They Might Be Giants - Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
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Artist: They Might Be GiantsEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2002-09-17
Music Label: Elektra / Wea
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Birdhouse in Your Soul
- Ana Ng
- Don't Let's Start
- Boss of Me (Theme From Malcom in the Middle)
- Older
- Istanbul (Not Constantinople)
- Doctor Worm
- Guitar
- Dr. Evil [From Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me]
- New York City
- Particle Man
- Cyclops Rock
- Minimum Wage
- Man, It's So Loud in Here
- We're the Replacements
- Why Does the Sun Shine (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) [Live]
- Your Racist Friend
- Bangs
- Snail Shell
- Twisting
- Another First Kiss
- They'll Need a Crane
- Statue Got Me High
- (She Was A) Hotel Detective
- Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head
- I Palindrome I
- She's an Angel
- How Can I Sing Like a Girl?
- James K. Polk
- Meet James Ensor
- Mammal
- Pet Name
- No!
- I Can Hear You
- Spider
- I Should Be Allowed to Think
- Fingertips
- She's Actual Size [New Live Version][#]
- Spy [New Live Version][#]
- Stormy Pinkness [Live in Berlin 1989][#]
- Exquisite Dead Guy
- Robot Parade [Adult Version]
- Boat of Car
- S-E-X-X-Y
- Number Three
- End of the Tour
- They Might Be Giants
- Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal
- Nightgown of the Sullen Moon
- Snowball in Hell
- Purple Toupee
- Cowtown
Music reviews of Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
Music Review: Introduction to a brilliant and creative band
Rating: 4 Stars
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.
Description of Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
The ultimate anthology curated by the band, 52 songs including 'Don't Let's Start', 'Birdhouse In Your Soul' and the Grammy-winning 'Boss Of Me' plus a full color book with lyrics, discography and essays by the band and NPR's Sarah Vowell. Digipaks housed in a slipcase. 2002.General CDs
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