Product Details

* Audio CD (September 17, 2002)
* Number of Discs: 2
* Label: Elektra / Wea
* ASIN: B00006IZOC
* Average Customer Review: based on 35 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,072 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #7,901 in Music

Listen to Samples
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Disc: 1 Windows Media RealOne Player
1. Birdhouse In Your Soul Listen Listen
2. Ana NG Listen Listen
3. Don't Let's Start Listen Listen
4. Boss Of Me (Theme From Malcolm In The Middle) Listen Listen
5. Older Listen Listen
6. Istanbul (Not Constantinople) Listen Listen
7. Doctor Worm Listen Listen
8. The Guitar Listen Listen
9. Dr. Evil (From Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) Listen Listen
10. New York City Listen Listen
See all 26 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2 Windows Media RealOne Player
1. She's An Angel Listen Listen
2. How Can I Sing Like A Girl? Listen Listen
3. James K. Polk Listen Listen
4. Meet James Ensor Listen Listen
5. Mammal Listen Listen
6. Pet Name Listen Listen
7. No! Listen Listen
8. I Can Hear You Listen Listen
9. Spider Listen Listen
10. I Should Be Allowed To Think Listen Listen
See all 26 tracks on this disc
Editorial Reviews
Product Description
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.
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First tag: tape to CD (Patty Laird on Nov 13, 2005)
Last tag: Gen-X

tape to CD (1), Gen-X (1)
Customers who tagged this item

* Rebecca M. Brannon "boxholder"



* Patty Laird




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127 of 143 people found the following review helpful:
Music compilations are not the source of all evil., October 20, 2002
Reviewer: Mark Cattell "symbolicgravy" (Brooksville, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
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.

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27 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
An *Excellent* "Best Of..." Album, September 20, 2002
Reviewer: "squeakypig" (Columbia, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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.

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Customer Reviews
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
fan-friggin-tastic, February 6, 2006
Reviewer: Lu Lu MacGoo "Lu" (Istanbul (not Constantinople)) - See all my reviews
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.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Catchy, fun, sing-along lyrical beauty. This is a fine collection of one fine band., November 29, 2005
Reviewer: Mike Wasion (California, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
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. ( )