# What the hell is Particle Man about? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 12, 2000, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271 "2000-07-12T04:26:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FarrisGoldstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@FarrisGoldstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarrisGoldstein)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2000, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/41 "2000-07-20T20:50:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Democritus \* > \*\*My favorite line from a TMBG song: > > They don’t need me here, and I know you’re there, > Where the world goes by like the humid air. > > From Anna Ng. > > I felt like that for a long time, perfectly put. > > BTW, Balance, that was the shortest, best explanation of _Everybody Wants a Rock_ I’ve ever heard \*\* Wow… You have no idea how creepy this is… I had JUST put in one of my TMBG CDs, and “Ana Ng” started RIGHT when I read this post… Wow… Anyway, as far as Particle Man goes, yeah, Linnell himself says it ain’t about shit, it’s just cool. I’m reading a book right now that remarkably parallels the song, but I don’t think either of the Johns ever read it before writing the song. You should check it out though, it’s a great books: \ Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions\ by Edwin A. Abbott. It was originally published under the name of the main character and narrator, A. Square, an inhabitant of a 2-dimensional universe. The book was published in the late 19th century, and Abbott died soon after the turn of the 20th… As far as Birdhouse in Your Soul goes… yeah, Linnell replied to some people trying to decipher its deep significance by saying, “It’s about a night light… that’s it.” -“The Famous person wears the same size water skis as me. She’s got three cars, as many years I’ve lived in this city. Her hair is blonde, and mine is brown; they both start with a ‘B’, but when the phone inside her ribcage rings, it’s not for me… But when the phone inside her ribcage rings, it’s not for me… HEY!” \The Famous Polka\ ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/42 "2000-07-21T00:26:40Z")
I’m going down to cow town, the cow’s a friend to me. Lives beneath the ocean, and that’s where I will be beneath the waves, the waves, and that’s where I will be. I’m going to see the cow beneath the see. That’s one of my favorites, but I have yet to see even the slightest glimmer on meaning in it. “There’s only two songs in me, and I just wrote the third.” - Another good one. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/43 "2000-07-21T03:06:59Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by FarrisGoldstein \* \*\* > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Democritus \* > I’m reading a book right now that remarkably parallels the song… it’s a great book: \* Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions_ by Edwin A. Abbott.\*\* Well, you have proved undeniable cool in having read Abbott’s _Flatland_ but there’s absolutely no parallel between the song and the book. I mean, who is **Person Man** supposed to parallel? OK, I’m bein’ snitty for no reason. Just throwing 2¢ in. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/44 "2000-07-21T03:08:41Z")
Wups! Blew that one out of the water. That was **Farris Goldstein** I was quoting, not **Democritus**. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/45 "2000-07-21T07:40:23Z")
> [@](#): > > They don’t need me here, and I know you’re there, > Where the world goes by like the humid air. > > From Anna Ng. Ana Ng is chock full of great lyrics : Make a hole with a gun perpendicular To the name of this town in a desktop globe Exit wound in a foreign nation Showing the home of the one this was written for My apartment looks upside down from there Water spirals the wrong way out the sink And her voice is a backwards record It’s like a whirlpool and it never ends - All alone at the '64 World’s Fair Eighty dolls yelling “Small girl after all” Who was at the Dupont Pavilion? Why was the bench still warm? Who had been there? * * * I’d have to say the all-time strangest TMBG song (actually it’d probably be about a 100-way tie, but the lyrics for 100 songs would make for a mighty big post) would be Becoming a Robot : Here’s hoping you don’t Become a robot Clang, clang, whoops too late (repeat) Let’s stick together 'cause we’re number 8 Let’s stick to numbers 'cause we’re great (repeat chorus) Hey! Wait! Here’s hoping you don’t Harbor a deathwish Help, help, help yourself Here’s hoping you don’t Harbor a deathwish Help,help,help yourself Hip, hip, horrific are the words we sing Hip, hip, horrific is our thing (repeat chorus) ---
**Author:** ![FarrisGoldstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@FarrisGoldstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarrisGoldstein)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/46 "2000-07-21T16:43:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, you have proved undeniable cool in having read Abbott’s _Flatland_ but there’s absolutely no parallel between the song and the book. I mean, who is **Person Man** supposed to parallel? > > OK, I’m bein’ snitty for no reason. Just throwing 2¢ in. 🙂 \*\* Exactly… “Who came up with person man? Degraded man, person man.” However, NONE of the book truly parallels unless you want it to. But if you HAD to make Person Man synch up with someone in the book, it would just be the generic person from Spaceland… A human who lives in the 3-dimensional universe. Particle Man - Someone from Pointland Triangle Man - One of the apparent line-people from Flatland (skipping Lineland) Person Man - A guy from Spaceland Universe Man - one the people from the more-than-three dimensional universes. Like I said, it’s all crap as far as linking it to TMBG, but it’s a great book. -“For everyone with dollar signs in his eyes, there must be hundreds who look at you as if you’re some kind of Rhymthm Section Want Ad.” