They Might Be Giants discography

They Might Be Giants discography

TMBG at Borders Books in Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Releases
↙Studio albums	15
↙Live albums	6
↙Compilation albums	8
↙EPs	21
↙Singles	11
↙Video albums	5

The following is a comprehensive discography of They Might Be Giants, an American alternative rock band comprising several artists including John Flansburgh, John Linnell, Marty Beller, Dan Miller, Danny Weinkauf. The band's first release was the November 4, 1986 eponymously titled They Might Be Giants, but TMBG did not gain commercial success until their March 1990 single "Birdhouse in Your Soul" from the album Flood. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" reached #3 on the United States Modern Rock Tracks chart and #6 on the UK Singles Chart and remains their highest-charting single in both countries. Over the next two decades, They Might Be Giants released studio albums on a near-biennial fashion and currently host a total of thirteen studio albums along with six live albums, eight compilation albums, twenty-one extended plays and six singles.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Studio albums

Year	Title	Chart peaks			Certifications (sales thresholds)	Notes
		UK	US	US Kids
1986	They Might Be Giants Label: Bar/None / Restless Release Date: November 4, 1986 Format: Vinyl, CD, cassette.	—	—	—		Debut album.
1988	Lincoln Label: Bar/None / Restless Release Date: September 25, 1988 Format: Vinyl, CD, cassette	—	89	—
1990	Flood Label: Elektra Release Date: January 5, 1990 Format: Vinyl, CD, cassette	14	75	—	US: Platinum	Major label debut. Certified platinum by the RIAA.
1992	Apollo 18 Label: Elektra Release Date: March 24, 1992 Format: Vinyl, CD, cassette	—	99	—
1994	John Henry Label: Elektra Release Date: September 13, 1994 Format: CD, cassette	—	64	—		First album with a backing band.
1996	Factory Showroom Label: Elektra Release Date: October 8, 1996 Format: CD, cassette	—	89	—
1999	Long Tall Weekend Label: eMusic Release date: July 19, 1999 Format: Digital download, limited edition CD	—	—	—		Downloadable-only album, released on eMusic.com. First full-length online-only album ever to be released by any major artist.
2001	Mink Car Label: Restless Release date: September 11, 2001 Format: CD	—	134	—
2002	No! Label: Idlewild / Rounder Release date: June 11, 2002 Format: Enhanced CD	—	—	1		First children's album.
2004	The Spine Label: Idlewild / Zoë Release date: July 13, 2004 Format: CD	—	130	—
2005	Here Come the ABCs Label: Idlewild / Disney Sound Release date: February 15, 2005 Format: CD, DVD	—	—	6	US: Gold	Second children's album. Major label children's album debut.
2007	The Else Label: Idlewild / Zoë Release date: May 15, 2007 Format: CD, vinyl, digital download.	—	118	—		Released for download on the iTunes Store almost two months before it was released physically. The CD release included a bonus disc, Cast Your Pod to the Wind.
2008	Here Come the 123s Label: Idlewild / Disney Sound Release Date: February 5, 2008 Format: DVD/CD	—	172	9		Third children's album. First album to win a Grammy Award.
2009	Here Comes Science Label: Idlewild / Disney Sound Release Date: September 1, 2009 Format: CD/DVD	—	91	4*		Fourth children's album.
2011	Join Us Label: Idlewild Release Date: July 19, 2011 Format: CD/Vinyl	—	32	—		First 'adult' album since 2007

Live albums

Year	Title	Chart peaks	Notes
		US
1994	Live!! New York City 10/14/94 Label: Elektra Release Date: November 1994	—	Released as a promo CD, and also to members of the "Hello CD of the Month Club".
1998	Severe Tire Damage Label: Restless Release Date: August 11, 1998	186	First major live album.
1999	Live Label: BMG Special Products Release Date: November 23, 1999	—	Condensed version of Severe Tire Damage. Released on CD and cassette.
2004	The Spine Hits the Road Label: Idlewild Release Date: August 31, 2004	—	Download only; exclusive to the iTunes Store.
2004	Almanac Label: Idlewild Release Date: December 10, 2004	—	Download-only album.
2004	Venue Songs Label: Idlewild Release Date: December 10, 2004	—	Download-only album.

Compilations

Year	Title	Notes
1989	Don't Let's Start Label: Rough Trade / One Little Indian	B-side and rarities collection. Released in the UK and West Germany only.
1991	Miscellaneous T Label: Restless / Bar/None Release Date: October 8, 1991	US re-release of Don't Let's Start.
1997	Then: The Earlier Years Label: Restless Release Date: March 25, 1997	Contains 72 tracks, including the band's first two studio albums in their entirety.
1999	Best of the Early Years Label: BMG Special Products Release Date: November 23, 1999	Condensed version of Then: The Earlier Years. Released on cassette as well as CD.
2002	They Got Lost Label: Idlewild, Zoë Release Date: July 23, 2002	Rarities collection, but includes some songs from their online-only studio album Long Tall Weekend.
2002	Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants Label: Rhino Release Date: September 17, 2002	Contains 52 songs on two CDs.
2005	A User's Guide to They Might Be Giants Label: Rhino Release Date: May 3, 2005	Condensed version of Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants (plus the song "John Lee Supertaster")
2005	Venue Songs DVD/CD Label: Idlewild Release Date: November 11, 2005	Collection consisting mainly of "Venue Songs", written specifically for each venue they performed in.
2011	Album Raises New and Troubling Questions Label: Idlewild Release Date: November 1, 2011	Another collection of rarities, including two live tracks and a remix of 'You Probably Get That A Lot', from the album Join Us. The downloadable versions of the album also include five music videos.

