Here Comes Science
Here Comes Science | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 1, 2009 | |||
Recorded | 2004, 2009 | |||
Genre | Children's, educational | |||
Length | 39:46 | |||
Label | Disney Sound/Idlewild | |||
Producer | They Might Be Giants, Pat Dillett | |||
They Might Be Giants chronology | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | (66/100)[1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
About.com | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The A.V. Club | B+[4] |
Billboard | (favorable)[5] |
PopMatters | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Uncut | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Under the Radar | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Wired | (favorable)[9] |
Zooglobble | (favorable)[10] |
Here Comes Science is the fourth children's album (and fourteenth studio album overall) from Brooklyn-based band They Might Be Giants, packaged as a CD/DVD set. The album is (as the title suggests) science-themed, and is the third in their line of educational albums, following 2005's Here Come the ABCs and 2008's Here Come the 123s. It was nominated for the "Best Musical Album For Children" Grammy.[11]
Background[]
The band began hinting that the next children's album would be science-themed via interviews around the release of 123s, but the actual title of the album was not confirmed until an August 2008 interview with John Flansburgh for Blogcritics Magazine.[12] The album had been in production since at least late 2007, as a very short sample clip of the music video for the song "How Many Planets" was posted in January 2008 to Colourmovie's website.[13] The band also hired a scientific consultant for this project because, as Flansburgh admitted, "frankly, I was a terrible science student in high school. My last memory of the periodic table was right before I lost consciousness."[14]
Here Comes Science features the songs "I Am a Paleontologist" and "Speed and Velocity", on which bass guitarist Danny Weinkauf and drummer Marty Beller sing their own compositions (respectively). This idea has been a common theme for the band's children's albums, but has never been put in place on any of their adult-oriented albums. "I Am a Paleontologist" features spoken appearances from Weinkauf's two children, Lena and Kai.[15]
"I Am a Paleontologist" was featured in a Payless ShoeSource commercial featuring kids inside a dinosaur museum.
As of 2013, the album has sold 32,000 copies in United States.[16]
Track listing[]
The CD track listing is the same as the DVD track listing, with the exception of the bonus track "Waves", which is absent from the DVD.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Science Is Real" | They Might Be Giants | 1:54 |
2. | "Meet the Elements" | They Might Be Giants | 3:19 |
3. | "I Am a Paleontologist" | Danny Weinkauf | 2:32 |
4. | "The Bloodmobile" | They Might Be Giants | 2:21 |
5. | "Electric Car" (with Robin Goldwasser) | They Might Be Giants | 3:22 |
6. | "My Brother the Ape" | They Might Be Giants | 3:06 |
7. | "What Is a Shooting Star?" | Louis Singer, Hy Zaret | 1:38 |
8. | "How Many Planets?" | They Might Be Giants | 1:56 |
9. | "Why Does the Sun Shine?" | Singer, Zaret | 2:36 |
10. | "Why Does the Sun Really Shine?" | They Might Be Giants | 1:51 |
11. | "Roy G. Biv" | They Might Be Giants | 2:07 |
12. | "Put It to the Test" | They Might Be Giants | 1:41 |
13. | "Photosynthesis" | They Might Be Giants | 1:59 |
14. | "Cells" | They Might Be Giants | 2:41 |
15. | "Speed and Velocity" | Marty Beller | 1:48 |
16. | "Computer Assisted Design" | They Might Be Giants | 0:54 |
17. | "Solid Liquid Gas" | They Might Be Giants | 1:28 |
18. | "Here Comes Science" | They Might Be Giants | 0:16 |
19. | "The Ballad of Davy Crockett (in Outer Space)" | Tom W. Blackburn, George Bruns | 2:17 |
Total length: | 39:46 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
20. | "Waves" | They Might Be Giants | 1:32 |
Total length: | 41:18 |
Personnel[]
Musicians[]
- John Flansburgh – lead vocals on 1, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19; backup vocals on 5, 17; guitar; etc.
- John Linnell – lead vocals on 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 17, 19, 20; backup vocals on 10, 16; keyboards; etc.
- Dan Miller – guitar
- Danny Weinkauf – bass guitar; lead vocals on 3
- Marty Beller – drums; lead vocals on 15
- Robin Goldwasser – lead vocals on 4, 5, 8; minor vocals on 13
- Hannah & Niffer Levine – vocals on 16
- Lena & Kai Weinkauf – vocals on 3
- Dan Levine – arrangement on 5; trombone on 1 and 5; bass trombone on 1 and 5; alto horn on 5; euphonium on 5
- Stan Harrison – tenor saxophone on 1 and 5; baritone saxophone on 1 and 5; flute on 5
- Curt Ramm – trumpet on 1 and 5; flugelhorn on 5
- Michael Leonhart – trumpet on 1 and 5; flugelhorn on 5; mellophone on 5
- Jonathan Levine – piccolo on 5; alto flute on 5; alto saxophone on 5; bass clarinet on 5
Production Crew[]
- David Agnew – executive producer
- John Linnell – music production; DVD production; creative direction
- John Flansburgh – music production; DVD production; creative direction
- Pat Dillett – music production; mixing
- Eric Siegel – science consultant
- Jon Altschuler – engineering
- Greg Thompson – engineering
- Albert Caiati – engineering
- Adam Robinson – engineering
- UE Nastasi – mastering
- Melissa Jun – design
- David Cowles – cover illustration
- Anaheed Alani – copyediting
Video Production Crew[]
- DVD Produced by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment In Association with Idewild Records
- Music Performed by They Might Be Giants
- Visuals Produced by Pat Dillett
- Flansburgh & Linnell Animation by David Cowles
- Videos Animated by David Cowles, Jeremy Galante and Divya Srinivasan
- Animation Produced at Colourmovie, Feel Good Anyway and Tiny Inventions
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Critic Reviews for Here Comes Science". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
- ^ Truitt, Warren. "They Might Be Giants - Here Comes Science" Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine. About.com. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "Here Comes Science - They Might Be Giants". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
- ^ Murray, Noel (2009-09-01). "They Might Be Giants: Here Comes Science". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
- ^ Nagy, Evie (2009-09-18). "They Might Be Giants, 'Here Comes Science'". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
- ^ Conaton, Chris (2009-09-01). "They Might Be Giants: Here Comes Science" PopMatters. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "CG: They Might Be Giants". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 2010-01-31.
- ^ Passman, Aaron (2009-09-28). "They Might Be Giants: Here Comes Science". Under the Radar. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ Thill, Scott (2009-08-31). "They Might Be Giants Keeps Pop Kid-Friendly With Smart Science". Underwire. Wired. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
- ^ "CD/DVD Review: Here Comes Science - They Might Be Giants" Zooglobble. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
- ^ Grammy 2010 Nominees
- ^ An Interview with John Flansburgh blogcritics. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
- ^ TMBG – Planets Colourmovie. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
- ^ John Flansburgh reveals plans... friedricksburg.com. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
- ^ Here Comes Science liner notes.
- ^ "Upcoming Releases 2013". Hits Daily Double. January 25, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
External links[]
- Here Comes Science at This Might Be A Wiki
- Here Comes Science at Metacritic
- 2009 albums
- They Might Be Giants albums
- Children's music albums by American artists
- Idlewild Recordings albums
- Kindie rock albums
- Disney Sound albums
- Songs about science