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Music : Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
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Rating: 
- Awesome, but missing some great tunes
There's probably no better summary of the absolute genius of They Might Be Giants than this 2-disc compilation. The quality of the band's music definitely had its peaks and valleys, and the non-sequential order of the tracks makes that even more apparent than if they were chronological. But when the band was on, they were one of the most entertaining acts around -- around the time of Lincoln and Flood, it was impossible not to love them. As with all career-spanning song sets, some of the best songs were omitted, lord knows why: "Subliminal" and "AKA Driver" from John Henry (while they did include lesser songs from the same album... puzzling). You can easily grab those tracks as mp3s from iTunes, but this compilation is only available on CD. Bottom line, I found Dial-A-Song is very worthwhile, as I listened to TMBG only intermittently since 1994 and enjoyed catching up on highlights that I missed, and having the classics (especially "Ana Ng" and "Birdhouse In Your Soul") revitalized by remastering.
Rating: - Introduction to a brilliant and creative band
They Might Be Giants is a band I've known about for a long time, and have always been meaning to check out, but never did until now. I actually remember calling the dial-a-song number in the late 80's. First let's be clear that, despite the title, this is NOT a compilation of songs from the dial-a-song hotline. That would be an interesting project in itself. As the liner notes to this compilation explain, the lo-fi & low tech nature of playing songs over a telephone answering machine affected the nature of the songs. Songs had to be short. Overly complex harmonics resulted in distortion. Extended instrumental tones were mistaken by the machine as a message-ending beep.
This is a compilation of their regularly released material over 20 years. Not being very familiar with the original releases (yet!), I cannot comment on how accurately this compilation represents their body of work. What I can say is the it's a very enjoyable and intriguing collection of creative, clever, and eclectic songs. Most of the lyrics are full of very quirky, often absurdist humor, and present intelligent and often heartfelt subject matter in unexpected ways. "Out of the box" is a cliche, but is certainly applies to them.
Disc one evidently has the more well-known songs, and there certainly are a lot of good songs. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" was an alt-rock radio hit of sorts in the early 90's and deservedly so. "Dr. Evil" is a great parody of a James Bond theme from the 60's, which was actually the theme of an Austin Powers movie. Unfortunately for my taste around the middle of the CD some of it starts to sound like somewhat generic jangly 90's alt-rock ("Bangs", "New York City"), although the lyrics are always superior.
I actually ended up listening to Disc 2 first and it's the more interesting one, for my taste. It's full of really unusual, quirky songs full of lyrical and sonic surprises. TMBG actually has done some successful children's music albums, and some of these songs appear here, and they are very enjoyable for adults too. "No" is hysterical. Who else but TMGB has a song about a relatively obscure 19th Century president (James K. Polk), AND makes it enjoyable? "I Can Hear You" is brilliant. The lyrics are a series of phrases you might hear through a speaker ("step away from the car", "I can super-size that for you") recorded through what sounds like a tinny intercom. The liner notes explain that it was actually recorded on a wax cylinder similar to what Thomas Edison used. This, and the inanity of the phrases, is a great commentary on our purported "progress"
If you are new to TMBG I can certainly recommend this collection. It's very enjoyable on its own, and certainly has inspired me to check out the original releases. The packaging is very nice, too, and the booklet is very informative and a fun read.
Rating:
- Is there a problem?
The rumors are that They Might Be Giants are the cause of the fact that the "Malcolm in the Middle" TV series will not be released on DVD, possibly ever. It is rumored that securing the music rights is the hold-up and that it is allegedly the fault of They Might Be Giants. If that is so, I hope that They Might Be Giants will go count their money again and see if they have enough to reconsider and let "Malcolm" go. The rest of us would love to be able to buy all of the "Malcolm in the Middle" TV shows on DVD so that we can revel in the magnificent hilarity and brilliance of that show, the best TV show ever. I see that They Might Be Giants has "Boss of Me" on this CD compilation and that they show it as "theme song from "Malcolm in the Middle" - which is true, of course. Well, if it was their aim to prove that they are the boss of all of us by holding up the "Malcolm" DVD releases, possibly forever, we concede. They are boss of all of us. Now, please - please - let "Malcolm" go. "Malcolm in the Middle" is a genuine work of comedic art. It is the only reason I ever heard of They Might Be Giants who, if the rumors are true about their role in the non-release of the "Malcolm" DVDs, might consider renaming themselves, They Might Be Greedy. If it is not their fault, then my request is moot.
Rating:
- They might be our new favorite!
My wife and I have been TMBG fans for 20 years; unfortunately we have most of their old (and best) stuff on vinyl. "Dial-a-song..." brings all of those songs back to us, along with some new stuff we haven't picked up. Thanks to "NO!", our kids have also become TMBG fans, and have found, just like adult fans like the "childrens'" albums, they like the adult material. Our family faves - "The Guitar," "Birdhouse in your soul," "New York City," and "Twisting." With not a bad song in the bunch, "Dial-a-song" mixes all of TMBG's musical styles, twists, and quirks into one great album.
Rating: - fan-friggin-tastic
Yeah, I don't know about the album yet, but it looks great and I can't wait to listen to it. I'm really here to comment on the previous review. Amen brotha man. Preach it.