An additional compilation titled "Superfueled Freaksickle" was scheduled for a 1997 release, but never appeared. John Flansburgh would state a number of reasons for this, including TMBG not wanting to "flood the market" after the release of Then: The Earlier Years, and a supposed belief that fans would not be interested in the material. Intended as the sequel to Miscellaneous T, this disc would have collected b-sides and rarities from 1990 to 1996.

EPs

Year	Album Information	US Chart
1987	Don't Let's Start Released: 1987 Label: Restless Format:
1988	(She Was A) Hotel Detective Released: November 2, 1987 Label: Restless Format:
1989	They'll Need a Crane Released: February 10, 1989 Label: Restless Format:
1989	Purple Toupee Released: 1989 Label: Format:
1990	Birdhouse in Your Soul Released: 1990 Label: Elektra Format:
1990	Istanbul (Not Constantinople) Released: May 14, 1990 Label: Elektra Format:
1992	The Statue Got Me High Released: 1992 Label: Elektra Format:
1992	I Palindrome I Released: May 7, 1992 Label: Elektra Format:
1992	The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) Released: July 30, 1992 Label: Elektra Format:
1993	Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) Released: September 14, 1993 Label: Elektra Format:
1993	O Tannenbaum Released: 1993 Label: Elektra Format:
1994	Back to Skull Released: August 16, 1994 Label: Format:
1996	S-E-X-X-Y Released: November 26, 1996 Label: Elektra Format:
2000	Working Undercover for the Man Released: May 16, 2000 Label: Good Noise Format:
2001	Boss of Me Released: July 16, 2001 Label: Restless Format:
2001	Man, It's So Loud in Here Released: 2001 Label: Format:
2001	They Might Be Giants in Holidayland Released: November 6, 2001 Label: Format:
2003	Bed, Bed, Bed Released: 2003 Label: Format:
2004	Indestructible Object Released: April 4, 2004 Label: Barsuk Format:
2004	The Spine Surfs Alone Released: 2004 Label: Format:

Videography

Release Date	Title
1999	Direct from Brooklyn
2003	Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)
2005	Here Come the ABCs
2005	Venue Songs DVD/CD
2008	Here Come the 123s
2009	Here Comes Science

Singles

Year	Title	Chart positions		Album
		US Mod.	UK
1987	"Don't Let's Start"			They Might Be Giants
1988	"Ana Ng"	11		Lincoln
1990	"Birdhouse in Your Soul"	3	6	Flood
	"Twisting"	22
	"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"		61
1992	"The Statue Got Me High"	24		Apollo 18
1994	"Snail Shell"	19		John Henry
1996	"S-E-X-X-Y"			Factory Showroom
1998	Doctor Worm			Severe Tire Damage
2001	"Boss of Me"		21	Music from Malcolm in the Middle
2005	"T-Shirt"			Exclusive to iTunes Music Store
2007	"I'm Impressed"			The Else
2011	"Can't Keep Johnny Down"			Join Us

Contributions & other releases

• "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" & "Particle Man" for Tiny Toons in the MTV spoof episode
• "One More Parade" for Rubaiyat: Elektra's 40th Anniversary Tribute CD (1990)
• "SenSurround" for Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie Soundtrack (1995)
• "25 O' Clock" for Testimonial Dinner: The Songs of XTC Tribute CD (1995)
• "Spiraling Shape" for Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy Soundtrack (1996)
• "Dr. Evil" for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Soundtrack (1999)
• "Boss of Me" and "Older" for Music from Malcolm in the Middle (2000)
• "I've Got A Fang" (Demo) for This Is Next Year: A Brooklyn-Based Compilation (2001)
• CD soundtrack to McSweeney's Quarterly, issue 6 (2001) (Contributions, and arrangement of music by others)
• "Darlin' Allison" for Gordon Gano's Hitting the Ground album (2002)
• "So to Be One of Us" for Return to Never Land Soundtrack (2002)
• "Now That You're One of Us" for Return to Never Land Soundtrack (2002)
• "The Long Grift" for Wig in a Box (2003)
• "Savoy Truffle" for Songs from the Material World (2003)
• "Baroque Hoedown" for DisneyMania 2 (2004) and Moog Soundtrack (2004)
• "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" for Future Soundtrack for America (2004)
• "Ana Ng" for Left of the Dial: Dispatches from the '80s Underground Compilation (2004)
• "Through Being Cool" for Sky High Soundtrack (2005)
• "Hot Dog!" for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Soundtrack (2006)
• "There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" a song for the Meet the Robinsons soundtrack (2007)
• "Havalina" (Pixies cover) for "Dig For Fire - a tribute to PIXIES" (2007)
• "Other Father's Song" for the film "Coraline" (2009)
• "Choo Choo Express" for the Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse dvd Choo Choo Express (2008)
• "200 sbemails" for Strong Bad Emails Homestar Runner Email Thunder episode (2008)
• "Courage the Cowardly Dog" for Cartoon Network promo