Why is the world in love again? Why are we marching hand in hand?

Calling all MetaFilter musicians! The time has come to pay tribute to one of the greatest albums of all time: They Might Be Giants' Flood!

(greenish gave me permission to post this.)

On January 13, 1990, an album was released that catapulted two nerdy guys from Brooklyn into the uppermost stratosphere of rock stardom. (Maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but play along.) I speak, of course, of that "brand new record for 1990, They Might Be Giants' brand new album Flood."

Time has flown by, as it does, and we now find ourselves faced with the impending 25th anniversary of Flood's release, so what better way to recognize this momentous occasion than with a tribute album? I'm looking for 19 musicians to cover the album's 19 tracks, so let's use this thread to accumulate volunteers and select/assign songs. Any and all styles of music are welcome.

I'll take on any necessary duties of coordinating the project, and I volunteer to design the cover art. If we start now, I see no reason why we can't officially release on January 13, 2015.

Sneak out this glass of bourbon, and we'll go.

posted by Faint of Butt (205 comments total)

I can take the wheel on Road Movie to Berlin
posted by TheNegativeInfluence at 4:20 PM on October 9, 2014 [2 favorites]

(It has come to my attention that Flood was released on January 15, 1990, not January 13. That just gives us two more days to do this, then. Carry on.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:11 AM on October 10, 2014

So tempting to do Birdhouse but I think I'll do Dead if that's okay.
posted by chococat at 7:26 PM on October 10, 2014 [1 favorite]

This is a great idea. I'd love to do Whistling in the Dark.
posted by umbú at 1:38 PM on October 11, 2014 [2 favorites]

Can I nominate uncleozzy to do Minimum Wage? I'd love to hear that.
posted by umbú at 1:43 PM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'll take a crack at Women and Men!
posted by potch at 11:19 PM on October 11, 2014 [1 favorite]

Oh. Well. This is tempting. I haven't had the time to do anything musically in many months and everything is in disarray but I'll run it by Mrs. The Jackal and see if there's a thing she wants to do.

("Birdhouse" is one of her very favorite songs ever but I can't imagine trying to take it on.)

I'm going to suggest maybe having a few "at large" musicians ready to take on any song in case people flake.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 2:49 AM on October 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Happy to volunteer, happy to cover whatever doesn't get volunteered for.
posted by motty at 7:06 AM on October 12, 2014

I would love to do Birdhouse in Your Soul! I wanted to contribute to the MeMusic Radiohead cover project a few years ago, but never got the chance to finish my tracks. I will definitely do it this time!
posted by chara at 7:41 AM on October 12, 2014

Karlos, would you like to collaborate on that song?
posted by chara at 7:41 AM on October 12, 2014

OK, I slept on it and I still really can't decide. So if it's an option, I'd like to take the last song unclaimed from among Hot Cha, Sapphire Bullets and We Want a Rock.
posted by valrus at 9:20 AM on October 12, 2014

Never mind, made a decision. We Want a Rock, please!
posted by valrus at 11:37 AM on October 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Accompanied by the lovely Margalo Epps, I would like to record Lucky Ball and Chain.
posted by mbrubeck at 11:49 AM on October 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Here's where we stand right now:

01. "Theme From Flood" --
02. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" -- chara
03. "Lucky Ball & Chain" -- mbrubeck and Margalo Epps
04. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" --
05. "Dead" -- chococat
06. "Your Racist Friend" --
07. "Particle Man" --
08. "Twisting" --
09. "We Want a Rock" -- valrus
10. "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair" --
11. "Hearing Aid" --
12. "Minimum Wage" --
13. "Letterbox" --
14. "Whistling in the Dark" -- umbú
15. "Hot Cha" --
16. "Women & Men" -- potch
17. "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" --
18. "They Might Be Giants" --
19. "Road Movie To Berlin" -- TheNegativeInfluence

I'm surprised nobody's claimed Particle Man or Istanbul yet.
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:30 PM on October 12, 2014

Bluebar is murmuring about wanting to do Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love. He should be over shortly to confirm.
posted by umbú at 6:58 PM on October 12, 2014

Um, yes, chara. Yes, I would.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 8:11 PM on October 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm going to see if I can get my daughter to sing Particle Man while I accompany on ukulele, but please don't let this hinder any actual MeFi musicians from signing up for it. I'm a very beginning amateur, and she may be too cool a teenager to sing anything as goofy as Particle Man.
posted by Rock Steady at 7:04 AM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

This almost tempts me to offer something, although I have no instruments or anything. Flood was the first music CD I owned, and still one of the very few of that number I have.

The band has been heard saying that Flood, after 19 years, holds the record for the album that took the longest to go platinum.
posted by JHarris at 7:12 AM on October 13, 2014 [3 favorites]

(Holy crap, I just discovered that I can still quote many of the songs on Flood verbatim, directly from memory.)
posted by JHarris at 11:08 AM on October 13, 2014 [4 favorites]

I'm definitely an instrumentalist, and not sure how I'd do singing. I'm interested in doing a version of *something*. The easiest in my mind are Hearing Aid or Hot Cha, but I'd be flexible if something else is out there. Also if someone wants to collaborate on vocals, I'd be cool with that. I can send over the instrumental track or something.
posted by lownote at 1:23 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Crap, "Dead" is taken. I'm in for "Letterbox," and may even throw in some accordion.
posted by the_bone at 2:13 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

lownote, why not take "Minimum Wage"?
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:18 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

If I had a recording setup, I would instantly take "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair" which forever inspired my love of choruses that do 2x fast chord changes and constantly climbing and looping melodies.

But alas I do not, so I will just hope whoever takes it, does it justice.
posted by Brainy at 3:12 PM on October 13, 2014

That is very logical, I'll take MInimum Wage if no one has!
posted by lownote at 3:52 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Did somebody call me?

(But seriously, lownote, rock out with your bad self on Minimum Wage. I couldn't help throwing this together when I saw umbú's comment this morning, but I'm not married to it.)
posted by uncleozzy at 4:15 PM on October 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

On the one hand, I want in. On the other hand, I am not very good*, and don't want to take any songs away from real musicians. On the third hand, this might spur me to get around to playing with multi-tracking software, as I have long been meaning to do...

