Particle Man
Encyclopedia
"Particle Man" is a song by alternative rock
band They Might Be Giants
. The song is the seventh track on the band's 1990 release, Flood. It has become one of their most popular songs, despite never being released as a single.
, with a watch to go with it (“He’s got a watch with a minute
hand, a millennium
hand, and an eon
hand”); and Person Man, a degraded being who lives in a garbage can, who is also hated by Triangle Man and is defeated by him in a fight. Band member John Flansburgh
described it as “just a song about characters in the most obvious sense” and said it does not represent real people.
", were made into music video
s featured on the Warner Bros.
animated series Tiny Toon Adventures
. In this one, Plucky Duck
portrayed Particle Man and Person Man (who was portrayed in the video as Particle Man’s secret identity
), and the rest were featured as massive wrestlers. It features a cameo by The Crusher from the Looney Tunes short Bunny Hugged
.
(volume 1), writer Peter David
referenced “Particle Man” as the source song for a fictional parody by “Weird Al” Yankovic
about the character Multiple Man
; only a partial verse was presented, referencing the Multiple Man’s ability to create duplicates of himself.
The song was also an inspiration of sorts to author Terry Pratchett
. One of his recurring Discworld
characters, 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 “millennium hand”) with a Chinese takeaway menu. Another Pratchett character, Azrael, who appears in the Discworld novel Reaper Man
, is the size of a universe and has a clock with a minute hand, a millennium hand and an eon hand.
The song was later used, in part, for advertisements for Geometry Wars: Galaxies
, in reference to the nature of Geometry Wars, leaving Person Man out of the song.
In the making of the Electronic Arts
videogame Spore
, a prototype game was created that “simulates gravitational attraction between particles in a cloud” which they later released to the public under the name ParticleMan.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years Flansburgh and Linnell were frequently accompanied by a drum machine. In the early 1990s, TMBG became a full band. Currently, the members of TMBG are...
. The song is the seventh track on the band's 1990 release, Flood. It has become one of their most popular songs, despite never being released as a single.
Lyrical content
The song describes four different beings, each referred to as a “man”: Particle Man, a microscopic being whose attributes are deemed “not important” by the song; Triangle Man, a belligerent entity who hates Particle Man, fights with him, and wins; Universe Man, a kinder being the size of the universeUniverse
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
, with a watch to go with it (“He’s got a watch with a minute
Minute
A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...
hand, a millennium
Millennium
A millennium is a period of time equal to one thousand years —from the Latin phrase , thousand, and , year—often but not necessarily related numerically to a particular dating system....
hand, and an eon
Aeon
The word aeon, also spelled eon or æon , originally means "life", and/or "being", though it then tended to mean "age", "forever" or "for eternity". It is a Latin transliteration from the koine Greek word , from the archaic . In Homer it typically refers to life or lifespan...
hand”); and Person Man, a degraded being who lives in a garbage can, who is also hated by Triangle Man and is defeated by him in a fight. Band member John Flansburgh
John Flansburgh
John Conant Flansburgh is an American musician. He is half of the longstanding Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants, for which he writes, sings and plays rhythm guitar...
described it as “just a song about characters in the most obvious sense” and said it does not represent real people.
Video
Both "Particle Man" and another They Might Be Giants song, "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
"Istanbul " is a swing-style song, with lyrics by Jimmy Kennedy and music by Nat Simon. The tune is reminiscent of "Puttin' on the Ritz," written by Irving Berlin in 1929, but the song is said to be a response to "C-O-N-S-T-A-N-T-I-N-O-P-L-E," recorded in 1928 by Paul Whiteman and His...
", were made into music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s featured on the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
animated series Tiny Toon Adventures
Tiny Toon Adventures
Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon Adventures, usually referred to as Tiny Toon Adventures or simply Tiny Toons, is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. It began production as a result of Warner Bros....
. In this one, Plucky Duck
Plucky Duck
Plucky Allen Duck is a cartoon character from the Warner Bros. animated television series Tiny Toon Adventures. He is also the titular character in Gary A. Lewis's Plucky Duck in the Summer Job. He is arguably the third main character on the show after Buster and Babs. Plucky is voiced by Joe...
portrayed Particle Man and Person Man (who was portrayed in the video as Particle Man’s secret identity
Secret identity
A secret identity is an element of fiction wherein a character develops a separate persona , while keeping their true identity hidden. The character also may wear a disguise...
), and the rest were featured as massive wrestlers. It features a cameo by The Crusher from the Looney Tunes short Bunny Hugged
Bunny Hugged
Bunny Hugged is a 1950 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. Released in 1951, the short is essentially a re-working of Jones' 1948 short Rabbit Punch, substituting wrestling for boxing.-Plot:...
.
Cultural references and other uses
In the Marvel Comics series X-FactorX-Factor (comics)
X-Factor is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics. It is a spin-off of the popular X-Men franchise, featuring characters from X-Men stories. The series has been relaunched several times with different team rosters, most recently as X-Factor Investigations.X-Factor launched in...
(volume 1), writer Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
referenced “Particle Man” as the source song for a fictional parody by “Weird Al” Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
about the character Multiple Man
Jamie Madrox
James Arthur "Jamie" Madrox, also called the Multiple Man, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero, associated with the X-Men...
; only a partial verse was presented, referencing the Multiple Man’s ability to create duplicates of himself.
The song was also an inspiration of sorts to author Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett
Sir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
. One of his recurring Discworld
Discworld
Discworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
characters, 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 “millennium hand”) with a Chinese takeaway menu. Another Pratchett character, Azrael, who appears in the Discworld novel Reaper Man
Reaper Man
Reaper Man is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. Published in 1991, it is the 11th Discworld novel and the second to focus on Death. The title is a reference to Alex Cox's cult movie Repo Man.-Plot:...
, is the size of a universe and has a clock with a minute hand, a millennium hand and an eon hand.
The song was later used, in part, for advertisements for Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Geometry Wars: Galaxies
Geometry Wars: Galaxies is a multidirectional shooter video game created by Bizarre Creations and Kuju Entertainment, which was released on Nintendo's Wii and DS consoles in November 2007. Galaxies is a sequel to Geometry Wars, which was originally included as a bonus game within Project Gotham...
, in reference to the nature of Geometry Wars, leaving Person Man out of the song.
In the making of the Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
videogame Spore
Spore (2008 video game)
Spore is a multi-genre single-player god game developed by Maxis and designed by Will Wright. The game was released for the Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems in September 2008 as Spore...
, a prototype game was created that “simulates gravitational attraction between particles in a cloud” which they later released to the public under the name ParticleMan.
External links
- Particle Man at This Might Be A Wiki
- Interview with John Flansburgh discussing Particle Man, from Pop Culture Corn.