Things to Make and Do

Things to Make and Do is the third album by the electronic/dance duo Moloko, released in the UK by Echo Records in 2000. It was a sonic departure for Moloko, with the tracks being less reliant on electronics and more on live musicians. In addition to the change in musical styles, the lead singer, Róisín Murphy, had changed her lyrical style. At time of release, Murphy summed up the previous style of her lyrics, saying, "I was nineteen when I made Tight Sweater, and I knew I was pretending, but if I tried not to, I'd still be pretending. Now, I know myself better," and her lyrics on this album are described as, "Roisin's most direct and emotionally honest lyrics [so far]."^{[3][lower-alpha 1]}

Things to Make and Do
Studio album by Moloko
Released	10 April 2000[1]
Recorded	1999–2000
Genre	Dance electronica glam rock trip hop experimental house
Length	67:54
Label	Echo, Sony
Producer	Moloko
Moloko chronology
I Am Not a Doctor (1998) Things to Make and Do (2000) All Back to the Mine (2001)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
BBC	(favourable) link
NME	link

After the release of Things to Make and Do, offers came in for Murphy to guest on others' records, most notably The Psychedelic Waltons, Boris D. and Handsome Boy Modelling School. The album held the record as Echo's fastest-selling UK platinum record, until beaten by Feeder's The Singles compilation six years later. The track "Indigo" was featured on the soundtrack to Mystery Men.

As of May 2015, the album has sold over 355,000 copies in the UK.^[4] As of December 2000 it has sold more than 750,000 units worldwide.^[5]

Singles and bonus tracks

"The Time Is Now", the album's first single, became Moloko's biggest hit, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and prompted a number three UK album début for Things to Make and Do.^[6]

Before the album's release, an unsolicited Boris Dlugosch "Sing It Back" remix became a club, then mainstream, hit (it was originally a drum and bass-ish track on I Am Not a Doctor, their previous album). After the remix became a significant hit in Ibiza and Miami, then achieved scores of dance mix compilation inclusions, it was added to Things to Make and Do as a bonus track.

Track listing

All tracks written by Mark Brydon and Róisín Murphy, except where noted. All music published by Chrysalis Music Publishing.

Things to Make and Do track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Radio Moscow"	Eddie Stevens	0:25
2.	"Pure Pleasure Seeker"		6:31
3.	"Absent Minded Friends"		4:44
4.	"Indigo"		5:37
5.	"Being Is Bewildering"		4:06
6.	"Remain the Same"		3:40
7.	"A Drop in the Ocean"		1:58
8.	"Dumb Inc."		4:27
9.	"The Time Is Now"		5:18
10.	"Mother"		4:45
11.	"It's Your Problem"	Brydon, Murphy, Stevens	1:07
12.	"It's Nothing"		5:13
13.	"Bingo Massacre"	Brydon, Murphy, Stevens, Paul Slowley	0:25
14.	"Somebody Somewhere"	Brydon, Murphy, Ashton Thomas, Dave Cooke	5:42
15.	"Just You and Me Dancing"	Brydon, Murphy, Stevens, Slowley	1:17
16.	"If You Have a Cross to Bear You May as Well Use It as a Crutch"	Brydon, Murphy, Stevens, Slowley	3:24
17.	"Keep Stepping"	Brydon, Murphy, Stevens	0:21
18.	"Sing It Back" (Boris Musical Mix)		9:18

Personnel

Moloko

• Róisín Murphy
• Mark Brydon

Other Musicians

• Eddie Stevens – hammond organ, piano, additional keyboards
• Paul Slowley – live drums
• Audrey Riley – string arrangements, cello on "The Time Is Now"
• Chris Tombling – violin on "The Time Is Now"
• Greg Warren-Wilson – violin on "The Time Is Now"
• Susan Dench – viola on "The Time Is Now"
• Nick Charles – contrabass saxophone on "Pure Pleasure Seeker"
• Rachel Syms – contrabassoon on "Pure Pleasure Seeker"
• Dave Cooke – vocals on "Somebody Somewhere"

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2000) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[7] 38 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[8] 21 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[9] 6 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 26 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 14 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[12] 66 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[13] 38 Scottish Albums (OCC)[14] 3 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 25 UK Albums (OCC)[16] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2000) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[17] 45 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18] 86 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 52 Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Platinum 355,196[4]

Notes

1. In fact, Murphy met collaborator Mark Brydon at a party in 1994 when she was 20 or 21, and Tight Sweater was recorded from 1994-1995.

References

1. "Discogs:Moloko:Editing Things to Make and Do:Echo:ECHLP 31 Archived 16 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine", Discogs, retrieved 19 August 2013
2. Things to Make and Do at AllMusic
3. "Wayback:ECHO:Moloko". Archived from the original on 29 January 2008.
4. Jones, Alan (18 May 2015). "Official Charts Analysis: OMI's Cheerleader spends third week at No.1". Music Week. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
5. Wright, Chris (14 October 2013). One Way or Another: My Life in Music, Sport and Entertainment. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781783230297. Archived from the original on 26 June 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
6. "Moloko | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 8 May 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
7. "Australiancharts.com – Moloko – Things to Make and Do". Hung Medien.
8. "Austriancharts.at – Moloko – Things to Make and Do" (in German). Hung Medien.
9. "Ultratop.be – Moloko – Things to Make and Do" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
10. "Moloko: Things to Make and Do" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Moloko – Things to Make and Do" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Moloko – Things to Make and Do" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
13. "Norwegiancharts.com – Moloko – Things to Make and Do". Hung Medien.
14. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Moloko – Things to Make and Do". Hung Medien.
16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
17. "Jaaroverzichten 2000". Ultratop. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
18. "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
19. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2000". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
20. "British album certifications – Moloko – Things to Make and Do". British Phonographic Industry.