I am torn.

Maybe "They Might Be Giants"? If nobody else claims it?

* I play ukulele at a beginner-to-intermediate level, and kazoo at what might qualify as a professional level, which helps explain why there is no such profession.
posted by Shmuel510 at 4:48 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

That was awesome, uncleozzy! I loved it! lownote, do you think you can top that, or would you rather try a different track?

(I never meant to cause strife between MeFites, and I apologize for any distress this project may engender.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:10 PM on October 13, 2014

I'd like to try "They Might Be Giants" of the ones left to claim, but Shmuel510, let me know if you are doing this one? I don't want to discourage you from doing one!
posted by Slothomatic at 5:22 PM on October 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Slothomatic: you can take it!

I'm thinking it might be better if I did a non-Flood song on the side; that way I'm sort of playing along without getting in the way.
posted by Shmuel510 at 6:32 PM on October 13, 2014

Thanks Shmuel510 - I hope you'll still try recording a song though... "Theme from Flood" seems like it would be a good ukelele/kazoo mix!
posted by Slothomatic at 6:50 PM on October 13, 2014

(Or if you change your mind, I can take the theme...)
posted by Slothomatic at 7:04 PM on October 13, 2014

I'll take Hot Cha. Or Your Racist Friend. Or Twisting. Or, really, anything. This is probably one of my all-time favorite albums, and the first real life-changing album I heard as a young teen.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 8:48 PM on October 13, 2014 [3 favorites]

Maybe a bunch of MeFites who like to sing and want to contribute but don't feel up to taking on a whole track by themselves could collaborate on "Theme from Flood."
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 2:58 AM on October 14, 2014 [8 favorites]

Hey, nice stuff! Yeah, I'm flexible to do something else if there're songs available. This sounds fun but I don't like... have my heart forever and ever set on doing something.
posted by lownote at 5:20 AM on October 14, 2014

Regarding "Theme From Flood," it occurs to me that adapting the lyrics might not be amiss:

Why is the world in love again?
Why are we marching hand in hand?
Why are the ocean levels rising up?
It's a brand new album
For twenty-fifteen
It's MetaFilter's cover album...
Flood!
posted by Shmuel510 at 8:30 AM on October 14, 2014 [4 favorites]

Why is The Blue in love again?
Why are we spousing hand in hand?
Why are the Quonsar levels rising up?
posted by Rock Steady at 11:36 AM on October 14, 2014 [4 favorites]

Wait wait…doesn't have to be done until January? Yes! I'm in! For "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair!"

Lownote, wanna join forces? It would be interesting being in a band with you. Because that's never happened before.
posted by Brainy at 12:14 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'm a total novice and in fact this'll be the first time I've recorded something to share on MetaFilter, or indeed anywhere. So if anyone is hesitant because they don't know what they're doing: you won't be alone!
posted by mbrubeck at 7:21 PM on October 14, 2014 [2 favorites]

if it doesn't have to be done till January I'll take Particle Man! Because someone must.
posted by daisystomper at 10:27 PM on October 14, 2014 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Brainy!
posted by lownote at 5:53 AM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

All right; let's update the list:

01. "Theme From Flood" --
02. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" -- chara and Karlos the Jackal
03. "Lucky Ball & Chain" -- mbrubeck and Margalo Epps
04. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" --
05. "Dead" -- chococat
06. "Your Racist Friend" --
07. "Particle Man" -- daisystomper
08. "Twisting" --
09. "We Want a Rock" -- valrus
10. "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair" -- Brainy and lownote
11. "Hearing Aid" --
12. "Minimum Wage" -- uncleozzy
13. "Letterbox" -- the_bone
14. "Whistling in the Dark" -- umbú
15. "Hot Cha" --
16. "Women & Men" -- potch
17. "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" --
18. "They Might Be Giants" -- Slothomatic
19. "Road Movie To Berlin" -- TheNegativeInfluence

Looking good, folks!
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:33 AM on October 15, 2014

Hmm, January you say? Since I was too slow to grab Particle Man and don't feel like I could pull off the high-profile opening track, I'll take a stab at Hearing Aid. (If someone's looking for a track to contribute vocals to, I'd definitely welcome the help!)
posted by usonian at 7:51 AM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

I just listened through the top half of Flood and have two notes: "Birdhouse" is one of the rare songs that actually gives me tingly scalp (although the pattern is sort of random; Kesha does it too); "Your Racist Friend" might be the 1990est thing ever recorded (slap bass sample, never change), but goddamn if that isn't also probably the heaviest guitar to come out that year.
posted by uncleozzy at 10:57 AM on October 15, 2014 [3 favorites]

i'd like to try "theme from flood" if there isn't someone else who has an awesome plan for covering it already :-)
posted by philbutrin at 11:16 AM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

Since Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love remains unclaimed, may I claim it?
posted by Grangousier at 12:19 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

All right, I'll take the "Hot Cha", if it's still available. It is somehow very important to me that the coughing is in the cover.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 1:57 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

01. "Theme From Flood" -- philbutrin
02. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" -- chara and Karlos the Jackal
03. "Lucky Ball & Chain" -- mbrubeck and Margalo Epps
04. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" --
05. "Dead" -- chococat
06. "Your Racist Friend" --
07. "Particle Man" -- daisystomper
08. "Twisting" --
09. "We Want a Rock" -- valrus
10. "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair" -- Brainy and lownote
11. "Hearing Aid" -- usonian
12. "Minimum Wage" -- uncleozzy
13. "Letterbox" -- the_bone
14. "Whistling in the Dark" -- umbú
15. "Hot Cha" -- The Great Big Mulp
16. "Women & Men" -- potch
17. "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" -- Grangousier
18. "They Might Be Giants" -- Slothomatic
19. "Road Movie To Berlin" -- TheNegativeInfluence

That's Side 2 accounted for! The only tracks left unclaimed are "Twisting," "Your Racist Friend" and (for some reason) "Istanbul." We can do this!
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:30 PM on October 15, 2014

I will do something, for sure, with Istanbul.
posted by cortex at 5:09 PM on October 15, 2014 [3 favorites]

I did something with Istanbul.