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/47 "2000-07-21T18:18:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by neutron star \* > \*\* > Make a hole with a gun perpendicular > To the name of this town in a desktop globe… > \*\* Ana Ng is about woman who lives on the exact opposite side of the Earth from you, who you will never meet. Trivia question: One of the songs on _Factory Showroom_ is a cover. Without looking it up, which song and who performed it originally? ---
**Author:** ![Erika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/47e85d/32.png) [@Erika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erika)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/48 "2000-07-21T18:44:09Z")
Hmm . . . I don’t know, I think you’re connection to Flatland is tenuous at best . . . but those can be some of the best connections. So I’ll let it go :). Excellent book, really fun song . . . ---
**Author:** ![Edwardina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Edwardina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edwardina)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/49 "2000-07-21T19:20:47Z")
I don’t have a theory about “Particle Man” It never occurred to me that I needed one. I just love it. I love “Birdhouse” as well. It is their very nonsensical, openness to interpretation that I love about them, and that’s why I am so looking forward to introducing my niece (2 yrs. old) to them as well. ---
**Author:** ![FarrisGoldstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@FarrisGoldstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarrisGoldstein)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/50 "2000-07-21T19:50:52Z")
A. If you read above, you’ll see that I was FORCING the book to parrallel. I, like any fan of Them, know that the song don’t mean nothin’ unless you want it to. B. “New York City” on Factory Showroom is a cover of a song by a girl-punk band called Cub… They’re damn sexxxy girls too. I don’t know if they’re still together now or what. They used to be on Mint and Lookout, and toured with the Queers. I’d like to see them someday if they are still together. TMBG still covers the song at every show. Best Wishes -The Jew ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/51 "2000-07-21T20:04:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FarrisGoldstein \* > \*\*B. “New York City” on Factory Showroom is a cover of a song by a girl-punk band called Cub… They’re damn sexxxy girls too. I don’t know if they’re still together now or what. They used to be on Mint and Lookout, and toured with the Queers. I’d like to see them someday if they are still together. > \*\* Should have known I couldn’t stump the dopers for long. I saw Cub open for TMBG about 4 years ago and they kicked ass by the truckload. And broke up about 6 months later. ---
**Author:** ![FarrisGoldstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@FarrisGoldstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarrisGoldstein)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/52 "2000-07-21T20:11:13Z")
Damn… I knew they were in other bands now, but I didn’t know if they were just side-bands or what. Oh well… I still have to hunt down Lisa so she can have sex with me. ---
**Author:** ![masafer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@masafer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masafer)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2000, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/53 "2000-07-21T21:44:20Z")
It takes alot to pull me out of my lurking, but a thread full of giant-heads is the best way! Some of my favorite lines: “There’s a time for metaphors cried the little pill to me.” He said, “Life is a placebo, masquerading as a similie” and “Every jumbled pile of person has a thinking part that wonders what the part that isn’t thinking isn’t thinking of” Anyone who’s into them should absolutely go to [emusic.com](http://emusic.com) and download their mp3 only album “Long Tall Weekend” and their new EP “Working Undercover for the Man”. Great, cheap tunes, and a chance to show the record companies that mp3s are a viable format for music distribution. ---
**Author:** ![dpr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8797f3/32.png) [@dpr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dpr)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2000, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/54 "2000-07-24T06:03:14Z")
Damn I knew the answer was New York City and it was sung by an all-girl band. Too slow man too slow _dpr berates himself_ Only slightly off-topic, one of my housemates (rift) and I have a theory about how to write a TMBG song. Put random words into a hat. Draw three words out. Make them fit into a ‘story.’ Apply to music. It’s a fun game with a dictionary… ---
**Author:** ![FarrisGoldstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f17d59/32.png) [@FarrisGoldstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarrisGoldstein)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2000, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271/55 "2000-07-24T13:58:56Z")
I returned a bag of groceries accidentally taken off the shelf before the expiration date… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-the-hell-is-particle-man-about/25271.md?page=2)