Editing Particle Man

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{{Infobox song
| name       = Particle Man
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       =
| artist     = [[They Might Be Giants]]
| album      = [[Flood (They Might Be Giants album)|Flood]]
| EP         =
| written    =
| published  = 1990
| released   = 1990
| format     =
| recorded   = 1989, Skyline Studio, [[New York City]]
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Alternative rock]], [[polka]]
| length     = {{duration|m=1|s=55}}
| label      = [[Elektra Records|Elektra]]
| writer     = [[John Flansburgh]], [[John Linnell]]
| composer   =
| lyricist   =
| producer   = They Might Be Giants
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| title      =
| next_title =
| next_year  =
}}

"'''Particle Man'''" is a song by [[alternative rock]] band [[They Might Be Giants]], released and published in 1990.<ref name="liner" /> The song is the seventh track on the band's third album, ''[[Flood (They Might Be Giants album)|Flood]]''. It has become one of the band's most popular songs, despite never having been released as a single.<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/particle-man-mt0011961724|title=Particle Man - They Might Be Giants|last=Mason|first=Stewart|website=Allmusic|access-date=2013-02-10}}</ref> [[John Linnell]] and [[John Flansburgh]] performed the song, backed by a metronome, for their 1990 ''Flood'' promotional video.<ref name="gigantic" /> Although it was released over a decade before the band began writing [[children's music]], "Particle Man" is sometimes cited as a particularly youth-appropriate TMBG song, and a precursor to their first children's album, ''[[No!]]'', which was not explicitly educational. The song is partially influenced by the theme of the 1967 [[Spider-Man (1967 TV series)|''Spider-Man'']] TV series.<ref name="pabst" /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/469278/they-might-be-giants-grow-up-again-with-join-us|title=They Might Be Giants Grow Up Again with "Join Us"|last=Blisten|first=John|magazine=Billboard|date=2011-07-12|access-date=2013-05-21}}</ref>

They Might Be Giants' official [[YouTube]] account has the user name "ParticleMen", derived from the song title.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/ParticleMen|title=ParticleMen - YouTube|publisher=YouTube|access-date=2018-07-07}}</ref>

== Lyrical content ==
The song describes four different "men": Particle Man, a microscopic being whose attributes are deemed "not important" enough to be discussed lyrically; Triangle Man, a belligerent entity who hates Particle Man, fights him, and wins; Universe Man, a kinder being, who is the size of the [[universe]], and has a watch with hands relevant to the age of the universe ("He’s got a watch with a [[minute]] hand, a [[millennium]] hand, and an [[aeon|eon]] hand"); and Person Man, a "degraded" being who lives in a garbage can, somehow feels worthless, and who is also despised, challenged, and defeated by Triangle Man. The song's author, [[John Linnell]], denied the assertion that there is a deeper meaning to "Particle Man", stating on a phone interview filmed for ''[[Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)]]'' that "nothing is missing from your understanding of 'Particle Man{{'"}}.<ref name="gigantic">''[[Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)]]''. Dir. AJ Schnack. 2003.</ref> Band member [[John Flansburgh]] described it as "just a song about characters in the most obvious sense" and claims that the lyrics are not intended to allude to real people,<ref>Flansburgh, John. {{cite web |url=http://www.popculturecorn.com/music/issues/oct98/interview-tmbg.html |title=Interview |access-date=2005-02-20 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402221442/http://www.popculturecorn.com/music/issues/oct98/interview-tmbg.html |archive-date=April 2, 2012 }} by Matt Springer and Brian Bender. ''Pop Culture Corn''. October 1998. Retrieved 2013-02-10.</ref> though Linnell later said that "Triangle Man was based on a friend's observation that [[Robert Mitchum]] looked like an evil triangle when he took his shirt off in ''[[The Night of the Hunter (film)|Night of the Hunter]]''. Nothing else not explicitly stated need be inferred."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/they-might-be-giants-flood-track-by-track-guide-to-the-geek-chic-breakthrough-20091008|title=They Might Be Giants' ''Flood'': Track by Track Guide to the Geek-Chic Breakthrough|first=D.X.|last=Ferris|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=2009-10-08|access-date=2012-08-06}}</ref>

== Video ==
Both "Particle Man" and a They Might Be Giants cover song of "[[Istanbul_(Not _Constantinople)#They_Might_Be_Giants|Istanbul (Not Constantinople)]]", were made into [[music video]]s featured on the [[Warner Bros.]] [[animated series]], ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' and ''[[The Plucky Duck Show]]''. Both appeared in the episode "Tiny Toons Music Television".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0723977/soundtrack|title='Tiny Toon Adventures' Tiny Toon Music Television(1991) soundtrack|publisher=IMDb|access-date=2013-02-11}}</ref> In the video for "Particle Man", [[Plucky Duck]] portrays both the title role (as a [[Professional_wrestling |pro-wrestler]]) and Person Man (after discarding his outfit), while Triangle Man and Universe Man are presented as massive wrestlers.<ref name="pabst">Ricks, Rosy. "They Might Be Giants at the Pabst&mdash;Oh, Boy". ''Third Coast Digest''. 2011-10-30. Prime 7 Media.</ref>  The video also includes cameos by The Crusher from the Looney Tunes short ''[[Bunny Hugged]]'', [[Hamton J. Pig]] as a wrestling announcer who [[Lip sync|lip-syncs]] the song's lyrics, and [[Dizzy Devil]] playing the accordion.