I will presumably work on it some more in the next three months.
posted by cortex at 5:52 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

Seriously no-one is claiming 'Your Racist Friend'?

If no-one else wants it, I'll do it, otherwise they can do it and I'll do Twisting.
posted by motty at 6:46 PM on October 15, 2014 [1 favorite]

That was amazing, cortex. You have no idea how much I loved that.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:55 AM on October 16, 2014

It's like it's my birthday.
posted by JHarris at 12:28 PM on October 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

It's not my birthday.
posted by mbrubeck at 1:08 PM on October 16, 2014 [3 favorites]

It's not todaaay. It's not my birthday, so why must you lash out at me?
When the word comes down,
never more will be around.
Thought I wish
we were there,
I was less than we could bear,
And I'm not the only dust my mother raised.

Oh, I'm not the only dust my mother raised.

(I admit I went to the TMBG Wiki to pin down the lyrics, but I promise the song was going through my head repeatedly while typing them out.)
posted by JHarris at 3:01 PM on October 16, 2014

It may not be your birthday, but you're older than you've ever been.
posted by usonian at 3:29 PM on October 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

I've now got three different really questionable in-the-style-of covers I might work on just as bonus recordings of some these. Willie Nelson's "Dead"? Johnny Cash's "Women and Men"? Tori Amos's "Racist Friend"? Sure! Maybe. We'll see.
posted by cortex at 3:42 PM on October 16, 2014 [4 favorites]

You guys are delighting in saying words that get songs stuck in my head, aren't you. Well, I can do that too!!

In my prison cell I think these words...

Thirty-two footsteps leading to the room where the paint doesn't want to dry...

I remember the year I went to camp...

Turn around, turn around, there's a thing there that can be found...

Make a hole with a gun perpendicular, to the name of this town on a desktop globe...

Don't don't don't let's start, this is the worst part...

(Great, all I accomplished was getting them stuck in my own head. Inside my own puppet head....)
posted by JHarris at 6:54 PM on October 16, 2014

(I'm goin' down to Cowtown, the cow's a friend to me....)
posted by JHarris at 6:55 PM on October 16, 2014

...in Buenos Aires....
posted by JHarris at 7:00 PM on October 16, 2014

Done!
posted by the_bone at 10:15 PM on October 16, 2014 [4 favorites]

Fantastic work, the_bone! I love the harmonies.

Isn't somebody going to step up for "Twisting"?
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:37 AM on October 17, 2014

There's a doctor, a waitress, a fireman in a hat.
There's a knock with a gun.
There's enough so they'll never know which one.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:17 AM on October 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

I'll do 'Twisting'. Wish this were all for Lincoln, but Flood'll do jest fine. Groovy.

Hang on, hang on TIGHT!
posted by BlackPebble at 12:16 PM on October 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

the_bone: Awesome and sparkly!
cortex: Awesome and unhinged!
uncleozzy: Awesome and crunchy!

This is gonna rawk.
posted by BlackPebble at 12:21 PM on October 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

01. "Theme From Flood" -- philbutrin
02. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" -- chara and Karlos the Jackal
03. "Lucky Ball & Chain" -- mbrubeck and Margalo Epps
04. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" -- cortex
05. "Dead" -- chococat
06. "Your Racist Friend" -- motty
07. "Particle Man" -- daisystomper
08. "Twisting" -- BlackPebble
09. "We Want a Rock" -- valrus
10. "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair" -- Brainy and lownote
11. "Hearing Aid" -- usonian
12. "Minimum Wage" -- uncleozzy
13. "Letterbox" -- the_bone
14. "Whistling in the Dark" -- umbú
15. "Hot Cha" -- The Great Big Mulp
16. "Women & Men" -- potch
17. "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" -- Grangousier
18. "They Might Be Giants" -- Slothomatic
19. "Road Movie To Berlin" -- TheNegativeInfluence

And that's everybody! If anyone else wants to participate in the project but hasn't claimed a song, it's likely we'll need alternates in case anyone flakes, so keep an eye on the thread. If anyone wants to cover a TMBG song that's not on Flood, go ahead and do that too, because you're awesome like that. The more, the merrier.

And remember, January 15 is official launch day!

Thanks, all you amazing people!
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:46 PM on October 17, 2014 [2 favorites]

I volunteer as an alternate. I play viola (well) and mandolin (not-so-well). Was hoping for Twisting or Particle Man, but I can try my hand at whatever comes up. This album is part of my life.
posted by spacewaitress at 7:01 PM on October 17, 2014 [3 favorites]

spacewaitress, the world can always use more versions of Particle Man.
posted by JHarris at 3:43 PM on October 18, 2014 [2 favorites]

IMPORTANT BREAKING AWESOME:

Today, the band has posted the entire album to YouTube.
posted by JHarris at 1:19 PM on October 20, 2014 [4 favorites]

Mega-FPP by JHarris

rough draft of my Lucky Ball and Chain cover (Ogg Vorbis file, 3.6 MB)
posted by mbrubeck at 7:38 PM on October 20, 2014 [2 favorites]

Nice work, mbrubeck! I look forward to hearing the final version.

And I finished this this morning, so I might as well leak it: The cover of MeFi Music's Flood.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:50 AM on October 22, 2014 [7 favorites]

(If anyone is interested in collaborating, I'm always thrilled to play accordion or sing background vocals.)
posted by the_bone at 2:30 PM on October 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Launch date is only about six weeks away, so I've just sent MeFi Mail to all volunteers who have yet to post their songs, just to check in. Good luck, everyone!
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:02 AM on December 1, 2014

I'm biding my time; I have some tracks roughed out and have been quietly mulling my song over in the back of my mind. I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing with 'Hearing Aid' and am just waiting for a couple more decent chunks of time to wrap up final tracking/mixing. (In my case that may not be until the week between Christmas and the New Year. But the nudge is good, I'm gonna try and get more done sooner.)
posted by usonian at 8:22 AM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

WOw, I almost missed this.

