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.[1] Long Tall Weekend was also the first full-length album released exclusively on the Internet by an established major label band.[2] Although the album's primary release was digital, CDs of the album were issued promotionally.[3] 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.[4]
| Long Tall Weekend | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 19, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 ("The Edison Museum"), 1994–1999 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 34:31 | |||
| Label | eMusic | |||
| Producer | Pat Dillett, They Might Be Giants | |||
| They Might Be Giants chronology | ||||
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| Alternate cover | ||||
 Cover of the 2023 vinyl release | ||||
Song origins
editMany of the songs that appear on Long Tall Weekend existed as demos and selections from the band's Dial-A-Song service. "Drinkin'" was originally written six years prior to the release of the album. "Maybe I Know" had been in TMBG setlists since the 1980s. Many songs were intended for release in different forms on later albums.[3] "She Thinks She's Edith Head" and "Older" resurfaced on Mink Car in 2001. The next year, "Rat Patrol", "Token Back to Brooklyn", "Reprehensible", "Certain People I Could Name" and "They Got Lost" appeared on the rarities compilation album They Got Lost, and "The Edison Museum" appeared on No!. "The Edison Museum" was originally written and recorded in 1991 and featured on the Edisongs compilation that year. The recorded version appearing on Long Tall Weekend is largely the same as the Edisongs version, though the mixing varies.
Some songs, such as "They Got Lost" and "Lullabye to Nightmares" had also existed in different forms prior to the release of Long Tall Weekend. The former was a live track with a much faster tempo from the band's live compilation Severe Tire Damage (1998).[5]
"They Got Lost" and "Certain People I Could Name" were both originally slated for inclusion on Factory Showroom (1996).[5]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   link |
| The A.V. Club | (mixed) link |
| CMJ | (favorable) link |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.6/10) link |
| Robert Christgau | A− link |
| Spin | (favorable) link |
Following the digital release of Long Tall Weekend, They Might Be Giants became the most downloaded band of 1999.[6] John Flansburgh speculates that the feat was based not only on the content of the album, but also on the band's early willingness to embrace digital formats, having been urged to do so by the Restless Records label.[1]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by They Might Be Giants, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Drinkin'" | 1:36 | |
| 2. | "(She Thinks She's) Edith Head" | 2:33 | |
| 3. | "Maybe I Know" | Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich | 2:07 |
| 4. | "Rat Patrol" | 2:07 | |
| 5. | "Token Back to Brooklyn" | 1:04 | |
| 6. | "Older" | 1:57 | |
| 7. | "Operators Are Standing By" | 1:24 | |
| 8. | "Dark and Metric" | 1:44 | |
| 9. | "Reprehensible" | 3:20 | |
| 10. | "Certain People I Could Name" | 3:33 | |
| 11. | "Counterfeit Faker" | 2:15 | |
| 12. | "They Got Lost" | 4:42 | |
| 13. | "Lullabye to Nightmares" | 2:31 | |
| 14. | "On Earth My Nina" | 1:27 | |
| 15. | "The Edison Museum" | Brian Dewan, They Might Be Giants | 2:00 |
Personnel
editCredits adapted from 1999 PDF liner notes.[7]
They Might Be Giants
- John Linnell – bass saxophone (1), piano (2), organ (3–4, 7), harmony vocal (3), vocal (4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14), keyboards (6, 8, 10, 12, 15), clarinet (9), horns (9), bass guitar (11), banjo (11), fiddle (11), baritone saxophone (13)
- John Flansburgh – baritone guitar (1), vocal (2–5, 7, 9, 11, 13), acoustic guitar (2, 11), electric guitar (4, 6, 10, 12)
Additional musicians
- Graham Maby – bass guitar (1, 3–4, 7–10, 12)
- Brian Doherty – drums (1, 3–4, 7–10, 12–13)
- Dan Miller – electric guitars (2, 6)
- Danny Weinkauf – bass guitar (2, 6)
- Dan Hickey – drums (2, 6)
- Eric Schermerhorn – electric guitar (4, 12), acoustic guitar solo (11)
- Yuval Gabay – drums (5)
- Jay Sherman-Godfrey – slide guitar (8), cello (11)
- Kurt Hoffman – tenor saxophone (13)
- Frank London – trumpet (13)
- Tony Maimone – guitar (13)
- Nick Hill – vocal (15)
Technical
- Patrick Dillett – producer
- They Might Be Giants – producers
- Annette Berry – design
- Michael Kupperman – illustrations
References
edit- ^ a b Flansburgh, John (2007-08-13). "Interview: They Might Be Giants Part Two" (Interview). Geek.com. Archived from the original on 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ Gigantic (A Tale Of Two Johns). Dir. AJ Schnack. 2002. Plexifilm, 2003.
- ^ a b Linnell, John (1999). "John Linnell, They Might Be Giants". Consumable Online (Interview). Interviewed by Daniel Aloi. Archived from the original on 2013-08-09.
- ^ Linnell, John (2001-02-28). "Interview: John Linnell of They Might Be Giants" (Interview). Interviewed by Don Zulaica. Live Daily.
- ^ a b Flansburgh, John and John Linnell. "New studio tracks from TMBG!". TMBG Info Club. 1999.
- ^ "They Might Be Giants Top Downloaded Band in '99". CMJ New Music Report: 5. 2000-01-31. ISSN 0890-0795. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ They Might Be Giants (1999). Long Tall Weekend (PDF liner notes). GoodNoise.
External links
edit- Long Tall Weekend page at This Might Be A Wiki
- Long Tall Weekend page at eMusic, available for download with paid subscription