They Might Be Giants discography

Last updated

They Might Be Giants discography
Studio albums23
Live albums11
Compilation albums12
Video albums7
EPs15
Singles30

The following is a discography of They Might Be Giants (TMBG), an American alternative rock band comprising several artists including John Flansburgh, John Linnell, Marty Beller, Dan Miller, and Danny Weinkauf. The band's first release was the November 4, 1986 eponymously titled They Might Be Giants , but TMBG did not gain commercial success until their March 1990 single "Birdhouse in Your Soul" from the album Flood . "Birdhouse in Your Soul" reached #3 on the United States Modern Rock Tracks chart and #6 on the UK Singles Chart and remains their highest-charting single in both countries. Over the next two decades, They Might Be Giants released studio albums on a near-biennial fashion and currently have a total of 23 studio albums along with 11 live albums, 12 compilation albums, 15 extended plays and 30 singles.

Contents

Albums

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
YearTitleChart peaks Certifications
(sales thresholds)
Notes
US
[1]
US
Alt

[2]
US Kids
[3]
US Indie
[4]
US
Rock

[5]
AUS
[6]
UK
[7]
1986 They Might Be Giants
  • Debut album
1988 Lincoln
  • Release date: September 25, 1988
  • Label: Bar/None / Restless
  • Format: Vinyl, CD, cassette
89
1990 Flood
  • Release date: January 15, 1990
  • Label: Elektra
  • Format: Vinyl, CD, cassette
759914
  • Major label debut
1992 Apollo 18
  • Release date: March 24, 1992
  • Label: Elektra
  • Format: Vinyl, CD, cassette
9959
1994 John Henry
  • Release date: September 13, 1994
  • Label: Elektra
  • Format: CD, cassette
61
  • First album with a backing band.
1996 Factory Showroom
  • Release date: October 8, 1996
  • Label: Elektra
  • Format: CD, cassette
89
1999 Long Tall Weekend
  • Download-only album, released on eMusic.com
  • First full-length download-only album released by a major artist
2001 Mink Car
  • Release date: September 11, 2001
  • Label: Restless
  • Format: CD, digital download
134
2002 No! 1
2004 The Spine
  • Release date: July 13, 2004
  • Label: Idlewild/Zoë
  • Format: CD, digital download
130
2005 Here Come the ABCs
  • Release date: February 15, 2005
  • Label: Idlewild/Disney Sound
  • Format: CD, DVD, digital download
6
  • Second children's album
  • Major label children's album debut
2007 The Else
  • Release date: May 15, 2007
  • Label: Idlewild/Zoë
  • Format: CD, vinyl, digital download
118
  • Released for download on the iTunes Store almost two months before physical release
  • The CD release included a bonus disc, Cast Your Pod to the Wind
2008 Here Come the 123s
  • Release date: February 5, 2008
  • Label: Idlewild/Disney Sound
  • Format: DVD/CD, digital download
1729
2009 Here Comes Science
  • Release date: September 1, 2009
  • Label: Idlewild/Disney Sound
  • Format: CD/DVD, digital download
9123434
  • Fourth children's album
2011 Join Us
  • Release date: July 19, 2011
  • Label: Idlewild/Rounder
  • Format: CD, vinyl, digital download
32888
  • First "rock" album since 2007
2013 Nanobots
  • Release date: March 5, 2013
  • Label: Idlewild, Lojinx
  • Format: CD, vinyl, digital download
57131019
2015 Glean
  • Release date: April 21, 2015
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: CD, vinyl, digital download
67657
  • Composed entirely of songs from the band's 2015 Dial-A-Song project.
Why?
  • Release date: November 27, 2015
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: CD, vinyl, digital download
18112615
  • Fifth children's album
  • Composed largely of songs from the band's 2015 Dial-A-Song project.
2016 Phone Power
  • Release date: March 8, 2016
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: CD, vinyl, digital download
12281114
  • Composed entirely of songs from the band's 2015 Dial-A-Song project.
2018 I Like Fun
  • Release date: January 19, 2018
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: CD, vinyl, digital download
1088317
  • Composed entirely of songs from the band's 2018 Dial-A-Song project.
My Murdered Remains
  • Release date: December 10, 2018
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: CD, vinyl, digital download
[upper-alpha 1] 9
  • Composed entirely of songs from the band's 2018 Dial-A-Song project.
  • Included bonus disc composed mostly of songs from the band's 2015 Dial-A-Song project.
The Escape Team
  • Release date: December 10, 2018
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: CD, vinyl, digital download
[upper-alpha 2] 10
  • Composed largely of songs from the band's 2018 Dial-A-Song project.
2021 Book
  • Release date: November 12, 2021
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: CD, vinyl, cassette, digital download, 8-Track
8871410

