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| Factory Showroom | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by They Might Be Giants | ||||
| Released | October 8, 1996 | |||
| Recorded | December 1995 – August 1996 April 27, 1996 ("I Can Hear You") | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 42:41 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Pat Dillett, They Might Be Giants | |||
| They Might Be Giants chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Factory Showroom | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Alternative Press | |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide |  |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  |
Factory Showroom is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, released in 1996 by Elektra Records. It was the band's first album to be produced by Pat Dillett, who would go on to work with the band on all subsequent albums, as well as their first album to feature a second guitarist, Eric Schermerhorn.
Two years after Factory Showroom's release, John Flansburgh cited the album as his favorite by the duo. Feeling that Elektra did not do enough to promote the album, among other disputes, They Might Be Giants left the label after its release.
Factory Showroom was released on vinyl for the first time in March 2012 by Asbestos Records.
Song notes
- "I Can Hear You" was recorded at the Edison Laboratory on a wax cylinder phonograph without the use of electricity.
- "New York City" is a cover of a song by the band Cub.
- "James K. Polk" is a song about James Knox Polk, the 11th President of the United States. A sparser, drum machine driven version had previously appeared on the Istanbul (Not Constantinople) EP (1990). It features singing saw by Julian Koster.
- The hidden track (track 0) on the CD entitled "Token Back to Brooklyn" is accessible by rewinding from the beginning of track 1 ("S-E-X-X-Y"), and is not playable on all CD players. It can also be heard on the Internet-only album Long Tall Weekend (1999) and the rarities compilation They Got Lost (2002).
- A cassette version of the album that claimed to be a "promotional item" from Elektra was leaked by an unknown source. Along with most songs from the standard release (including "Token Back to Brooklyn" but excluding "I Can Hear You"), this version also included recordings of "On the Drag" and "Older" that have not reappeared on an official release, as well as "Sensurround", "Counterfeit Faker", "Certain People I Could Name", "Unforgotten", "Reprehensible", "They Got Lost", and "Rat Patrol". All of these tracks were outtakes from the Factory Showroom sessions and were eventually released on either the S-E-X-X-Y EP (1996), Long Tall Weekend, or They Got Lost.
Track listing
All tracks are written by They Might Be Giants, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 0. | "Token Back to Brooklyn" | 1:01 |
| 1. | "S-E-X-X-Y" (They Might Be Giants, Hal Cragin) | 3:52 |
| 2. | "Till My Head Falls Off" | 2:53 |
| 3. | "How Can I Sing Like a Girl?" | 4:32 |
| 4. | "Exquisite Dead Guy" | 2:02 |
| 5. | "Metal Detector" | 3:50 |
| 6. | "New York City" (Lisa Marr, Robynn Iwata, Lisa Nielsen) | 3:02 |
| 7. | "Your Own Worst Enemy" | 1:45 |
| 8. | "XTC vs. Adam Ant" | 3:36 |
| 9. | "Spiraling Shape" | 4:24 |
| 10. | "James K. Polk" (They Might Be Giants, Matthew Hill) | 3:05 |
| 11. | "Pet Name" | 4:04 |
| 12. | "I Can Hear You" | 1:57 |
| 13. | "The Bells Are Ringing" | 3:31 |
| Total length: | 43:42 | |
- "Token Back to Brooklyn" is a hidden track placed within the pregap of track 1.
Personnel
Credits adapted from CD liner notes, except where noted.
They Might Be Giants
- John Linnell – vocal, keyboards, horns, etc.
- John Flansburgh – vocal, guitar, etc.
- Brian Doherty – drums
- Graham Maby – bass guitar
- Eric Schermerhorn – lead guitar
Additional musicians
- Yuval Gabay – drums (0)
- Krystof Witek – violin (1, 8)
- Gregor Kitzis – violin (1)
- Ron Lawrence – viola (1)
- Garo Yellin – cello (1, 4, 7–8)
- Tim Newman – trombone (1)
- Jim O'Connor – trumpet (1)
- Hal Cragin – bass guitar (1, 6, 8)
- Sue Hadjopoulos – congas (1, 11), percussion (1, 11)
- Mo' Funky Element – drum break sample (1)
- Jay Sherman-Godfrey – acoustic guitar (3), electric slide guitar (3)
- Steve Calhoon – drums (6)
- Lyle Workman – lead guitar (6)
- Ralph Farris – viola (8)
- Amy Allison – vocal (8)
- Steve Light – vibraphone (9)
- Julian Koster – singing saw (10)
- Ron Caswell – tuba (12)
- Amanda Homi – vocals (13)
Technical
- Pat Dillett – producer
- They Might Be Giants – producers
- Kurt Hoffman – string and horn arranger (1)
- Tom Durack – mixing (1–3, 5–6)
- Artie Smith – drum production
- Tony Gillis – engineer
- Greg Thompson – engineer
- David Goodermuth – engineer
- Albert Caiati – engineer
- Peter Dilg – producer (12)
- UE Nastasi – mastering
- Barbara Glauber (Heavy Meta) – design
- Beverly Joel – design assistant
- James Wojcik – photography
- Jonathan Hoefler – They Might Be Giants typeface
Charts
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 116 |
References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Factory Showroom – They Might Be Giants". AllMusic. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
- Ho, Catherine (January 1997). "Reviews / Editing Factory Showroom". Alternative Press. 11 (102): 84.
- Webber, Brad (November 22, 1996). "They Might Be Giants: Factory Showroom (Elektra)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
- Christgau, Robert (2000). "They Might Be Giants: Factory Showroom". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
- Considine, J. D. (2004). "They Might Be Giants". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 808–09. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ "Factory Showroom — They Might Be Giants". They Might Be Giants. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- Springer, Matt; Bender, Brian (October 1998). "Pop-Culture-Corn: Music Q and A with They Might Be Giants". popculturecorn.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2008.
- They Might Be Giants (1996). Factory Showroom (CD liner notes). Elektra Records. 61862-2.
- Schulte, Tom. "They Might Be Giants - Long Tall Weekend Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
- "They Might Be Giants ARIA Chart history (albums) 1988 to 2024". ARIA. Retrieved July 28, 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
External links
- Factory Showroom at This Might Be A Wiki