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.

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.

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.

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.

I rarely review music because more than any other medium, it relies on the personal taste of the listener. I enjoy some Hendrix, Beatles, Mozart, Rammstein, Johnny Cash, and more. I'd be hard pressed to reccommend all of them to each of my friends though.

That's the case with They Might Be Giants. As my favorite band for well over a decade, and the ONLY band whose albums I feel confident buying without sampling them first, I'm very biased. When I try to describe them to those who don't know them, I can only use words like "intelligent", "catchy", "goofy", and "fun". This lack of perspicacity is due only to the fact that no matter what song genre they do, TMBG always winds up being those things to me.

Take this album. It's a fine, fine collection of some of the most catchy and fun to listen to songs I've heard in my entire life. It's got great classics- "Dr. Worm", "Ana Ng", "Mammal", some of their newer choice cuts like "Man It's So Loud In Here", and of course, the song that hooked me on them in the first place, "Particle Man".

With only a few greats missing, this really is the best album a fan can get if he wants all the best, as well as the best starter kit I can think of for those who aren't yet aqcuainted with the 2 Johns. Before this was available I burned my own greatest hits album of TMBG, and most of what I put on there is on this album as well. A much better collection than "Then: The Early Years", though that collection is reccommended for the more in-depth TMBG fan.

I wish I could say more to help someone understand the appeal these guys have. It's great to see that they've become so popular thanks to Malcolm in the Middle and constant appearances on Conan O Brien and so on, but the more fans they win the happier I am. These guys are smart enough to wax lyrical about Palindromes, a night light, and even a mirror "Clearing my throat and gripping the lantern, I smile and face the audience clearing its throat and smiling with its hands on the bathroom sink". But at the same time, their surreal and thoughtful lyrics remain buoyant, catchy, and just plain fun to listen to.

If you love these guys as much as I do and want more than just their best album ever, "Flood", then pick this one up. For anyone who doesn't yet understand their appeal, I challenge them to pick this up- I can't imagine there's not a song here that won't appeal to somebody.