Could I do "Where Your Eyes Don't Go"? I named my novel after it.
posted by DMelanogaster at 10:19 AM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Not on it yet but I'm on it.
posted by chococat at 10:22 AM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

"Where Your Eyes Don't Go" isn't on Flood, but if you want to cover it, DMelanogaster, go for it! The more TMBG covers, the better!
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:55 AM on December 1, 2014 [1 favorite]

Can I still volunteer to do one? Is January 13 the due date? Feel free to asssign me any of the songs. I can do two if needed. I don't want to pick which one(s) (because I love every song on the album but haven't listened to it in probably 15 years), so whoever's in charge, please assign me one or two. Thank you very much.
posted by not_on_display at 9:37 PM on December 5, 2014 [1 favorite]

not_on_display, thanks for volunteering! All of the tracks are spoken for at the moment, but by all means feel free to try your hand at any TMBG song that strikes your fancy, and I'll also add your name as a last-minute alternate if need be.

That said, it's been nearly a week since I sent out the reminders, and most of you wonderful people have responded and let me know that your songs are underway. I will now proceed to publicly shame those who haven't gotten back to me:

philbutrin, "Theme From Flood"
BlackPebble, "Twisting"
The Great Big Mulp, "Hot Cha"
potch, "Women & Men"
TheNegativeInfluence, "Road Movie to Berlin"

I'm going to set a deadline of Saturday, December 20. If I don't get a message by then letting me know that you're still interested in participating, I'll put your track back up for grabs.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:54 PM on December 6, 2014

hi. i'm afraid i'm going to have to give up my spot for "theme for flood". the ideas i had haven't panned out the way i'd hoped, and the next couple weeks are going to be very busy with work. so please pass my slot along to someone with more time and better ideas :-)
posted by philbutrin at 1:01 PM on December 6, 2014

Fair enough, philbutrin. Thanks for responding.

Any takers for "Theme From Flood"?
posted by Faint of Butt at 1:25 PM on December 6, 2014

The Great Big Mulp has confirmed his continued involvement.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:25 PM on December 7, 2014

Hmm. Theme From Flood done as a lounge jazz thing, maybe?
posted by cortex at 5:54 PM on December 7, 2014

I'll try Theme from Flood!
Wish me luck.
posted by not_on_display at 10:14 PM on December 7, 2014 [3 favorites]

You've got it, not_on_display!
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:12 AM on December 8, 2014

Faint of butt, i was responding to this, directed to another poster: "by all means feel free to try your hand at any TMBG song that strikes your fancy'

So thanks
posted by DMelanogaster at 3:21 PM on December 9, 2014 [1 favorite]

I got a message from TheNegativeInfluence, who promises to keep working on "Road Movie to Berlin." Has anyone heard from BlackPebble or potch?
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:50 AM on December 12, 2014

Hey! mbrubeck summoned me- still cruising along on W&M, have no fear!
posted by potch at 1:45 PM on December 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I had no idea that "Birdhouse" had so many chords. Why are there so many chords in it?
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 3:08 AM on December 15, 2014 [5 favorites]

Ha, you know, I started playing a version just for kicks (which I'm unlikely to have time to record), and I was like, no, this is too many chords. So I play it with a lot of slash chords and little arpeggios with a single moving piece. A lot less work that way. Although I suppose that might not work on autoharp, huh.
posted by uncleozzy at 4:52 AM on December 15, 2014 [2 favorites]

Why are there so many chords in it?

Not to put to fine a point on it
Linnell threw a mess of theory upon it
posted by cortex at 7:48 AM on December 15, 2014 [6 favorites]

Not to put to fine a point on it
Linnell threw a mess of theory upon it

Oh, you.
posted by chococat at 1:42 PM on December 15, 2014

Where is everybody in their recording process? I just realized that we only have a month. I'm finally at the end of the semester moment when I can start moving forward on this.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to highlight the creepiness of the lyrics of "whistling in the dark." I'm split between doing it in the style of Slayer and doing it in the style of Shriekback.
posted by umbú at 6:27 PM on December 16, 2014 [1 favorite]

slash chords

what is this

a single moving piece

and this

little arpeggios

this one I know

Although I suppose that might not work on autoharp, huh.

I mean, it could? I bought a bunch of blank chord bars, so I could cut the new chords that I need (there are less than 21, right...?). And I could arrange them -- physically -- to make it easier. But I still feel pretty asea. Theory is hard.

Where is everybody in their recording process?

Not very far. I'm aiming for serious progress this week, though.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 2:50 AM on December 17, 2014 [1 favorite]

Man, it had somehow never occurred to me that you could cut custom autoharp chords. That opens up a whole world of ideas about autoharp-as-portal-to-eldritch-doom for me.
posted by cortex at 7:11 AM on December 17, 2014 [4 favorites]

what have I done
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 12:38 PM on December 17, 2014

Track 03. “Lucky Ball & Chain” is finished and posted!
posted by mbrubeck at 7:12 PM on December 17, 2014 [2 favorites]

Tracking vox today!
(In the tiny window of time when nobody is home and I can sing loud without feeling dumb.)
posted by chococat at 7:57 AM on December 19, 2014 [5 favorites]

My friends, despite my best efforts to contact him, I have yet to hear confirmation from BlackPebble that he is still interested in providing a cover of "Twisting" for this project. I hope he's all right. As I am a man of my word, I am hereby unburdening him of this responsibility and casting the song back out into the ether.

Who among you would like to take on the challenge at short notice and cover "Twisting" in his place?
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:22 PM on December 20, 2014

I'll take Twisting!
posted by ochenk at 4:29 PM on December 20, 2014 [2 favorites]

You got it, ochenk! Good luck!
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:47 PM on December 20, 2014

Road Movie to Berlin. It belongs to the internet now.
posted by TheNegativeInfluence at 10:18 PM on December 20, 2014 [1 favorite]

Amazing! I love the organ.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:06 AM on December 21, 2014

Done and done.
posted by chococat at 3:00 PM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]

Unbelievable, chococat! Absolutely fantastic!

