Flood
	Produced by They Might Be Giants 2,4,6,9 by Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
	Released on January 5, 1990
	US CHART POSITION #75 . . . GOLD RECORD . . . UK CHART POSITION #14
	Find it at GEMM
60907-2 cover [high resolution scan]

I n a dull world of decimal points and data, TMBG is the doodled marginalia of intelligent, idle minds. “Istanbul” and “Particle Man” were even reincarnated as cartoons on the not-so-very-funny Tiny Toons series. (Animaniacs, now they were funny.) Flood contains those two classics plus the brilliant “Birdhouse In Your Soul,” an impossibly wound pop song in a league with “Ana Ng” and “Don’t Let’s Start.” The rest of the album has its moments, from the hilarious “Minimum Wage” to the catchy “We Want A Rock.” Normally, I wind down around “Letterbox,” mostly because I know the big surprises are over. The self-titled “They Might Be Giants” is the only exception, and I’ve been known to hum that for no reason to the annoyance of my otherwise patient spouse (punctuated with a profound “boy” from time to time). While I get a real kick out of the Giants, they’re not for everyone. Cheesy accordion and saxophone solos, no matter how groovy I think they are, just wash over some people like so much effluvial stink. I had a friend who absolutely hated this album, for example. But for those of us who always harbored a soft spot for The Bonzo Dog Band, the Giants were pop geniuses. (Flight of the Conchords is another very funny outfit worth checking out.) The knock on Flood is that some of the ideas are just that; “Whistling In The Dark” and “Someone Keeps Moving My Chair” could have been better developed. Should have been, really, since there are some sneaky-smart melodies in there just waiting to bust loose. To get the full measure of Flood’s flaky goodness, you’ll need to be a little flaky yourself. But if a song about a dead man being reincarnated as a bag of groceries floats your boat, Flood is just the sort of album you’ve been wading for.

TRACK LISTING

1. THEME FROM FLOOD
2. BIRDHOUSE IN YOUR SOUL
3. LUCKY BALL & CHAIN
4. ISTANBUL (NOT CONSTANTINOPLE)    (Jimmy Kennedy/Nat Simon)
5. DEAD
6. YOUR RACIST FRIEND
7. PARTICLE MAN
8. TWISTING
9. WE WANT A ROCK
10. SOMEONE KEEPS MOVING MY CHAIR
11. HEARING AID
12. MINIMUM WAGE
13. LETTERBOX
14. WHISTLING IN THE DARK
15. HOT CHA
16. WOMEN & MEN
17. SAPPHIRE BULLETS OF PURE LOVE
18. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS
19. ROAD MOVIE TO BERLIN
    
    All songs written by They Might Be Giants unless noted

CREDITS

JOHN FLANSBURGH -- vocals, instruments
JOHN LINNELL -- vocals, instruments
Marion Beckenstein -- vocal (1)
Alan Bezozi -- drums
Mark Feldman -- violin
Arto Lindsay -- guitar (11)
Frank London -- trumpet (2,14)
Rick McRae -- trombone (1,14)
Joel Mitchell -- vocal (1)
The Skyline Staff -- handclaps (7,8)
Charlie Spalvida -- trumpet (4,6)
Roger Moutenot -- engineer, mixing, whip (12)
Paul Angelli -- additional engineering, sound engineer
Patrick Dillett -- sound engineer
Katherine Miller -- sound engineer
Margaret Bourke-White -- cover photo
Helene Silverman -- design consultant
Barbara Lipp -- art assistance

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