h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have a TMBG album called "don't let's start", apparently released in 1989. Key tracks include "Hey, Mr DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal", and "", which I guess is a message left on the answering machine mentioned in the article, plus a great cover of "The Lady Is a Tramp".

They're great. I should mention that "Birdhouse in Your Soul" was their biggest chart success (No. 6) in the UK.

That is my favorite album as well. I am guessing it is out or print because a good friend of mine has recently become a TMBG head and he has never heard of the song, and he claims to have every album. It was definitely the first song that I had heard from them with Licoln coming later.

My vinyl is stored at my father's house in LA (I live in FL) so I am unable to pull it out to get the name or label or anything.

"Then: The Earlier Years" is a great investment for TMBG fans who can't find many of the band's rare and early releases. It includes 72 tracks, mixing very early studio recordings (taken from the albums "They Might Be Giants" and "Lincoln"), Dial-A-Song messages ("Who's 'There May Be Giants'?") and live radio performance tidbits.

"Direct From Brooklyn" is a relatively new video compilation, and includes the videos to "Don't Let's Start", "Ana Ng" and "Purple Toupee". If you've never seen a TMBG music video, well, you just don't know what you're missing. It's an experience.

I recently met John Flansburgh at a local TMBG concert, which was very exciting! They are, without a doubt, the nicest and most *intelligent* musicians I've ever had the pleasure to see live. Feel free to check out what I had to say about it, here: http://www.h2g2.com/A195446 That page also includes tons of TMBG weblinks. Enjoy.

I've also got the 'Don't lets start' album. I thought it was a compilation type album of early stuff that was released in Australia. Perhaps it was a non US release ??

Don't lets start was definately the first TMBG song i remember hearing, and still probably my favorite, although the one about the girl from Venus (For Science ???) from the same album is also up there.

If anyone is really interested i can look up the record details when i get home tonight

Cheers, Linus

Don't Let's Start was the single off the self-titled album. Needless to say, it's really freakin' hard to find. I'm working on getting the singles after Miscellanious T (Which was an album released that had all of the single's B-Sides on one album).

-FakeOut

(Check out www.tmbg.com or www.tmbg.org for a full discography)

The "Don't Let's Start" album is the UK (and possibly other countries) version of the US "Miscellaneous T" compilation, ie a collection of early B-sides and odd stuff. Long deleted though, I suspect...

The first song I ever heard from them was "Birdhouse" on the Dr Demento show. Then I started hearing them on the regular radio stations all the time.