You people are all awesome.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:06 PM on December 22, 2014

Hey all. I'm fine, I just wasn't paying close enough attention to the thread or my MeMail until today, so I missed the flare going up for check-ins. I'm glad to relinquish 'Twisting' to ochenk, thanks for stepping up! I was getting a little twisted up in my own arrangement and production of it anyway, and was only a short way along the path at this point. No harm, no foul. Good luck all, and great work so far!
posted by BlackPebble at 10:08 AM on December 23, 2014 [2 favorites]

valrus came through with "We Want a Rock" and it's awesome!
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:18 PM on December 29, 2014 [3 favorites]

It is! And extra points for finding meaning in one of the more inscrutable songs on the album.
posted by JHarris at 6:23 PM on December 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

Yay, thanks for linking it here for me!

I'd be ok with submitting it as it is now, but it occurred to me today that I've still got a couple weeks to mess with it and try to clean up some of the more muddy-sounding spots in it. It gets pretty busy in places and I think I can do better to smooth everything out than I have. If there are any people here with mixing chops willing to offer advice, feel free to hit me up on MeMail or in the comments on the post!

giving a new meaning to "we'll fix it in post" here
posted by valrus at 7:50 PM on December 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

So here we are, getting close to the day! I hope everyone had a good break.

What I'd like, if possible, is for everyone's song to be finished up by January 10. That will give me time to assemble the album and create a page for it. When your song is done, either post it on Music or send me a link. If you have any problems or issues, let me know and we'll work it out.

And thank you, one and all!
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:35 AM on January 3, 2015 [2 favorites]

Here's Twisting.
posted by ochenk at 10:05 PM on January 5, 2015 [4 favorites]

Good work!
posted by JHarris at 10:09 PM on January 5, 2015

That was great, ochenk!
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:52 AM on January 6, 2015

Man, this is getting me stoked ... I'm going to see TMBG perform Flood in its entirety at the end of March.

Also, FoB, I'm probably going to re-mix Minimum Wage before the release, so just a heads up that there's another mix headed at your face sometime this week.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:23 AM on January 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Ok ok. I'm on it this week. Will post shortly.
posted by motty at 6:15 AM on January 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

(Just checking in to say that so far I am still on top of things, just taking my sweet time because I'm out of my comfort zone and have tried and scrapped a couple of different approaches. But I found my direction and just need to finish a couple of tracks and mix.)
posted by usonian at 6:15 AM on January 6, 2015 [2 favorites]

Speaking of mixes... my track is mixed so much quieter than everyone else's. My limited knowledge plus Audacity's compressor have not managed to fix this. If anyone wants to offer mixing help or tips, it would be appreciated.
posted by mbrubeck at 8:17 AM on January 6, 2015 [1 favorite]

Hm, yes. Now that you mention it, if anyone would like to volunteer to take all of the tracks and equalize the volume, that would be greatly appreciated.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:39 PM on January 6, 2015

Now that's a solution I hadn't thought of! I could just make everyone else super-quiet too! ;)
posted by mbrubeck at 2:00 PM on January 6, 2015

If no one else more qualified offers, I'm happy to even out the tracks.
posted by ochenk at 5:40 PM on January 8, 2015 [1 favorite]

Hot Cha is going ... weirdly. But it's still on its way; it will be completed!
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 8:28 PM on January 8, 2015 [4 favorites]

I can't wait to hear it. I have been having so much fun with Whistling in the Dark. I should probably call it finished, but want to just keep knob twiddling. Must...step...away...from...computer...
posted by umbú at 8:51 PM on January 8, 2015 [3 favorites]

Hot Cha, where are you?
Everybody's eyes are closed!
I can't see why I miss you so,
so Hot Cha, where are you?

First time Hot Cha went away,
a floating island was his home.
Then the phone rang off the hook
and Hot Cha had to come back home.

Hot Cha, where are you?
Everybody's eyes are closed!
I can't see why I miss you so,
so Hot Cha, where are you?

Second time he went away,
left the bathtub running over.
Stereo on and cookin' bacon,
never came back to tell us why.

If that honey would come back,
we would throw such a party.
Drink and cook the prodigal son,
fondue forks for everybody.

Hot Cha, where are you?
Hot Cha, where are you?

That was from memory, and I haven't heard that song in several years.

If Hot Cha is going any way other than weirdly, then you should be worried. Because it is going weirdly, you must be doing something right.
posted by JHarris at 8:56 PM on January 8, 2015 [5 favorites]

Whistling in the Dark is done. At least I'm calling it done.

Man, that was fun. Thanks to all who got this project up and running.
posted by umbú at 1:01 PM on January 9, 2015 [4 favorites]

Very nice and unexpected! Which is the only way to make a Flood remix, I'd think.
posted by JHarris at 2:25 PM on January 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

Great job, umbú!
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:19 PM on January 9, 2015 [1 favorite]

My plan is to take Hearing Aid across the finish line tomorrow. It's getting there, but I'm past the point of diminishing returns for tonight.
posted by usonian at 8:34 PM on January 9, 2015 [2 favorites]

I can cross Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love off my to do list now. Kick me if I've mis-tagged.
posted by Grangousier at 11:40 AM on January 10, 2015 [4 favorites]

(Hearing Aid is up as well, although listening to Grangousier's track I'm cringing and wishing I had another few years to work on my vocals. I guess I've found my New Year's resolution.)
posted by usonian at 11:53 AM on January 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

Part of my shenanigans was recording the vocals on four separate occasions because I hated each previous session. The hardest singing lesson seems to be learning to accept the sound that comes out of one's mouth.

