Flood

[edit ] Loading... If loading fails, click here . See Discography Glossary for definition of various terms. The Johns spent two-thirds of this album's recording budget on four songs: "Birdhouse In Your Soul ", "We Want A Rock ", "Your Racist Friend ", and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople) "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)") ", which were produced by the duo Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley (who would both later work with the band again on Mink Car ). Flood was also the first time that the band would work with Pat Dillett , although his contribution was as a second engineer. After Flood , Pat became a frequent producer on subsequent TMBG albums. Although the mixing process was analog , Flood was the first TMBG album to be recorded digitally . Flansburgh says that when he initially found the photo, he wanted Flood' s cover art to include only the image, with no text, even though it might pose a commercial risk. Elizabeth Van Itallie , Flansburgh's design-inclined friend who took the photo from the back cover of They'll Need A Crane "They'll Need A Crane (EP)") , suggested that the image could in fact be improved with text, so she and Flansburgh created the union seal-style Flood emblem with the help of Barbara Lipp of Frieda . [John Linnell:] "[We] were looking for a graphic that was something along the lines of a house, with a mailbox... with water half-way up the first floor. That just seemed like it would be an interesting album cover. We never found that photo though. John [Flansburgh] went through about 5,000 photos at the Time-Life archives and nothing turned up." "It seemed like the kind of photo you've seen a million times," Flansburgh added. The album generated two commercial singles: Birdhouse In Your Soul "Birdhouse In Your Soul (EP)") and Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (EP) "Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (EP)") ; "Twisting "Twisting (Promo)") " and "Your Racist Friend "Your Racist Friend (Promo)") " had promotional releases. "Birdhouse" became one of the group's biggest hits in the US, spending 11 weeks on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Chart , eventually peaking at 3. It was most successful in Britain, reaching number 6 in the official chart . Likewise, "Twisting " spent 7 weeks on the same chart, but topped out at 22. "Particle Man " also became one of the group's most recognizable songs, but was never actually released as a single. However, both "Particle Man" and "Istanbul" were used in videos for the children's television show Tiny Toon Adventures , both of which proved to be quite popular. Elektra Records sold blue plug-in night lights to promote Flood , in reference to the single, "Birdhouse In Your Soul ". Copies of the European release sold in Germany came with an insert containing the lyrics translated into German. Song titles included "Vogelhaus in deiner Seele ", "Jemand Verrückt Ständig Meinen Stuhl " and "Sie Könnten Riesen Sein "They Might Be Giants (Song)") ". Press releases for Flood are available for viewing here and here . The latter, a German press release, is continued here , along with an Israeli press release, which can be found here") . In 2014, Flood was reissued on vinyl by Asbestos Records for Record Store Day Black Friday, with an audiophile pressing also released by European label Music On Vinyl. On the Asbestos Records release, the deadwax on side A is inscribed with the phrase "A brand new reissue for 2014," a reference to lyrics from the album's opening track, "Theme From Flood ." For unknown reasons, "Lucky Ball & Chain " and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople) "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)") " have been crossfaded, with the result that it is possible to hear the violin solo of the latter track while the former is still fading out. In 2020, TMBG embarked on a nationwide tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album, which lasted until 2024 due to reschedules.