They Might Be Giants (album)

They Might Be Giants is the eponymous first album from They Might Be Giants, also known as the "Pink Album". It was released in 1986 (see 1986 in music).

The lyrics on the Pink Album already feature the wry, humorous treatments of dark themes that would frequently reappear in TMBG's later work: death and mortality ("Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes", "I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die", "Youth Culture Killed My Dog"); obsession and delusion ("32 Footsteps", "Absolutely Bill's Mood"); working at a dispiriting, menial job ("Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head'), no job at all ("Alienation's For The Rich") or sometimes the just plain weird ("Chess Piece Face"). The music is spare, mostly uptempo synthesizer-and-guitar pop punctuated with odd sound samples and occasionally veering into country- or folk-like arrangements. "Rhythm Section Want Ad" comments on the perceived oddity of TMBG's style and then two-man roster. "Don't Let's Start" was the album's best-known song.

Track listing

1. "Everything Right Is Wrong Again"
2. "Put Your Hand Inside The Puppet Head"
3. "Number Three"
4. "Don't Let's Start"
5. "Hide Away Folk Family"
6. "32 Footsteps"
7. "Toddler Hiway"
8. "Rabid Child"
9. "Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes"
10. "(She Was A) Hotel Detective"
11. "She's An Angel"
12. "Youth Culture Killed My Dog"
13. "Boat Of Car"
14. "Absolutely Bill's Mood"
15. "Chess Piece Face"
16. "I Hope That I Get Old Before I Die"
17. "Alienation's For The Rich"
18. "The Day"
19. "Rhythm Section Want Ad"

External Links

• They Might Be Giants (Debut Album) page on This Might Be A Wiki