- Awesome, but missing some great tunesThere's probably no better summary of the absolute genius of They Might Be Giants than this 2-disc compilation. The quality of the band's music definitely had its peaks and valleys, and the non-sequential order of the tracks makes that even more apparent than if they were chronological. But when the band was on, they were one of the most entertaining acts around -- around the time of Lincoln and Flood, it was impossible not to love them. As with all career-spanning song sets, some of the best songs were omitted, lord knows why: "Subliminal" and "AKA Driver" from John Henry (while they did include lesser songs from the same album... puzzling). You can easily grab those tracks as mp3s from iTunes, but this compilation is only available on CD. Bottom line, I found Dial-A-Song is very worthwhile, as I listened to TMBG only intermittently since 1994 and enjoyed catching up on highlights that I missed, and having the classics (especially "Ana Ng" and "Birdhouse In Your Soul") revitalized by remastering.
Rating:
- Introduction to a brilliant and creative bandThey Might Be Giants is a band I've known about for a long time, and have always been meaning to check out, but never did until now. I actually remember calling the dial-a-song number in the late 80's. First let's be clear that, despite the title, this is NOT a compilation of songs from the dial-a-song hotline. That would be an interesting project in itself. As the liner notes to this compilation explain, the lo-fi & low tech nature of playing songs over a telephone answering machine affected the nature of the songs. Songs had to be short. Overly complex harmonics resulted in distortion. Extended instrumental tones were mistaken by the machine as a message-ending beep.
This is a compilation of their regularly released material over 20 years. Not being very familiar with the original releases (yet!), I cannot comment on how accurately this compilation represents their body of work. What I can say is the it's a very enjoyable and intriguing collection of creative, clever, and eclectic songs. Most of the lyrics are full of very quirky, often absurdist humor, and present intelligent and often heartfelt subject matter in unexpected ways. "Out of the box" is a cliche, but is certainly applies to them.
Disc one evidently has the more well-known songs, and there certainly are a lot of good songs. "Birdhouse in Your Soul" was an alt-rock radio hit of sorts in the early 90's and deservedly so. "Dr. Evil" is a great parody of a James Bond theme from the 60's, which was actually the theme of an Austin Powers movie. Unfortunately for my taste around the middle of the CD some of it starts to sound like somewhat generic jangly 90's alt-rock ("Bangs", "New York City"), although the lyrics are always superior.
I actually ended up listening to Disc 2 first and it's the more interesting one, for my taste. It's full of really unusual, quirky songs full of lyrical and sonic surprises. TMBG actually has done some successful children's music albums, and some of these songs appear here, and they are very enjoyable for adults too. "No" is hysterical. Who else but TMGB has a song about a relatively obscure 19th Century president (James K. Polk), AND makes it enjoyable? "I Can Hear You" is brilliant. The lyrics are a series of phrases you might hear through a speaker ("step away from the car", "I can super-size that for you") recorded through what sounds like a tinny intercom. The liner notes explain that it was actually recorded on a wax cylinder similar to what Thomas Edison used. This, and the inanity of the phrases, is a great commentary on our purported "progress"
If you are new to TMBG I can certainly recommend this collection. It's very enjoyable on its own, and certainly has inspired me to check out the original releases. The packaging is very nice, too, and the booklet is very informative and a fun read.
Rating:
- Is there a problem?The rumors are that They Might Be Giants are the cause of the fact that the "Malcolm in the Middle" TV series will not be released on DVD, possibly ever. It is rumored that securing the music rights is the hold-up and that it is allegedly the fault of They Might Be Giants. If that is so, I hope that They Might Be Giants will go count their money again and see if they have enough to reconsider and let "Malcolm" go. The rest of us would love to be able to buy all of the "Malcolm in the Middle" TV shows on DVD so that we can revel in the magnificent hilarity and brilliance of that show, the best TV show ever. I see that They Might Be Giants has "Boss of Me" on this CD compilation and that they show it as "theme song from "Malcolm in the Middle" - which is true, of course. Well, if it was their aim to prove that they are the boss of all of us by holding up the "Malcolm" DVD releases, possibly forever, we concede. They are boss of all of us. Now, please - please - let "Malcolm" go. "Malcolm in the Middle" is a genuine work of comedic art. It is the only reason I ever heard of They Might Be Giants who, if the rumors are true about their role in the non-release of the "Malcolm" DVDs, might consider renaming themselves, They Might Be Greedy. If it is not their fault, then my request is moot.
Rating:
- They might be our new favorite!My wife and I have been TMBG fans for 20 years; unfortunately we have most of their old (and best) stuff on vinyl. "Dial-a-song..." brings all of those songs back to us, along with some new stuff we haven't picked up. Thanks to "NO!", our kids have also become TMBG fans, and have found, just like adult fans like the "childrens'" albums, they like the adult material. Our family faves - "The Guitar," "Birdhouse in your soul," "New York City," and "Twisting." With not a bad song in the bunch, "Dial-a-song" mixes all of TMBG's musical styles, twists, and quirks into one great album.
Rating:
- fan-friggin-tasticYeah, I don't know about the album yet, but it looks great and I can't wait to listen to it. I'm really here to comment on the previous review. Amen brotha man. Preach it.