Thought for Food

Thought for Food
Studio album by the Books
Released	June 3, 2002 (2002-06-03)
Genre	Folktronica[1] post-rock[2] sound collage[3]
Length	38:31
Label	Tomlab
The Books chronology
Thought for Food (2002) The Lemon of Pink (2003)
Alternative cover
2011 reissue

Thought for Food is the debut studio album by American musical duo the Books. It was released on June 3, 2002 by Tomlab.^[4] The album exhibits the duo's characteristic sampling from a variety of mundane and instrumental sources.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Pitchfork	9.0/10[6]
Stylus Magazine	9.1/10[7]
Tiny Mix Tapes	4.5/5[8]
Tom Hull – on the Web	B+ ()[9]

Pitchfork ranked Thought for Food as the fourth best album of 2002,^[10] and as the 125th best album of the 2000s.^[11] In 2015, Spin ranked Thought for Food at number 285 on its list of "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years".^[2]

Track listing

All music is composed by The Books (Paul de Jong and Nick Zammuto)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Enjoy Your Worries, You May Never Have Them Again"	4:05
2.	"Read, Eat, Sleep"	3:46
3.	"All Bad Ends All"	2:42
4.	"Contempt"	3:20
5.	"All Our Base Are Belong to Them"	4:18
6.	"Thankyoubranch"	5:05
7.	"Motherless Bastard"	4:11
8.	"Mikey Bass"	2:52
9.	"Excess Straussess"	2:06
10.	"Getting the Done Job"	3:49
11.	"A Dead Fish Gains the Power of Observation"	1:07
12.	"Deafkids"	1:10
Total length:		38:31

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of the 2002 and 2011 issues of the album.^[12][13]

The Books

• Paul de Jong – music, mastering, mixing
• Nick Zammuto – music, mastering, mixing

Additional personnel

• Anne Doerner – fiddle and harmony vocals on "Getting the Done Job"
• Frieda Luczak – cover design
• Mikey Zammuto – bass on "Mikey Bass"

References

1. Macdonald, Cameron (October 28, 2006). "Lost and Safe with The Books". Tape Op. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
2. "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)". Spin. May 11, 2015. p. 1. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
3. Amidon, David (July 20, 2010). "The Books: The Way Out". PopMatters. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
4. "The Books: Thought For Food". Tomlab. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
5. Richardson, Mark. "Thought for Food – The Books". AllMusic. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
6. Richardson, Mark (July 23, 2002). "The Books: Thought for Food". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
7. Estefan, Kareem. "The Books – Thought for Food". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on March 20, 2003. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
8. "The Books – Thought for Food". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
9. Hull, Tom (April 19, 2021). "Music Week". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
10. "Top 50 Albums of 2002". Pitchfork. January 1, 2003. p. 5. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
11. "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. October 2, 2009. p. 4. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
12. The Books (2002). Thought for Food (liner notes). Tomlab. tom20.
13. The Books (2011). Thought for Food (liner notes). Temporary Residence Limited. TRR180 CD.

External links

• Thought for Food at Discogs (list of releases)
• Thought for Food at MusicBrainz (list of releases)