The Else

"The Mesopotamians" redirects here. For the ethnic group, see Iraqi people. For the historical region, see Mesopotamia.

The Else is the twelfth studio album by rock group They Might Be Giants, released by Idlewild Recordings on May 15, 2007. The album was produced in part by the Dust Brothers, along with Pat Dillett and the band.

The Else
Studio album by They Might Be Giants
Released	May 15, 2007
Recorded	2006–2007
Studio	Kampo Studios, Manhattan Avatar Studios, Manhattan Loho Studios, Manhattan Collyer Brothers Studio, Brooklyn Soy Bomb Studio, Sullivan County The Boat, Los Angeles
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	38:12
Label	Idlewild, Zoë Records
Producer	The Dust Brothers Pat Dillett They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants chronology
Venue Songs DVD/CD (2005) The Else (2007) Here Come the 123s (2008)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(73/100) [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	B [3]
IGN	(8.5/10) [4]
The Music Box	[5]
Now	[1]
Pitchfork Media	(5.3/10) [6]
PopMatters	[7]
Robert Christgau	[8]
Spin	(6/10) [1]
Stylus	B+ [9]

The Else was first available for download through the iTunes Store on May 15, 2007. The CD version was released in stores on July 10, 2007, with initial runs accompanied by a full-length bonus disc of rare material, Cast Your Pod to the Wind (the title being a parody of jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi’s 1962 hit "Cast Your Fate to the Wind").^[10] On September 11, 2007, the band released a gatefold vinyl LP of the album. Cast Your Pod was made available separately on iTunes in July 2009.

"Contrecoup" was originally written and recorded in 2005 as part of a challenge issued on the Next Big Thing in which lexicographer Erin McKean implored John Linnell to use the words "contrecoup", "craniosophic", and "limerent" in a song so that the words could be added to or remain in the dictionary.^[11]

A video, created by Mizushima Hine, for "With the Dark" was released on the band's YouTube page on June 7, 2007. Two additional videos, for "The Shadow Government" and "I'm Impressed", were also later released. A full-length video for "The Mesopotamians" was released on Stereogum.com on October 2.

"Careful What You Pack" was originally written for the soundtrack of 2009 film Coraline, but it was not used in the film.^[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Flansburgh and John Linnell except as noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"I'm Impressed"		2:39
2.	"Take Out the Trash"		3:14
3.	"Upside Down Frown"		2:17
4.	"Climbing the Walls"		3:15
5.	"Careful What You Pack"		2:40
6.	"The Cap'm"		3:11
7.	"With the Dark"		3:17
8.	"The Shadow Government"		2:37
9.	"Bee of the Bird of the Moth"		3:31
10.	"Withered Hope"	John Flansburgh John Linnell Mike Simpson John King	2:54
11.	"Contrecoup"		3:11
12.	"Feign Amnesia"		2:29
13.	"The Mesopotamians"		2:57
Total length:			38:12

Japan release bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Brain Problem Situation"	2:55
15.	"We Live in a Dump"	1:40
16.	"I'm Your Boyfriend Now"	2:40

Cast Your Pod to the Wind (bonus disc)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Put Your Hand on the Computer"	1:57
2.	"I'm Your Boyfriend Now"	2:40
3.	"Why Did You Grow a Beard?"	1:08
4.	"We Live in a Dump"	1:40
5.	"Brain Problem Situation"	2:55
6.	"Sketchy Galore"	2:21
7.	"Microphone"	2:04
8.	"Vestibule"	1:59
9.	"Greasy Kid Stuff"	1:40
10.	"Metal Detector (live)"	3:43
11.	"Employee of the Month"	1:24
12.	"Homunculus"	2:16
13.	"No Plan B (live)"	1:40
14.	"Morgan in the Morning"	1:07
15.	"Kendra McCormick"	0:51
16.	"Yeah, the Deranged Millionaire"	1:23
17.	"My Other Phone Is a Boom Car"	0:27
18.	"I Hear a New World"	2:09
19.	"(She Was a) Hotel Detective in the Future"	2:05
20.	"Haunted Floating Eye"	1:25
21.	"Scott Bower"	1:23
22.	"The Mexican Drill"	1:10
23.	"Cast Your Pod to the Wind"	1:26

Personnel

They Might Be Giants

• John Flansburgh – songwriting, vocals, guitars, programming
• John Linnell – songwriting, vocals, keyboards, programming

Backing band

• Marty Beller – drums
• Dan Miller – guitar; piano on "Careful What You Pack"
• Danny Weinkauf – bass guitar

Additional musicians

• Mauro Refosco – percussion (track 9)
• Justin Meldal-Johnsen – acoustic bass guitar (9)
• Dan Levine – trombone (9, 10)
• Stan Harrison – saxophone (9, 10)
• Jim O'Connor – trumpet (9, 10)
• Lyle Workman – guitar (6, 9)
• Sharon Jones – vocals (10)

Production

• They Might Be Giants – producers (except 3, 6, 9, 10, 12)
• Patrick Dillett – producer (except 3, 6, 9, 10, 12), engineer
• The Dust Brothers – producers (2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12)
• UE Nastasi – mastering
• Yuki Takahashi – engineer
• Greg Thompson – engineer
• Jon Altschuler – engineer
• Marcel Dzama – artwork, costumes, photography

Reception

The album reached #9 on the Billboard Top Digital Albums chart.^[13]