I'm curious to see what they all sound like sequenced as per the album.
posted by Grangousier at 12:06 PM on January 10, 2015 [4 favorites]

usonian and Grangousier, thank you!
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:35 PM on January 10, 2015

Ok. Your Racist Friend is up.
posted by motty at 12:54 PM on January 10, 2015 [4 favorites]

For your consideration, I submit one (1) Hot Cha.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 4:13 PM on January 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

My goodness, once it's assembled this is going to be an interesting album.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 4:18 PM on January 10, 2015 [3 favorites]

I love that one!
posted by JHarris at 4:41 PM on January 10, 2015 [1 favorite]

This is so close I can almost taste it! I think we're actually going to make the deadline! Here's where we stand so far:

01. "Theme From Flood" -- not_on_display
02. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" -- chara and Karlos the Jackal
03. "Lucky Ball & Chain" -- mbrubeck and Margalo Epps
04. "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" -- cortex
05. "Dead" -- chococat
06. "Your Racist Friend" -- motty
07. "Particle Man" -- daisystomper
08. "Twisting" -- ochenk
09. "We Want a Rock" -- valrus
10. "Someone Keeps Moving My Chair" -- Brainy and lownote
11. "Hearing Aid" -- usonian
12. "Minimum Wage" -- uncleozzy
13. "Letterbox" -- the_bone
14. "Whistling in the Dark" -- umbú
15. "Hot Cha" -- The Great Big Mulp
16. "Women & Men" -- potch
17. "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" -- Grangousier
18. "They Might Be Giants" -- Slothomatic
19. "Road Movie To Berlin" -- TheNegativeInfluence

I've heard recently from not_on_display and Karlos the Jackal, assuring me their tracks are almost ready. I've just sent further messages to daisystomper, Brainy, lownote, potch, and Slothomatic, so hopefully I'll hear back from them very soon. And if anyone who has already published their track would like to make any last-minute tweaks, just let me know.

Thank you, everybody!
posted by Faint of Butt at 2:44 PM on January 11, 2015

Anxiously awaiting Particle Man and Someone Keeps Moving My Chair.
posted by JHarris at 3:07 PM on January 11, 2015 [2 favorites]

Mr Horrible, Mr. Horrible
Telephone call for Mr. Horrible!
But before he can talk to the Ugliness Men
there's some horrible business left for him to attend to.
Something unpleasant has spilled on his brain,
as he sponges it off they say:
"Is this Horrible? Is this Horrible?
It's the Ugliness Men Mr. Horrible!
We're were just trying to bug you
we though that our dreadfulness
might be a thing to annoy you with,"
but Mr. Horrible says "I don't mind,
the thing that bothers me is:
SOME. ONE. KEEPS. MOO. VING. MAH. AH. AH. CHAAAAIR."

"Would you mind if we balanced this glass of milk
where your visiting friend accidentally was killed?
Would it be okay with you if we wrote a reminder
of things we'd forget to do today otherwise,
using a green magic marker, if it's all right,
on the back of your head?"

"Mr. Horrible, Mr. Horrible,
we're not done with you yet Mr. Horrible.
You have to try on these pants so the Ugliness Men can decide
if they're just as embarrassing as we think,
we have to be sure about this."

But Mr. Horrible says "I don't mind,
the thing that bothers me is:
SOME. ONE. KEEPS. MOO. VING. MAH. AH. AH. CHAAAAIR."
posted by JHarris at 3:14 PM on January 11, 2015 [3 favorites]

Can't wait to listen to this from start to finish! I am definitely in the process of tweaking Hearing Aid, but because of real life I may not be finished tweaking until tomorrow.
posted by usonian at 3:46 PM on January 11, 2015 [3 favorites]

I'm a lot more excited to hear the whole album than I thought I was going to be and immensely proud to be a part of the project in a way I really wasn't expecting. Yay!
posted by Grangousier at 3:47 PM on January 11, 2015 [5 favorites]

Just wanted to publicly apologize for not getting Someone Keeps Moving My Chair in earlier! lownote and I have a long call set up any moment now to talk last minute things. Really excited about what we're doing!

But not a fan of Ableton Live
posted by Brainy at 4:55 PM on January 11, 2015 [2 favorites]

I am apparently spending all day trying to figure out why I can't import these stupid wav files and not spending any time actually making music. Technology is the stupidest, stupidest thing.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 6:16 PM on January 11, 2015

I think my problem might be that I need to alter the wav from 48000Hz to 44100Hz (without changing the pitch or anything else). I have no idea what that even means. Ugh, next time I go back to the cassette 4-track.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 6:29 PM on January 11, 2015

yesssss it was the Hzs all along, whatever they are. Solution courtesy this page.

Okay, I'll stop liveblogging now.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 7:00 PM on January 11, 2015

Faint of Butt, when all of the tracks arrive, is there a plan to announce this to metatalk and beyond?
posted by umbú at 8:55 PM on January 11, 2015

Oh man you guys this is so much fun. jus liveblogging
posted by Brainy at 10:13 PM on January 11, 2015

Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you the opening number.
posted by not_on_display at 10:48 PM on January 11, 2015 [4 favorites]

Aaaaand that's Tom Waits. I love it.

And yes, umbú, I'll do my best to spread this around, and I hope all you guys will help as well.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:49 AM on January 12, 2015

Guys, I had a day full of technical difficulty frustration, and then for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to take my sleeping medications and then finish working on Birdhouse in Your Soul. I AM SO DUMB YOU GUYS tomorrow I won't remember why I mixed things the way I did and I'll be like "oh well that's a...bold choice."
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 7:31 AM on January 12, 2015 [5 favorites]

Aloha! I have everything tracked, and am hoping to finish up tonight.
posted by potch at 8:57 AM on January 12, 2015 [3 favorites]

Update: LOTS of work done last night and SO much progress it kind of exceeded what I'd dared hope for. If we had to release now, gun-to-my-head style, I'd be pretty happy. But lownote is going to do some follow up work tonight in our little game of Audio Tennis.
posted by Brainy at 9:34 AM on January 12, 2015 [3 favorites]

Hearing Aid redux: There's now a somewhat improved mix of Hearing Aid in place on the original page. (Thanks mathowie!)
posted by usonian at 7:26 PM on January 12, 2015 [4 favorites]

They don't call me Slothomatic for nothin'. Here's "They Might Be Giants" finally. Can't wait to listen to the whole album now! :)
For madmen only: YOU of course are invited to listen.
posted by Slothomatic at 8:24 PM on January 12, 2015 [4 favorites]

