 |
| 7. | "Madam, I Challenge You to a Duel" | 1:58 |
| 8. | "End of the Rope" | 2:35 |
| 9. | "All the Lazy Boyfriends" | 2:46 |
| 10. | "Unpronounceable" | 3:23 |
| 11. | "Hate the Villanelle" | 1:52 |
| 12. | "I'm a Coward" | 2:49 |
| 13. | "Aaa" | 1:59 |
| 14. | "Let Me Tell You About My Operation" (horn arrangement & horn break composition by Stan Harrison) | 2:59 |
| 15. | "Glean" | 1:47 |
| Total length: | 39:14 | |
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 [3] | 67 |
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG expanded to include a backing band. The duo has been credited as vital in the creation and growth of the prolific DIY music scene in Brooklyn in the mid-1980s; the duo's current backing band consists of Marty Beller, Dan Miller and Danny Weinkauf.
Flood is the third studio album by Brooklyn-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, released in January 1990. Flood was the duo's first album on the major label Elektra Records. It generated three singles: "Birdhouse in Your Soul", "Istanbul ", and the domestic promotional track "Twisting". The album is generally considered to be the band's definitive release, as it is their best-selling and most recognizable album. Despite minimal stylistic and instrumental differences from previous releases, Flood is distinguished by contributions from seasoned producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. John Linnell and John Flansburgh also took advantage of new equipment and recording techniques, including unconventional, home-recorded samples, which were programmed through Casio FZ-1 synthesizers. The album was recorded in New York City at Skyline Studios, which was better equipped than studios the band had worked in previously.
John Sidney Linnell is an American musician, known primarily as one half of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to singing and songwriting, he plays accordion, baritone and bass saxophone, clarinet, and keyboards for the group.
They Might Be Giants, sometimes called The Pink Album, is the debut studio album from Brooklyn-based band They Might Be Giants. It was released by Bar/None in 1986. The album generated two singles, "Don't Let's Start" and "(She Was A) Hotel Detective". It is included on Then: The Earlier Years, a compilation of the band's early material, in its entirety, with the exception of "Don't Let's Start", which is replaced with the single mix for the compilation.
Lincoln is the second studio album by the band They Might Be Giants. It was released by Bar/None in 1988. The album is named after John Linnell and John Flansburgh's boyhood home of Lincoln, Massachusetts. The album produced three singles—"Ana Ng", "They'll Need a Crane", and "Purple Toupee". It is included on Then: The Earlier Years, a compilation of the band's early material, in its entirety.
Apollo 18 is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants. It was released in 1992 through Elektra Records and was named after the cancelled Apollo 18 mission that was scheduled to have followed Apollo 17. The album was also associated with International Space Year, for which They Might Be Giants were declared the official "musical ambassadors" by NASA.
Long Tall Weekend is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, released in 1999. It was released exclusively online through the digital music service eMusic. The album was the band's first since their departure from the major label Elektra. Long Tall Weekend was also the first full-length album released exclusively on the Internet by an established major label band. Although the album's primary release was digital, CDs of the album were issued promotionally. Following the success of the album's release through eMusic, TMBG went on to issue a digital series of rarities collections — TMBG Unlimited — through their website.
"Birdhouse in Your Soul" is a song by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released in early 1990 through Elektra Records as the lead single from the album Flood, making the single the band's first release on a major label. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" is the band's highest-charting single in both the US and the UK, and is one of their best-known songs.
"(She Was A) Hotel Detective" is a song and single by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released as a single on May 5, 1988, two years after the release of They Might Be Giants, the album on which it originally appeared. The "Hotel Detective" title has become a somewhat recurring theme for the band.
"Particle Man" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released and published in 1990. The song is the seventh track on the band's third album, Flood. It has become one of the band's most popular songs, despite never having been released as a single. John Linnell and John Flansburgh performed the song, backed by a metronome, for their 1990 Flood promotional video. Although it was released over a decade before the band began writing children's music, "Particle Man" is sometimes cited as a particularly youth-appropriate TMBG song, and a precursor to their first children's album, No!, which was not explicitly educational. The song is partially influenced by the theme of the 1967 Spider-Man TV series.
"I Palindrome I" is a song by American alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants. It was the second single from Apollo 18, released in 1992 by Elektra Records.
Why Does the Sun Shine? is an EP by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released in 1993. The EP is notable for being their first release with a full-band lineup, rather than only the two original members performing. It was also released as a single on 7-inch vinyl.
"Can't Keep Johnny Down" is a song by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. The song was released as a promotional single from the band's 2011 album, Join Us. Like all the artwork surrounding the Join Us album, the cover art and labels for the disc were designed by the Office of Paul Sahre.
Nanobots is the sixteenth studio album from Brooklyn-based alternative rock group They Might Be Giants. Uncharacteristically for the band, the album's title comes from an album track, as the second track shares a title with the album. The album was released on March 5, 2013 on Idlewild Recordings — the band's independent imprint — with Megaforce Records in the US. The album was also separately released on March 8 in Australia through Breakaway Records and on March 11 in Europe, through Lojinx. One week before its physical release, Nanobots was released digitally for streaming in its entirety through the band's SoundCloud, announced by Rolling Stone. Prior to this, "Call You Mom", "Black Ops" and "Lost My Mind" were released through the advance digital Nanobots EP in January 2013. The EP, released through Amazon.com and iTunes, was met with fairly positive responses.
"James K. Polk" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, about the United States president of the same name. Originally released in 1990 as a B-side to the single "Istanbul ", its first appearance on a studio album was 1996's Factory Showroom. It also appeared on their compilation albums Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants and A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants. The song is about James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States, beginning with a description of the 1844 Democratic National Convention and going on to cover some of the highlights of Polk's presidency. Although the band set out to write a song consisting entirely of historical facts, it includes a few errors or misstatements.
Why? is the fifth children's album from New York City-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released on November 27, 2015. It is composed largely of releases from the band's 2015 Dial-A-Song project.
Phone Power is the nineteenth studio album from New York City-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released digitally on March 8, 2016. It is the third and final album containing songs from the band's 2015 Dial-A-Song service. British label Lojinx announced a physical release in Europe, on CD, for June 10.
I Like Fun is the twentieth studio album from New York City-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released on January 19, 2018.
My Murdered Remains is the 21st album by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released on December 10, 2018 for digital download and pre-order. The physical album was released in the spring of 2019. The digital download and pre-order was released simultaneously with The Escape Team. The standard disc consists entirely of songs from the band’s 2018 Dial-a-Song project; a bonus disc is included which also features songs from the similar 2015 Dial-a-Song project which had yet to be released on an album, as well as a new song entitled "This is Only Going to Go One Way."
Book is the 23rd studio album by New York City-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released on November 12, 2021. It was released as a digital download, a compact disc, a vinyl record, a cassette tape, an 8-track tape, and a hardcover book plus CD.
