Customer Reviews

Here Come The ABCs (With Exclusive Amazon.com Content)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The joy is that John Flansburgh and John Linnell have produced yet another wonderful, thoughtful and creative CD for children! This CD is a great educational tool handling 25 tunes designed to educate while entertaining young children about the alphabet. The songs really are TRULY catchy with funny, thoughtful, lighthearted lyrics. Flansburgh and Linnell realize that in order to keep the very young interested in beginning education, you have to keep them entertained so they stay motivated as well! (This of course is true to a smaller degree with us adults, too!) Flansburgh and Linnell do a sublime job of mixing the education with the fun "intriguing flights of fancy" in their stories they use to connect the lessons about the alphabet and words that might otherwise be too dry for some of the younger children to keep them interested.

I must admit that this CD brings back fond memories of my parents, aunts, uncles and occasional babysitters reading to me on the living room sofa trying to show me that "books and words" are our friends. This is precisely the thing that Flansburgh and Linnell are doing here on this CD; and I suppose my affection for this CD is partly because it brings back the really good memories I have. In fact, I just bought two copies for nieces and nephews of mine! (One CD I got at the local store because I couldn't wait and the other through Amazon. I guess this makes me a TMBG enthusiast! GRIN)

I especially like the way the three bonus tracks follow the song "Goodnight." It's just so thoughtful, just like the way little children say "Good night, Mommy" and then ask for yet just one more bedtime story, "please?"

Another BIG plus is that this version of the CD has (as you can see) extra exclusive content available to us only if we purchase this CD on Amazon. I would recommend buying this product here for the obvious reasons.

And even another plus: This is an enhanced CD-there are multimedia computer files for the children to enjoy! The parents can enjoy, too, just as they enjoy Disney when they take their own kids there! Hehehe Parents also ought to get a good sense of pleasure that their children will be learning from a quality educational tool while the kids enjoy at the same time.

Another quick note: Look for Desi Tomaselli and Marty Beller to chime in on the vocals on this album. A nice touch, very well done by all.

I think this is an excellent CD for parents to choose as a learning device for their young children who are ready to learn the alphabet and enjoy some fun, beautifully creative stories at the same time. One writer once wrote that "They Might Be Giants is...one of most educationally oriented bands on the planet;" and I couldn't agree more!
We are fortunate to have these great artists amongst us and I applaud their efforts! These are people who want a better world for our children!

TMBG seem like big kids and great dads; this album contains kid-friendly songs about the alphabet, including the classic lyrics "urnx, urnx, ni, imnx, ictv,ictv, nicu" which translates as "You are an X, you are an X, and I, I am an X, I see TV, I see TV, and I see you." [This one has a compelling country-western kinda twang to it!] The letters all have quirky personalities (W is called "double-wide") that kids will love.

But (and it's a BIG but), this has not the charm of their previous kid's effort "No, No, No" and it's entirely Disney's fault (the album is a Disney production). "No, No, No" had these really cute little animations/games that could be played, simply, on your computer. But if you put "ABCs" into your computer, what comes up is merely a link to Disney's web site--and you have to REGISTER--and it's not clear whether once you do there will be any added content. In fact, it took about 10 minutes to figure out how to circumvent Disney's tremendous need to market to my hapless kids and merely *listen* to the album.

So the visual angle that reinforced the songs and increased the play value of the previous album is gone daddy gone. Now Disney has your name and your kids' name too. John, John, my kids want to see your letters boogie - do they have to be SOLD to to see it?

I have been a fan of They Might Be Giants for as long as I can remember. I have always loved their "educational" songs as much as the purely entertaining ones. I thought it was a great idea for TMBG to move into music geared more toward kids, and loved their prior release, "No!"

However, I don't think that this CD measures up to what TMBG has done in the past. Part of the problem with the CD is that it is music from the DVD, and some of the songs on the DVD are very visual (e.g., "Letter Shapes"). There are a few songs that are enjoyable just on the CD (my favorites are "Alphabet of Nations" and "Z Y X"), but if you want to really enjoy this release, forgo the CD and just buy the DVD.

