Ana Ng

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"Ana Ng"
Single by They Might Be Giants
from the album Lincoln
B-side"Snowball in Hell"
Released1988
Recorded1988
GenreMath rock[1]
Length3:23
LabelBar/None / Restless (U.S.)
One Little Indian (UK)
Liberation (AU)
Elektra / WEA (EU)
Songwriter(s)John Flansburgh, John Linnell
Producer(s)Bill Krauss
They Might Be Giants singles chronology
"(She Was A) Hotel Detective"
(1988)
"Ana Ng"
(1988)
"They'll Need a Crane"
(1989)
Music video
"Ana Ng" on YouTube

"Ana Ng" (/ɛŋ/ ENG) is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released as the lead single from the band's 1988 album Lincoln.[2] Although the song was their first US chart appearance, hitting number 11 on the US Modern Rock chart,[3] the single was never officially released in the US. It was only released for promotional purposes in the US, and it saw official releases in 1989 in the United Kingdom (as a maxi-single), Australia, and later, in 1991, in Europe.[4][5]

Background[edit]

The title of the track came from an experience that band members John Flansburgh and John Linnell (the Johns) had when they found a huge number of Ng listings in the New York City phone book.

Linnell: "I think I was collecting possible song ideas and, for some reason, I ended up looking in the phone book, and there were about four pages of this name that contains no vowels, Ng. I was fascinated because it's a name I didn't know about before, and it was filling up a large chunk of the Manhattan white pages. I called up some of the numbers kind of experimentally to find out how it was pronounced, and I got the phone machine of a Dr. Ng and I was kind of relieved. The message said, 'Dr. Ng is not in,' and I had my material." (Pitchfork Magazine, 1996)

Ng is a common Cantonese family name; in Cantonese, it is pronounced [ŋ̍], like the last sound in the English word song.

Linnell: "The other inspiration for [Ana Ng] was a Pogo comic strip. [...] Some of the characters are digging a hole. They decide they're going to dig to China, but one of the smarter characters pulls this huge revolver out of a drawer and shoots a hole "in the desktop globe." Then they look at the other side and the hole is in the Indian Ocean. (Pitchfork Magazine, 1996).

The song, or at least part of it, is set against the backdrop of the 1964 New York World's Fair, which John Linnell attended as a child. It includes references to "It's a Small World" and the DuPont pavilion, both attractions at the fair.

The line "I don't want the world / I just want your half" is said by Lisa Klapp, a friend of the Johns, and recorded through a telephone.[6]

Music video[edit]

A music video for the song was shot at the Ward's Island Fireman's Training Center, and was directed by Adam Bernstein. The song makes mention of a "foreign nation" while a map of Romania (specifically the cities of Bragadiru and Slobozia) is shown.

In 2006, a Pitchfork Media staff review of "100 Awesome Music Videos" included "Ana Ng" on the list. The review praised the video's simplicity, stating that it "matches They Might Be Giants' weird lyrics with equally weird visuals that eschew literality in favor of strange juxtapositions of Cold War ephemera that subtly shade the song with new meanings." It also commented on the lack of special effects: "[T]he clip is just two guys, a camera, and a cool set. And that's all you need."[7]

Reception[edit]

The song has been well received by numerous critics. Longtime music critic Robert Christgau called it "a beyond-perfect tour de force about a Vietnamese woman they never got to meet."[8] In a review for Lincoln on AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine described "Ana Ng" as a standout song having "irresistible pop hooks".[9] Also for AllMusic, critic Steve Huey reviewed the individual song at length, naming it "a masterpiece of pop absurdism." He cited its "typically playful, seemingly free-associative" lyrics, noting that the syntax is "elongated and convoluted, as one prepositional phrase after another gets tacked on; it's a subtle expression of the group's sense of humor".[2]

Other uses[edit]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks by They Might Be Giants.

12" maxi-single
  1. "Ana Ng" – 3:23
  2. "Nightgown of the Sullen Moon" – 1:59
  3. "It's Not My Birthday" – 1:52
  4. "Lie Still, Little Bottle" – 2:06
Australian 7" release
  1. "Ana Ng" – 3:23
  2. "Snowball in Hell" – 2:31
1991 European release

This release's cover art was the same photograph as that used for the rarities compilation, Miscellaneous T.

  1. "Ana Ng" – 3:23
  2. "They'll Need a Crane" – 2:33
  3. "(She Was A) Hotel Detective" (single mix) – 2:20
  4. "Don't Let's Start" (single mix) – 2:35

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (1988) Peak
position
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[14] 11

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gerard, Chris (April 5, 2021). "The 100 Best Alternative Singles of the 1980s: 100 - 81". PopMatters. p. 3. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Huey, Steve. "Ana Ng by They Might Be Giants - Track Info". AllMusic. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  3. ^ "They Might Be Giants", Artist Chart History, Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2007.
  4. ^ "Ana Ng / Snowball in Hell by They Might Be Giants - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  5. ^ "They Might Be Giants - Ana Ng". Discogs. Retrieved December 12, 2009.
  6. ^ Then: The Earlier Years liner notes.
  7. ^ "100 Awesome Music Videos". Pitchfork. June 20, 2006. p. 9. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert. "They Might Be Giants". Consumer Guide. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  9. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "They Might Be Giants - Lincoln Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  10. ^ "Hello Radio: The Songs of They Might Be Giants - Compilation by Various Artists". Spotify. July 11, 2006. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  11. ^ "Yes Man (2008) - Soundtracks". IMDb. December 19, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "From the Dumpster To the Grave - Album by Star Fucking Hipsters". Spotify. October 11, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  13. ^ "Cute Thing - song and lyrics by Car Seat Headrest". Spotify. February 16, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  14. ^ "They Might Be Giants Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2017.

External links[edit]