I too was unable to resist tweaking, and I have a new mix of Lucky Ball & Chain with the levels improved a bit. I'll see if the mods are willing to update my page too...
posted by mbrubeck at 9:28 PM on January 12, 2015 [3 favorites]

That was quick! The new mix is now in place on the original music post.
posted by mbrubeck at 9:46 PM on January 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Just listened to all the songs that are posted--this is amazing. Can't wait to hear the last couple of songs! Many thanks to Faint of Butt for getting everything organizized (and poking me with a stick to get my cover posted).
posted by Slothomatic at 10:32 PM on January 12, 2015 [2 favorites]

I compelled myself to stop adding tracks finally. Here it is! Women and Men. Haven't ever done a full song recording on my own, be gentle :)
posted by potch at 10:38 PM on January 12, 2015 [5 favorites]

Thank you to Faint of Butt and mbrubeck for poking me with friendly sticks (some at work!) to get my submission done.
posted by potch at 10:48 PM on January 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

Has anyone heard from daisystomper?
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:48 AM on January 13, 2015

I hope daisystomper reappears. Particle Man is the last anchor store in this wacky shopping mall.
posted by umbú at 5:02 AM on January 13, 2015 [2 favorites]

I dunno, I think it's more like Orange Julius than Macy's. Which is a good thing.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:12 AM on January 13, 2015 [3 favorites]

Just an update. Lownote and I split the duties, him on rhythm, me on melody...and now we can't get the tracks to sync up. AAARGGGGH. We keep exporting different versions and trying but it's so frustrating. I recorded to an early rhythm track he put out and now all his new ones are too fast and we can't figure out why.

But now that I'm no longer trying to work with Ableton I love Garageband.
posted by Brainy at 7:42 AM on January 13, 2015

44.1KHz vs 48KHz sampling rates could be responsible for the issue without being so different in speed and pitch to be obvious if you haven't run into that before. (The too-fast tracks would be running about 9% faster than they should be, basically.)
posted by cortex at 7:54 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Brainy, if you want to post the individual tracks somewhere, I can try to get them converted into all-the-same-sample-format-and-speed. I'm a musical novice but I know a ton about Audacity's internals. (I used to be a developer on the project.)
posted by mbrubeck at 8:14 AM on January 13, 2015

Unfortunately it seems to be that there was tempo automation from an earlier experiment that wasn't fully removed, and then we layered tracks matching to that. And then it was removed. We have a recovery plan! Should have it up tonight! (I sent Faint of Butt a preview so he knows it's not vapor-track) but you guys are the best for offering to help
posted by Brainy at 9:12 AM on January 13, 2015 [1 favorite]

Particle Man where are you?!?
(I'm trying to fight off Triangle Man all by myself here)
posted by Slothomatic at 12:38 PM on January 13, 2015 [6 favorites]

In an extremely rewarding experience that brought me intimately closer to one of my favorite songs of all time, and a lot of fun collaborating with lownote, I present to you Someone Keeps Moving My Chair
posted by Brainy at 10:04 PM on January 13, 2015 [6 favorites]

Playlist with all the tracks so far in album order. (Yes, I've been painstakingly removing and re-adding tracks to keep this in the right order...)
posted by mbrubeck at 8:31 AM on January 14, 2015 [4 favorites]

To my great disappointment, it looks like we won't be making the anniversary date of January 15 after all. But hey, worse things have happened, and I love each and every track I've heard. Thank you all so much for your support and participation. I've put out feelers to find someone else to take over "Particle Man" and finish up the set.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:06 AM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

No!!!
I can try to whip something up? I have the day off.
Gotta meet that deadline!
posted by chococat at 10:53 AM on January 14, 2015

Hmm. Uptempo 3-3-2 snare hit punk rock shouter, maybe? A little bit Ramones, a little bit Pixies?
posted by cortex at 11:00 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

chococat: If you don't want to make the whole thing, I, too, have the day off. You can throw together as much as you like, make a mixdown, email/dropbox/whatever it to me, and I can add to it. Feel free to MeMail me if interested.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:00 AM on January 14, 2015

BlackPebble has stepped up to the challenge!
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:01 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

*seven distinct last-minute covers of Particle Man appear*
posted by cortex at 11:03 AM on January 14, 2015 [7 favorites]

Bonus tracks.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:08 AM on January 14, 2015

There are worse things that could happen than more than one person covering Particle Man.
posted by JHarris at 11:13 AM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

If only I had the bandwidth these next couple of days!

I'm curious if anyone else has bonus track material kicking around; maybe we can release a follow-up album called "Inundation." After finishing my track I went back and looked at one of my abandoned attempts, and it wasn't as bad as I remembered. I can't promise anything but at some point in the future I may complete and record my arrangement of Hearing Aid as an instrumental 2/4 march for classic style banjo.
posted by usonian at 11:25 AM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Well I already started a very quick'n'dirty Louvin Bros. kinda thing in 6/8 so there maybe some superfluous Particle Men depending on how shitty it turns out.
posted by chococat at 11:28 AM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

Huge thanks to Faint of Butt for his tireless coordination! I can't wait to listen to the completed album.
posted by mbrubeck at 11:48 AM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

Thanks, mbrubeck! But it was you lovely folks who did all the hard work.
posted by Faint of Butt at 11:59 AM on January 14, 2015

Go to it, particle men! Gotta make the deadline!
posted by umbú at 12:54 PM on January 14, 2015 [1 favorite]

Okay one Particle Man, extra-rare. Like barely cooked.
Really thin mix, sorry.
posted by chococat at 1:22 PM on January 14, 2015 [6 favorites]

I'm really loving this project! :)
posted by luckynerd at 2:35 PM on January 14, 2015 [2 favorites]

We're very slowly refinishing our badly-finished basement, so it's full of construction junk and debris, and I had the idea last night to go down there after the baby went to bed and record a Particle Man... but then I decided to go to bed instead.

