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Cover of Flood by They Might Be Giants
Cover: Flood

Song · They Might Be Giants

“Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” by They Might Be Giants

From the album Flood (1990)

“Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” by They Might Be Giants appears on 38 radio countdowns from 13 stations between 1990 and 2024. It was first released in 1990 on the album Flood. Its best result is #5 on The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #59 alternative song of 1990 and #480 alternative song of all time.

38countdowns
13stations
#5best position
0#1 finishes
1top 10 finishes
1990–2024years charted

Watch

They Might Be Giants - Istanbul (Not Constantinople) (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (RHINO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

They Might Be Giants took a 1953 novelty number, written by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon and first recorded by the Four Lads, and turned "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" into one of the giddiest moments on their 1990 album Flood. The song was written for the 500th anniversary of the city falling to the Ottomans, and it pokes fun at the official switch from one name to the other.

Their version races along at a breakneck clip, part klezmer, part polka, part cartoon chase, with Mark Feldman sawing away on violin and Charlie Sepulveda's trumpet blaring like a brass band that took a wrong turn. Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley produced it, with Roger Moutenot engineering and mixing, and they keep every oddball flourish crisp and bright.

It followed "Birdhouse in Your Soul" off Flood, and it became the most famous of the many versions of the song.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1990 24 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1990 105
1990 52 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 90 Songs of 1990 90

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1992 68 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 296 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 284 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 449 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 309 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 152 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 555 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 152 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 152 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 459 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 152 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 492 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 152 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 152 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 150 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 258 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 377 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 426 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 422 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 420 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 425 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 425 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 426 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 431 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2016 115 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2019 610 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 610 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2021 660 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2022 278 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 972 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 303 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 305 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 601 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 5 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800
2024 649 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 64 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs 850

Also listed as: Instanbul (Not Constantinople); Istanbul, Not Constantinople; Istanbul (not Constantinople); Istanbul.

Charting alongside it in 1990

Best songs of 1990 →
  1. 1Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor
  2. 2The Only One I KnowThe Charlatans
  3. 3Blue Sky MineMidnight Oil
  4. 4Enjoy the SilenceDepeche Mode
  5. 5Here's Where The Story EndsThe Sundays
  6. 6The Emperor's New ClothesSinéad O'Connor

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