| The Else | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 15, 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2006–2007 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 38:12 | |||
| Label | Idlewild,Zoë Records | |||
| Producer | The Dust Brothers Pat Dillett They Might Be Giants | |||
| They Might Be Giants chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (73/100)[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
| The A.V. Club | B[3] |
| IGN | (8.5/10)[4] |
| The Music Box | [5] |
| Now | [1] |
| Pitchfork Media | (5.3/10)[6] |
| PopMatters | [7] |
| Robert Christgau |  [8] |
| Spin | (6/10)[1] |
| Stylus | B+[9] |
The Else is the twelfthstudio album by Americanalternative rock bandThey Might Be Giants, released by Idlewild Recordings on May 15, 2007. The album was produced in part bythe Dust Brothers, along with Pat Dillett and the band.
The Else was first available for download through theiTunes Store on May 15, 2007. The CD version was released in stores on July 10, 2007, with initial runs accompanied by a full-length bonus disc of rare material,Cast Your Pod to the Wind (the title being a parody of jazz pianistVince Guaraldi’s 1962 hit "Cast Your Fate to the Wind").[10] On September 11, 2007, the band released agatefoldvinyl LP of the album.Cast Your Pod was made available separately oniTunes in July 2009.
A video, created by Mizushima Hine, for "With the Dark" was released on the band'sYouTube page on June 7, 2007. Two additional videos, for "The Shadow Government" and "I'm Impressed", were also later released. A full-length video for "The Mesopotamians" was released on Stereogum.com on October 2.
"Contrecoup" was originally written and recorded in 2005 as part of a challenge issued onthe Next Big Thing in which lexicographer Erin McKean imploredJohn Linnell to use the words "contrecoup", "craniosophic", and "limerent" in a song so that the words could be added to or remain in the dictionary.[11]
"Careful What You Pack" was originally written for the soundtrack of 2009 filmCoraline, though it never appeared in the film.[12]
All tracks are written byJohn Flansburgh andJohn Linnell except as noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm Impressed" | 2:39 | |
| 2. | "Take Out the Trash" | 3:14 | |
| 3. | "Upside Down Frown" | 2:17 | |
| 4. | "Climbing the Walls" | 3:15 | |
| 5. | "Careful What You Pack" | 2:40 | |
| 6. | "The Cap'm" | 3:11 | |
| 7. | "With the Dark" | 3:17 | |
| 8. | "The Shadow Government" | 2:37 | |
| 9. | "Bee of the Bird of the Moth" | 3:31 | |
| 10. | "Withered Hope" |
| 2:54 |
| 11. | "Contrecoup" | 3:11 | |
| 12. | "Feign Amnesia" | 2:29 | |
| 13. | "The Mesopotamians" | 2:57 | |
| Total length: | 38:12 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Brain Problem Situation" | 2:55 |
| 15. | "We Live in a Dump" | 1:40 |
| 16. | "I'm Your Boyfriend Now" | 2:40 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Put Your Hand on the Computer" | 1:57 |
| 2. | "I'm Your Boyfriend Now" | 2:40 |
| 3. | "Why Did You Grow a Beard?" | 1:08 |
| 4. | "We Live in a Dump" | 1:40 |
| 5. | "Brain Problem Situation" | 2:55 |
| 6. | "Sketchy Galore" | 2:21 |
| 7. | "Microphone" | 2:04 |
| 8. | "Vestibule" | 1:59 |
| 9. | "Greasy Kid Stuff" | 1:40 |
| 10. | "Metal Detector (live)" | 3:43 |
| 11. | "Employee of the Month" | 1:24 |
| 12. | "Homunculus" | 2:16 |
| 13. | "No Plan B (live)" | 1:40 |
| 14. | "Morgan in the Morning" | 1:07 |
| 15. | "Kendra McCormick" | 0:51 |
| 16. | "Yeah, the Deranged Millionaire" | 1:23 |
| 17. | "My Other Phone Is a Boom Car" | 0:27 |
| 18. | "I Hear a New World" | 2:09 |
| 19. | "(She Was a) Hotel Detective in the Future" | 2:05 |
| 20. | "Haunted Floating Eye" | 1:25 |
| 21. | "Scott Bower" | 1:23 |
| 22. | "The Mexican Drill" | 1:10 |
| 23. | "Cast Your Pod to the Wind" | 1:26 |
The album reached #9 on the Billboard Top Digital Albums chart.[13]
