Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)

Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)
EP by They Might Be Giants
Released	September 14, 1993
Recorded	Excello Recording Studio, Brooklyn Skyline Studio, Manhattan
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	9:57
Label	Elektra
Producer	They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants chronology
Apollo 18 (1992) Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) (1993) Back to Skull (1994)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Robert Christgau	[2]

Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) is an EP by the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released in 1993. It is the band's first release with a full-band line-up, rather than only the two original members (John Flansburgh and John Linnell) performing. It was also released as a single on 7-inch vinyl.

Songs

The title song is a cover version of a song by Hy Zaret from Tom Glazer's 1959 album Space Songs . The lyrics for the refrain appear verbatim in the 1951 Golden Nature Guide Stars. ^[3] They Might Be Giants re-arranged the song in an uptempo version for the 1998 live album, Severe Tire Damage , and the 2009 children's album, Here Comes Science , on which was added the self-written "Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma)", which corrects several factual inaccuracies in the original song. It was also included on the soundtrack to the children's game show Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World (1994) and was briefly heard in the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Malcolm Babysits". ^[4]

The second track, "Jessica", was originally recorded by the Allman Brothers Band for the 1973 album Brothers and Sisters . The third track, "Whirlpool", is a song written by the alternative rock band Meat Puppets, and can be found on the 1991 album Forbidden Places . The fourth and final track, "Spy", is the only original composition on the EP. It was later re-recorded for the band's studio album, John Henry , released in 1994.

Music video

A music video for the song directed by Maciek Albrecht was shown in an episode of the Nickelodeon television series KaBlam! . In the video, a group of students are listening to a scientist talk about the Sun, which makes its way to them and shines its brightest. ^[5]

Track listing

CD

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)"	Hy Zaret, Lou Singer	2:53
2.	"Jessica"	Forrest Richard Betts	2:24
3.	"Whirlpool"	Curt Kirkwood	2:10
4.	"Spy"	John Flansburgh, John Linnell	2:30
Total length:			9:57

• The 7-inch vinyl release contains track 1 on side A and track 2 on side B.

Personnel

• John Linnell – accordion, saxophone, bass clarinet, vocal
• John Flansburgh – electric guitar, vocal

Additional musicians

• Brian Doherty – drums, glockenspiel
• Kurt Hoffman – clarinet, saxophone
• Frank London – trumpet
• Graham Maby – bass guitar

Technical

• They Might Be Giants – producer
• Patrick Dillett – engineer, mixing

References

1. "Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) - They Might Be Giants". Allmusic . Retrieved April 14, 2006.
2. "CG: they might be giants". Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
3. Zim, Herbert S.; Baker, Robert H. (1951). Stars . New York: Golden Press. pp.  16 (1975 printing). "The sun is a mass of incandescent gas: a gigantic nuclear furnace where hydrogen is built into helium at a temperature of millions of degrees."
4. Carmen Sandiego: Out of This World. AllMusic. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
5. Video on YouTube

External links

• Why Does The Sun Shine? EP on This Might Be A Wiki
• "Why Does The Sun Shine?" (song) on This Might Be A Wiki
• Why Does The Sun Shine? at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences