The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek

The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek
Studio album by Relient K
Released	August 28, 2001
Recorded	Yellow Studios
Genre	Christian pop punk
Length	55:01
Label	Gotee
Producer	Mark Lee Townsend
Relient K chronology
The Creepy EP (2001) The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek (2001) Employee of the Month EP (2002)
Alternative cover
The Gold Edition of the album, with the special gold slip cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Cross Rhythms
Jesus Freak Hideout
Melodic

The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek (often shortened to Anatomy) is the second full-length album released by the Christian rock band Relient K. It was released on August 28, 2001, and peaked at No. 158 on the Billboard 200. On June 26, 2006, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA for sales in excess of 500,000 units in the United States. The cover of the original release is similar to that of the 1999 Ramones release Hey Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology.

The album continues the band's liberal use of pop culture references (such as the song "I'm Lion-O," which is about the popular TV series Thundercats). Song themes range from pop culture to Christian themes—growth in faith ("Pressing On"), backsliding ("What Have You Been Doing Lately?"), worship ("Those Words Are Not Enough," "For the Moments I Feel Faint," and "Less Is More")—and social themes—such as racism and persecution ("Failure to Excommunicate"), judgementalism ("Down in Flames")—to making excuses or blaming others for one's own faults ("Maybe It's Maybeline"). There is also a song about one's experiences in high school ("Sadie Hawkins Dance").

Gotee Records released a "Gold Edition" of this album on October 31, 2006 along with the release of a "Gold Edition" of Two Lefts Don't Make a Right...but Three Do on the same day. The Gold Edition of this album has remixed and remastered sound is similar to Mmhmm (the album was remixed by the same people who mixed Mmhmm) and it has a music video for the song "Pressing On".

Track listing

All tracks are written by Matthew Thiessen, except "Those Words Are Not Enough", written by Matthew Hoopes

Album release

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Kick-Off"	0:39
2.	"Pressing On"	3:29
3.	"Sadie Hawkins Dance"	3:07
4.	"Down in Flames"	4:07
5.	"Maybe It's Maybeline"	3:14
6.	"Breakdown"	3:45
7.	"Those Words Are Not Enough"	4:39
8.	"For the Moments I Feel Faint"	3:47
9.	"Lion Wilson"	0:36
10.	"I'm Lion-O"	2:55
11.	"What Have You Been Doing Lately?"	3:23
12.	"May the Horse Be with You"	2:17
13.	"My Way or the Highway..."	3:47
14.	"Breakfast at Timpani's"	0:22
15.	"The Rest Is Up to You"	4:04
16.	"Failure to Excommunicate"	3:35
17.	"Less Is More" (original version included "Skittles and Combos" as a hidden track; Gold edition included "The Ballad of Tim Eddings" as a hidden track. LP contains both tracks.)	7:17
Total length:		54:53

Gold Edition bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything"	Kurt Heinecke, Mike Nawrocki	2:33

The First Three Gears compilation album edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
18.	"Operation"	2:33
19.	"Jefferson Airplane (Demo)"	3:57
20.	"Pressing On (Back Porch Acoustic)"	6:58

• Track 2 & 7, and all "First Three Gears" bonus tracks, originally from The Creepy EP.

Credits

Band

• Matt Thiessen – lead vocals, guitar, piano
• Matt Hoopes – guitar, backing vocals
• Brian Pittman – bass
• Dave Douglas – drums, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Madalena Burle Marx – cello
• Ann Smith – viola
• Heather Walker – violin
• Cory Smith – violin
• Crystal Brezovsky – french horn
• Kevan Peden – additional vocals
• Scott Cannon – additional vocals
• Kyle Hudson – additional vocals
• Rob Roy Fingerhead – slide guitar
• Jonathan Bowles - additional guitar

References to popular culture

The last line of "Pressing On" is from The Mary Tyler Moore Show theme. "Maybe It's Maybeline" (deliberately misspelled, much like the band's name) refers to the popular Maybelline line of beauty products and its tag line.