The music videos for "Particle Man" and "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" are credited with having introduced young fans to the band.<ref>Rivait, Lindsay. "Here Comes They Might Be Giants". ''Lance''. 2008-03-05.</ref> Although they were not official music videos, the ''Tiny Toons'' selections warranted inclusion on the band's 1999 video compilation, ''[[Direct from Brooklyn]]''.

== Influence and usage ==
In addition to the ''Tiny Toons Adventures'' music video above, "Particle Man" has been performed by [[child|schoolchildren]] on multiple occasions. In two such instances, the band has obtained recordings of the performances and released them to their fans and the general public. A cover entitled "Schoolchildren Singing 'Particle Man{{'"}}, recorded by a music teacher at an elementary school, appeared on the band's Dial-A-Song phone line, as well as their 1997 compilation ''[[Then: The Earlier Years]]''.<ref name="allmusic" /> [[John Linnell]] stated that this was his favourite version of the song.<ref>Flansburgh, John and John Linnell. "John and John Answer Your Questions". TMBG Info Club. 1994.</ref> Another rendition was done by the fifth graders of the Kingsley Montessori School in [[Boston]]. The recording was accompanied by an animated video made by the students, which the band uploaded to [[YouTube]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://laughingsquid.com/tmbgs-particle-man-performed-by-the-kingsley-montessori-school/|title=TMBG's Particle Man Performed by the Kingsley Montessori School|last=Beale|first=Scott|date=June 21, 2012|publisher=Laughing Squid|access-date=2013-02-10}}</ref>

In the Marvel Comics series ''[[X-Factor (comics)|X-Factor]]'', writer [[Peter David]] referenced "Particle Man" as the source song for a fictional parody by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] about the character [[Jamie Madrox|Multiple Man]]. A partial verse, which discussed Multiple Man's ability to create duplicates of himself, was presented as a radio broadcast in issue #73.<ref>David, Peter, Larry Stroman, and Al Milgrom. "Crowd Control" ''X-Factor'' #73. Ed. Bob Harras. 1991. Marvel Comics.</ref> The song was also a minor inspiration to author [[Terry Pratchett]]. One of his recurring ''[[Discworld]]'' characters, [[Discworld characters#Foul Ole Ron|Foul Ole Ron]], frequently mutters "millennium hand and shrimp". This was a result of Pratchett feeding various texts to a text-generation computer program, and this phrase was a result of merging this song's lyrics (which mention a "millennium hand") with a Chinese takeaway menu.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/lords-and-ladies.html#p324233|title=The Annotated Pratchett File v9.0 — Lords and Ladies<!-- Bot generated title -->|first=Terry|last=Pratchett|access-date=2013-02-10}}</ref>

A cover of the song was used, in part, for advertisements and previews for the video game ''[[Geometry Wars: Galaxies]]''. In reference to the nature of ''Geometry Wars'', the part of the song about "Triangle Man" is particularly stressed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZRxihMvosE |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/5ZRxihMvosE| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|title=Geometry Wars Wii - Particle Man Trailer|publisher=YouTube|date=2007-08-06|access-date=2013-03-04}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The single "Particle Man" appears on "[[Dr. Demento 25th Anniversary Collection|Dr. Demento's 25th Anniversary Collection]]," released in 1995 on Rhino Records.

== Personnel ==
=== They Might Be Giants ===
*[[John Linnell]] – vocals, keyboards, [[accordion]]<ref name="liner">''[[Flood (They Might Be Giants album)|Flood]]'' (album notes). [[Elektra Records]]. 1990.</ref>
*[[John Flansburgh]] – guitar<ref name="liner"/>

=== Additional musicians ===
* Alan Bezozi – drums<ref name="liner"/>
* Skyline Studio staff – [[handclap]]s<ref name="liner"/>

=== Production ===
*Roger Moutenot – mixing<ref name="liner"/>
*They Might Be Giants – producer<ref name="liner"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*"[[tmbw:Particle Man|Particle Man]]" on This Might Be A Wiki

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[[Category:They Might Be Giants songs]]
[[Category:1990 songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by John Linnell]]
[[Category:Songs written by John Flansburgh]]