Live albums

YearTitleChart peaksNotes
US
[1]
1994 Live!! New York City 10/14/94
  • Label: Elektra
  • Release date: November 1994
1998 Severe Tire Damage
  • Label: Restless
  • Release date: August 11, 1998
186
  • First major live album
1999 Live
  • Condensed version of Severe Tire Damage
2004 The Spine Hits the Road
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Release date: August 31, 2004
Almanac
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Release date: December 10, 2004
  • Download-only album
Venue Songs
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Release date: December 10, 2004
  • Download-only album
2012At Large
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Release date: August 2012
  • Distributed to members of the They Might Be Giants Instant Fan Club
2014 First Album Live!
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Release date: July 2014
  • Released as a free digital download through NoiseTrade
2015 Flood Live In Australia
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Release date: February 25, 2015
  • Released as a free digital download through their website [11]
2016Live in Brooklyn
  • Release date: July 19, 2016
  • Distributed to members of the They Might Be Giants Instant Fan Club
2018TMBG Live 2018
  • Release date: December 4, 2018
  • Distributed to members of the They Might Be Giants Instant Fan Club

Compilation albums

YearTitleChart peaksNotes
US
Current

[10]
US Indie
[4]
1989 Don't Let's Start
  • B-side and rarities collection
  • Released exclusively in Europe
1991 Miscellaneous T
1997 Then: The Earlier Years
  • Release date: March 25, 1997
  • Label: Restless
  • Collects the band's first two studio albums and early rarities and B-sides
1999 Best of the Early Years
2002 They Got Lost
  • Release date: July 23, 2002
  • Label: Idlewild, Zoë
Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
  • Release date: September 17, 2002
  • Label: Rhino
  • Best-of compilation
2005 A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants
  • Release date: May 3, 2005
  • Label: Rhino
Venue Songs DVD/CD
  • Release date: November 11, 2005
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Collection of "venue songs": songs the band wrote about various venues in which they performed
2011 Album Raises New and Troubling Questions
  • Release date: October 28, 2011
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Rarities collection, including five music videos
  • Part of the July 26, 2012 Humble Music Bundle
2014 Idlewild
  • Release date: May 27, 2014
  • Label: Idlewild, Lojinx
  • Contains 17 songs released between 1999 and 2013
2018John Henry Demos
  • Release date: December 2018
  • Label: Idlewild
9112
  • Demos of almost every John Henry song, with the exception of Stomp Box.
2020Modern
  • Release date: April 15, 2020
  • Self-released

EPs

YearTitleChart peaks
US Indie
[4]
1993 Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)
  • Released: September 14, 1993
  • Label: Elektra
  • Format: CD
1994 Back to Skull
  • Released: August 16, 1994
  • Label: Elektra
  • Format: CD
2000 Working Undercover for the Man
  • Released: May 16, 2000
  • Label: Good Noise
  • Format: Digital download, limited CD release
2001 They Might Be Giants In...Holidayland
  • Released: November 6, 2001
  • Label: Restless
  • Format: CD
2003 Bed, Bed, Bed
  • Released: 2003
  • Label: Simon & Schuster
  • Format: Book with CD
2004 Indestructible Object
  • Released: April 4, 2004
  • Label: Barsuk
  • Format: CD
36
The Spine Surfs Alone
  • Released: 2004
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: CD
2011Other Thing Brass Band
  • Released: 2011
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: Vinyl, download
Cave Fish/Tesla
  • Released: September 2011
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: Vinyl, download
2012Four Covers
  • Released: August 2012
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: Vinyl
Reptiles/Head in a Suitcase
  • Released: August 2012
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: Vinyl
2013Nanobots EP
  • Released: 2013
  • Label: Idlewild/Megaforce
  • Format: Download only
For Kids
  • Released: 2013
  • Label: Idlewild/Megaforce
  • Format: Download only
2016Songs for Chop
  • Released: June 2016
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: Download only
2021Pamphlet EP
  • Released: 2021
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: Download

Singles

List of singles, with selected chart positions, showing year released, certifications and album name
TitleYearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
US
Alt.