Particle board, particle board
It was the best that we could afford
Musta been wet where it was stored
Particle board

Is it sawdust, or is it wood?
If we tried to paint it, would it look good?
Or would it bring down values in the neighborhood?
Probably would. Particle board
posted by uncleozzy at 4:01 PM on January 14, 2015 [13 favorites]

It's too bad there isn't time to pass particle man around and make it a we are the world-style sing along. It's sing-songyness seems to lend itself to that.
posted by umbú at 6:46 PM on January 14, 2015 [3 favorites]

Hey all, keep on truckin' with your Particle Men. I did accept FoB's last-minute PM invite yesterday to take a stab (since I was unintentionally AWOL at December's check-in for Twisting), so I've got a Particle Man going too.

Despite a few hours on the mic and the mix last night I couldn't pull it into shape to be a hero on deadline this morning. BUT it's well on its way and I should have it in the can and to FoB by end of night tonight.

I'm really happy to be back in the tracks on this project! And thanks to FoB for the callback!
posted by BlackPebble at 6:19 AM on January 15, 2015 [3 favorites]

Yep, BlackPebble's got it well in hand. After that it's over to ochenk for the final equalization, and then back to me for compilation and release. Even if it doesn't happen before midnight tonight, it will be very, very soon.

(And if anyone else wants to toss in some more bonus Particle Men in the next few hours, go for it!)
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:38 AM on January 15, 2015 [4 favorites]

And as this delightful Floodsday draws to a close, I decided at the very last minute to become a Particle Man, or at least a Person Man, myself! Watch your step as you enter the ring.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:49 PM on January 15, 2015 [1 favorite]

The album is complete! It has artwork, ID3 tags, and everything else you could possibly want. Download it and share it freely. May it spread to every corner of the globe, bringing peace and love to all. Google Drive link.

I cannot adequately express my gratitude to each and every one of you who participated and supported this project. I came up with what I thought was a pretty good idea, but you made it happen. As I listen to the tracks, I'm in awe of the creativity, professionalism and effort you put into these covers. You've brought a smile to this old grump's face. Thank you.

And finally, I hope you'll all mark your calendars for March 24, 2017... because we're doing Apollo 18.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:05 AM on January 16, 2015 [6 favorites]

Awesome, thanks, FoB!

(and not to complain, but ... hey, that's not my remixed track!)
posted by uncleozzy at 7:21 AM on January 16, 2015

Hi all, this has been so fun! I realize now I forgot to add a link to this thread with my Particle Man version I submitted early this morning, and now it's not so critical because you have it anyway in the album. But for completeness within the thread, here's my Particle Man. There's some backstory there about Robert Mitchum and switchblade-wielding murderous preachers.
posted by BlackPebble at 7:25 AM on January 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

Oh, crap! I'm sorry, uncleozzy. I can repair it when I get home this evening, if you need me to.
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:28 AM on January 16, 2015

Playlist updated.
posted by mbrubeck at 7:56 AM on January 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

Up to you, FoB. It seems like ochenk normalized the tracks to some fairly conservative RMS value, which also made my super-crushed square wave of a track amazingly quiet, so... anybody who wants a big, loud, ugly mix (hey, I mix for noisy cars and earbuds on the subway) can grab it from:

this Dropbox folder

(there's a 192kbps MP3 in there as well as a 16/48 AIFF, or maybe 24/48... don't remember)
posted by uncleozzy at 8:25 AM on January 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Hey FoB, I think maybe you used my first-pass mix rather than my updated one too.

Anyone wants to swap it in, it's here!

I think the vocals pop a lot better in the busier parts in this version.

That said, thanks so much for organizing this. Listening to all these back to back is pretty thrilling.
posted by valrus at 11:43 AM on January 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

I've just messaged ochenk regarding a redo on the equalization. I'm sorry.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:30 PM on January 16, 2015

Is there a plan for a metatalk post?
posted by umbú at 1:55 PM on January 16, 2015 [4 favorites]

Go for it, umbú! It'd feel too much like tooting my own horn if I posted it.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:56 PM on January 16, 2015

Hey all. Here's an updated zip. It has updated versions of Particle Man, We Want A Rock, and Minimum Wage. Let me know if there's anything else to update.
posted by ochenk at 11:41 PM on January 16, 2015 [2 favorites]

Thanks for the fix, ochenk. I've deleted the old file, so my previous link won't work. Here's the remaster, in all its glory.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:38 AM on January 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

(Crap. I just noticed that when I was setting the ID3 tags, I missed one. The Artist tag of "Birdhouse" reads "Char-los", when I was supposed to change it to "chara and Karlos the Jackal". I don't feel like reuploading the file just for that, so if it bugs you, feel free to change it yourself. I'm so bad at this.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:19 AM on January 17, 2015

I've updated the Dropbox version.
posted by ochenk at 7:13 AM on January 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Metatalk post is up. Let the masses listen!
posted by umbú at 12:42 PM on January 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Thanks for doing that post, umbú.
And thanks for instigating/overseeing this, Faint of Butt. And for the mastering and stuff, ochenk.
Totally fun project.

After a yet-to-be-determined period of not listening to anything at all by TMBG, I will indeed re-visit these and revel in the wonderfulness once more.
posted by chococat at 1:21 PM on January 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Crap. I just noticed that when I was setting the ID3 tags, I missed one. The Artist tag of "Birdhouse" reads "Char-los", when I was supposed to change it to "chara and Karlos the Jackal".

Hee hee. That was me being funny.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 1:31 PM on January 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Particle board, particle board
It was the best that we could afford
Musta been wet where it was stored
Particle board

Is it sawdust, or is it wood?
If we tried to paint it, would it look good?
Or would it bring down values in the neighborhood?
Probably would. Particle board

This is funny I used to sing my own version of this when I was doing a construction job

Particle board Particle board
Who came up with particle board?
Heavy as fuck ,weak as hell
Particle board

Sorry excuse for a piece of wood
If it gets wet it isn't good
Should change its name to IKEA wood
Horrible stuff ,particle board

Thanks "uncleozzy"!
posted by boilermonster at 9:30 AM on February 28, 2015 [3 favorites]