Flood (They Might Be Giants album)

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Flood is the third studio album by They Might Be Giants, and their first with a major label, Elektra Records. It was released in 1990. It was recorded in 1989 at Skyline Studios in New York City. The album spawned three singles—"Birdhouse in Your Soul", "Twisting", and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)".

Being their most popular record and many fans' first exposure to the group, the album has occasionally been performed in its entirety at live shows. At some of these performances, the group essentially 'opens' for itself, taking the stage as "Sapphire Bullets: the only TMBG cover band that matters."

With all the success Flood enjoyed, some fans and critics were disarmed by its polished production and slightly sillier lyrics. The group returned to a more organic sound and darker territory on its 1992 follow-up, Apollo 18. Flood is quoted by Black Francis (of Pixies fame) as one of his favorite albums.

Cover art

The picture on the cover of the album features a man rowing a boat made out of washbasins strung together in a body of water. The photo was taken by Margaret Bourke-White and was part of a series of photographs taken after the Ohio River flood of 1937. The emblem showing the name of the band and the name of the album is very similar to the logo of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. The cover was designed by John Flansburgh and Elizabeth van Itallie.

Sales and singles

The first single from Flood, "Birdhouse in Your Soul", reached number 3 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart and was a top 40 hit elsewhere, including Australia and the United Kingdom. The other single from the album, "Twisting", peaked at number 22 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart. Flood also contains another two of They Might Be Giants' most well-known songs, "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", a cover of The Four Lads' song, and "Particle Man", both of which were made into animated music videos on the children's television show Tiny Toon Adventures, exposing the band to a much younger audience.

Flood was the band's first album to receive the Platinum sales award, which it achieved on July 10, 2009.

Track listing

All songs by John Flansburgh and John Linnell unless otherwise noted.

1. "Theme From Flood" – 0:28
2. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" – 3:20
3. "Lucky Ball & Chain" – 2:46
4. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" (Jimmy Kennedy, Nat Simon) – 2:38
5. "Dead" – 2:58
6. "Your Racist Friend" – 2:54
7. "Particle Man" – 1:59
8. "Twisting" – 1:56
9. "We Want a Rock" – 2:47
10. "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair" – 2:23
11. "Hearing Aid" – 3:26
12. "Minimum Wage" – 0:47
13. "Letterbox" – 1:25
14. "Whistling in the Dark" – 3:25
15. "Hot Cha" – 1:34
16. "Women & Men" – 1:46
17. "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" – 1:36
18. "They Might Be Giants" – 2:45
19. "Road Movie to Berlin" – 2:22

Personnel

They Might Be Giants

• John Flansburgh
• John Linnell

Additional musicians

• Alan Bezozi – Drums
• Mark Feldman – Violin
• Rick McRae – Trombone
• Frank London – Trumpet
• Charlie Spalvida – Trumpet
• Marion Beckenstein – Vocals on track 1
• Joel Mitchell – Vocals on track 1
• The Skyline Staff – Handclaps on track 7
• Arto Lindsay – Guitar on track 11
• Roger Moutenot – Whip on track 12

Production

• Roger Moutenot – Recording, mixing
• Paul Angelli – Engineer
• Patrick Dillett – Assistant engineer
• Katherine Miller – Assistant engineer
• Alex Noyes – MIDI coordinator
• Margaret Bourke-White – Cover photo
• Helene Silverman – Design consultant
• Barbara Lipp – Art assistance

External links

• Flood at This Might Be A Wiki