[12]
AUS
[6]
NLD
[13]
UK
[14]
"Don't Let's Start"198794They Might Be Giants
"(She Was A) Hotel Detective"1988
"Ana Ng"11Lincoln
"They'll Need a Crane"1989
"Purple Toupee"
"Birdhouse in Your Soul"199031256
  • BPI: Silver [9]
Flood
"Twisting"22
"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"61
"The Statue Got Me High"19922415592Apollo 18
"The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)"
"I Palindrome I"
"O Tannenbaum"1993Non-album single
"Snail Shell"199419John Henry
"S-E-X-X-Y"1996Factory Showroom
"Doctor Worm"1998 Severe Tire Damage
"Boss of Me"2001298921 Music from Malcolm in the Middle
"Man, It's So Loud in Here"86 Mink Car
"Experimental Film"2005 The Spine
"T-Shirt"2005Non-album single
"I'm Impressed"2007 The Else
"Can't Keep Johnny Down"2011 Join Us
"Never Knew Love"
"Cloisonné"
"Old Pine Box"
"You're on Fire"2013 Nanobots
"Erase"2015 Glean
"I Left My Body"2017 I Like Fun
"The Communists Have The Music"2018 My Murdered Remains
"I Lost Thursday"2020 BOOK
"Who are the Electors?"Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Contributions and other releases

Videography

YearTitle Certifications
(sales thresholds)
1999 Direct from Brooklyn
2003 Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)
2005 Here Come the ABCs
  • Released: February 15, 2005
  • Label: Disney Sound/Idlewild
  • Format: DVD
  • RIAA: Gold [8]
Venue Songs DVD/CD
  • Released: November 11, 2005
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: DVD
2008 Here Come the 123s
  • Released: February 5, 2008
  • Label: Disney Sound/Idlewild
  • Format: DVD
  • RIAA: Gold [8]
2009 Here Comes Science
  • Released: September 1, 2009
  • Label: Disney Sound/Idlewild
  • Format: DVD
  • RIAA: Gold [8]
2012Them Ain't Big Eye Ants
  • Released: December 3, 2012
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: DVD
2015Live in Berlin [16]
  • Released: July 2015
  • Label: Idlewild
  • Format: DVD

Music videos

The band has released 25 main music videos for songs from their rock albums. [17] All of their children's albums have also included video content or run alongside DVD releases. The band also has videos for each of the Dial-A-Song tracks from 2015 and 2018 on their main YouTube channel, ParticleMen.

Direct from Brooklyn

In 1999, They Might Be Giants released Direct from Brooklyn , a VHS compilation of their music videos from 1986 up to that point. It was reissued on DVD in 2003. The following music videos were included:

Other videos

Notes

  1. My Murdered Remains did not enter the Billboard 200 but peaked at number 68 on the Top Current Albums chart. [10]
  2. The Escape Team did not enter the Billboard 200 but peaked at number 71 on the Top Current Albums chart. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">They Might Be Giants</span> American alternative rock band

They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, 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 musical duo, often accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG expanded to include a backing band. The duo's current backing band consists of Marty Beller, Dan Miller and Danny Weinkauf. They have been credited as vital in the creation and growth of the prolific DIY music scene in Brooklyn in the mid-1980s.

<i>Flood</i> (They Might Be Giants album) 1990 studio album by They Might Be Giants

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.

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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.

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John Henry is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock group They Might Be Giants. It was released in 1994. It is the first album by They Might Be Giants to include a full band arrangement, rather than synthesized and programmed backing tracks. The album's name, a reference to the man versus machine fable of John Henry, is an allusion to the band's fundamental switch to more conventional instrumentation, especially the newly established use of a human drummer instead of a drum machine.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Flansburgh</span> American musician (born 1960)

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References

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  11. "A free present for you!". Archived from the original on 2015-02-25. Retrieved 2015-02-25.
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  13. "Discografie They Might Be Giants". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 30, 2013.
  14. "They Might Be Giants". Official Charts Company . Retrieved October 30, 2013.
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  17. "TMBG Facts". tmbg.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2007. Retrieved May 31, 2007.