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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Birdhouse In Your Soul | |||
| 2. Ana NG | |||
| 3. Don't Let's Start | |||
| 4. Boss Of Me (Theme From Malcolm In The Middle) | |||
| 5. Older | |||
| 6. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) | |||
| 7. Doctor Worm | |||
| 8. The Guitar | |||
| 9. Dr. Evil (From Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) | |||
| 10. New York City | |||
See all 26 tracks on this disc
| |||
| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. She's An Angel | |||
| 2. How Can I Sing Like A Girl? | |||
| 3. James K. Polk | |||
| 4. Meet James Ensor | |||
| 5. Mammal | |||
| 6. Pet Name | |||
| 7. No! | |||
| 8. I Can Hear You | |||
| 9. Spider | |||
| 10. I Should Be Allowed To Think | |||
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See all 26 tracks on this disc
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Editorial Reviews
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.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
220 of 248 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've read several reviews of this album by committed TMBG fans, people who love the songs, but at the same time have given this compilation just one star because they see it as 1) corporate greed 2) selling out, or 3) they're angry that there are three previously unreleased songs that they'll have to spend $$$ on to own.
Please. You people sound like those opera fanatics who insist that "supertitles" (where a translation of the lyrics is played high above the stage) corrupt opera. Those are the people who insist you must learn fluent Italian to enjoy opera or else just sit there and wonder what's going on. For years, I've heard "purists" of a particular rock band sneer at "greatest hits" compilations. They're the ones who insist that anyone who buys "Forty Licks" is a shallow tool of consumer culture. They don't understand that not everyone already owns all fifty or so Rolling Stones albums or otherwise doesn't have the money to buy them all.
I realize that there are thousands of devoted TMBG fans, many of whom seem to spend their youth collecting graduate degrees in anthropology or third-world literature studies, who insist that a compilation doesn't capture the delicate pathos that TMBG have created with their music. Fair enough. They are gifted artists. But like those other gifted artists, the ones who hailed from Liverpool, their albums sell primarily because they are filled with catchy tunes. That's why I bought the Beatles' "One" and that's why I'm buying "Dial-A-Song": because I want some songs I can whistle to when I'm stuck in rush-hour traffic. Get over it.
Finally, for those who are upset that their heroes have sold out to the man or whatever, I'd like to remind them that TMBG is the only band I can think of that has distributed hundreds of songs for free, long before the World Wide Web, over their unique Dial-A-Song service. It's been around for fifteen years. It's always been free. It still is free. So why all this anger about the injustice over having to raid your beer money to buy a few songs. (Besides, those songs aren't like cancer medication. Trust me, you won't drop dead without them.)
Still, even if the Dial-A-Song line had never existed, I wouldn't begrudge TMBG's ability to use their artistic ability to make money. You enjoy listening to their music. In return, you give them money. Fair enough. It's known as capitalism. If you don't like it, go burn your collection of TMBG albums along with an American flag at the next Stop-the-World Bank and IMF/Ban-GM-Food/Elect-Nader/Free-Mumia/Meat-is-Murder protest.
I digress. Forgive me. It's time for me to whip out my American Express and buy the greatest hits of TMBG.
39 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
To clarify, what you're looking at is *not* a compilation of rarities, alternate studio cuts, or live performances (so what if the album title references their Dial-a-Song service? it means *nothing*...), but a yay-happy-twentieth-anniversary celebration of some of the Giant's greatest releases, spanning from their very first album through their latest release, the youngsta-oriented "No!" Also included are two previously-available-only-on-soundtrack tracks, the "Malcom in the Middle" [extended] theme, "Boss of Me" and "Dr. Evil" from Austin Powers II.
What I love most about this item is that it's not exclusive to the more popular TMBG singles, and includes a few old-school, lesser-known gems like "Nightgown of the Sullen Moon", "Snowball in Hell", and "She Was An Angel" (by my definition, one of the best Giant songs to ever exist).
For most TMBG fans, this CD brings few surprises...but that's no reason to shrug it off. As I said earlier, this is a great-great-wonderful collection of songs and, by *far*, one of the better "Best Of" albums that I've ever encountered. My recommendation? Open your wallet in the name of supporting quality music, and buy the li'l darlin.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought "Dial a Song" expecting a run-of-the-mill "best of" compilation, hoping to fill in the cracks in my small collection of "Giants" recordings. Well imagine my surprise to find a beautifully assembled compilation of the best of "They Might be Giants"! I mean this in the sense that they didn't just pick out their most popular recordings, but truly the BEST of their recordings. And they didn't stop there! Because instead of simply plopping the songs onto a CD in chronilogical order (as so many do), they arranged them in a sequence that actually makes many of them sound BETTER than they did on the original recordings. The songs flow from one to another with almost eerie smoothness, pulling you into the music and making you bop around the livingroom oozing joy.
Really. A great record. You need it now.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The best money I've spent on music in a while!
I was looking for a nice TMBG compilation to share with my sons (ages 11, 6 and 5) and came across this set- and at a FABULOUS price on Amazon- and am pretty sure it was the best... Read more
Published on December 15, 2009 by M. McCain
TMBG-Dial-A-Song- So much in one small package
Wether your just starting out or have been a TMBG fan since the start (like me) I feel this collection is a great value. Read more
Published on August 28, 2009 by S. Bainard
Excellent Introduction to a Musical Multiverse
Attached by a magnet to the front of my filing cabinet at work is a picture of John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants with his arms around the waists of my two older daughters. Read more
Published on August 9, 2009 by Karl W. Nehring
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. Read more
Published on December 5, 2007 by Andreas C G
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. Read more
Published on October 9, 2007 by Anonymous
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... Read more
Published on January 18, 2007 by M. Batsimm
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.
Published on February 6, 2006 by Lu Lu MacGoo
Catchy, fun, sing-along lyrical beauty. This is a fine collection of...
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. Read more
Published on November 29, 2005 by Miketheratguy
The Giants, they hath rocked out.
Disc 2 is a little lacking (How Can I Sing Like A Girl?, Exquisite Dead Guy, Nightgown of the Sullen Moon, this version of James K. Polk), but overall it's great. Read more
Published on April 26, 2005 by Mavhunter
DOES cost more than a regular cd
I LISTENED TO THIS FOR A LONG TIME TODAY AND ENJOY "DR.WORM" AND "BOSS OF ME"AND MANY OTHERS. A LOT OF MY FAVORITES ARE ON THE FIRST CD, BUT BOTH ARE WONDERFUL.REALLY WORTH IT.
Published on August 14, 2004 by Robin Goodfellow
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