Also, just so that I wouldn't be posting only my adult comments on this product, I showed the DVD to my two nephews (ages 1 and 4), and they got bored after about the third song and asked to watch The Wiggles instead.

This CD features a number of new TMBG songs worthy of singing along to with your kids. Our oldest (not quite 3 years old) has already managed to memorize portions of several songs after less than one week of listening. His all-out favorite is "D & W", which makes him geek-out like no sugar high I've ever witnessed.

Not only are these songs catchy for tots, I find myself humming the melody to "Can you find it?", "Fake Believe", "Go for G!" and "Alphabet Lost and Found" while at work, which tends to drive my coworkers bonkers.

This album has all the appeal of a traditional TMBGs album, but enough silliness for children of all ages to enjoy.

My hubby & I have been TMBG fans for years and years! The kids could listen to most of their material w/out too much editing or explaining--"Mom...what's a racist friend? Is that a fast friend?"--and now they have their very own. That is if they can get the cd away from us! We loved "NO" and we are really enjoying Here Come the ABC's. They love music, the group is smart and funny and kids love them! I hope we're creating TMBG fans of a new generation. We even bought the DVD--can you say the alphabet backwards? Can you name a country for every letter? This is what adults and kids alike can learn from this fearless, intuitive and fun band! Go get it and love it.

I was reluctant to buy this album.

I am a long time TMBG fan, since Apollo 18, which is still my favorite. Anyway, although I had enjoyed No!, Here Come the ABCs seemed like a reach for me. I know my ABCs. So, the question is: DOES THIS ALBUM WORK FOR ADULTS TOO?
The answer: Sort of. The cons? The entire CD is about the ABCs. This gets old, pretty quickly, and the they tend to reuse ideas a lot on this album (Fake Believe parts A and B), and other songs are just too goofy. However, there are a few awesome songs on here, some of which I hope will transfer over to their adult shows, the same way Bed, Bed, Bed and Clap Your Hands have. I could see "Alphabet Lost and Found" as a huge hit at live shows. What makes this album for me is that it sounds like the Johns had a lot of fun recording it.

If you're into TMBG as much as I am, I highly recommend this CD. However, if you only kind of like them, I'd recommend only borrowing it.

My daughter, with a little loving help, was able to say her ABCs at 18 months. She still loves this video, at 21 months, and, frankly, my wife and I are singing the songs ourselves. Of course, we already had enjoyed flood, which is still a household favorite. The tunrs are catchy, the humor a trifle off center, and the material clean and understandable to very young kids. Entertaining and educational, my daughter calls for it and my wife and I are happy to agree. She learns, we are entertained, who needs more?

I was never really fond of TMBG's music but after catching glimpses of the "QU" video on a kid's cable channel I had to get this DVD for my two year old twins. It didn't matter what they were doing as soon as the beat of "QU" came on they would come drop everything and sing and dance along.

This is one of the few DVD's for kids that I think is actually "adult friendly". Meaning the songs are all catchy and smart and you can't help but find yourself singing along. And the animation is really stylish and clever for a kid's DVD. I have yet to get burnt out on this DVD. My two year olds love this DVD and practically know all the words. This is my emergency DVD that I keep in the car for those very long car trips, that stands up to whiny, tired kids when even Disney and Baby Einstien can't. Even my ten year old son will watch it with the twins without complaint. Love it!

How much fun can mom have in the car with my 2 and 4 yr old kids? Did I mention we were listening to TMBG ! My daughter who is almost two knows all the words to Flying V and Go for G!!
We all love this CD!!
The tunes are catchy and the lyrics keep the kids thinking. Why listen to Barney when "retro new wave rock for kids" is this much fun ? Anyone with kids, a sense of humor, a taste for good music and a CD player will be delighted! You will be amazed that kids will enjoy learning about letters this much.
We also bought the DVD and now some of the lyrics make more sense when you see the quirky little skits that they came up with for the DVD!

I have been a TMBG fan since the 80s & love the fact that my children want to hear this CD constantly! The lyrics are clever, quirky & educational. We have a great time listening & singing along. My two-year-old loves 'Go for G' & my four-year-old 'Can You Find It?'. My personal favorite is 'Alphabet Lost & Found'. This is a must have for any family!