Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants

Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants is a 2002 compilation album by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, issued by Rhino Records and compiled by the band's co-singer/songwriter and guitarist John Flansburgh. Despite its name, the compilation does not include tracks from the band's "Dial-A-Song" service. It is instead an anthology of various single, album and live tracks from the band's history, spanning their full career up to the time of its release. It includes tracks from every album starting with 1986's They Might Be Giants up through No!, their first children's album, which was released only three months before this compilation.

Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
Compilation album by
ReleasedSeptember 17, 2002
Recorded1985–2002
GenreAlternative rock
Length150:16
LabelRhino Records
ProducerVarious
CompilerJohn Flansburgh
They Might Be Giants chronology
They Got Lost
(2002)
Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants
(2002)
Bed, Bed, Bed
(2003)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Austin Chronicle[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
The Village VoiceA[5]

The first disc focuses mainly on the group's singles and better-known album tracks, while disc two delves into more obscure fan favorites and live cuts.

Song notes

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Track listing

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All songs by John Flansburgh and John Linnell unless otherwise noted.

Disc 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Original ReleaseLength
1."Birdhouse in Your Soul" Flood3:19
2."Ana Ng" Lincoln3:21
3."Don't Let's Start" (single remix) Don't Let's Start EP2:33
4."Boss of Me" Boss of Me EP2:58
5."Older" Long Tall Weekend1:52
6."Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"Jimmy Kennedy, Nat SimonFlood2:35
7."Doctor Worm" Severe Tire Damage3:01
8."The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight)"John Flansburgh, John Linnell, Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David WeissApollo 183:49
9."Dr. Evil" Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me1:50
10."New York City"Robynn Iwata, Lisa Marr, Lisa NielsenFactory Showroom3:05
11."Particle Man" Flood1:58
12."Cyclops Rock" Mink Car2:43
13."Minimum Wage" Flood0:46
14."Man, It's So Loud in Here" Mink Car4:03
15."We're the Replacements" Don't Let's Start EP1:49
16."Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)" (live)Lou Singer, Hy ZaretSevere Tire Damage2:20
17."Your Racist Friend" Flood2:54
18."Bangs" Mink Car3:14
19."Snail Shell" John Henry3:21
20."Twisting" Flood1:55
21."Another First Kiss" Mink Car3:07
22."They'll Need a Crane" Lincoln2:31
23."The Statue Got Me High" Apollo 183:05
24."(She Was A) Hotel Detective" (Single Remix) (She Was A) Hotel Detective EP2:21
25."Put Your Hand Inside the Puppet Head" They Might Be Giants2:10
26."I Palindrome I" Apollo 182:20
Total length:79:14
Disc 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Original ReleaseLength
1."She's an Angel" They Might Be Giants2:36
2."How Can I Sing Like a Girl?" Factory Showroom4:28
3."James K. Polk"Matthew Hill, They Might Be GiantsFactory Showroom3:05
4."Meet James Ensor" John Henry1:33
5."Mammal" Apollo 182:13
6."Pet Name" Factory Showroom4:02
7."No!" No!1:29
8."I Can Hear You" Factory Showroom1:56
9."Spider" Apollo 180:51
10."I Should Be Allowed to Think" John Henry3:07
11."Fingertips" Apollo 184:33
12."She's Actual Size" (live) Previously unreleased7:18
13."Spy" (Original Version) Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) EP2:31
14."Stormy Pinkness" (live) TMBG Unlimited MP3 service2:21
15."Exquisite Dead Guy" Factory Showroom2:02
16."Robot Parade" (Adult Version) Working Undercover for the Man EP1:05
17."Boat of Car" They Might Be Giants1:14
18."S-E-X-X-Y"Hal Cragin, They Might Be GiantsFactory Showroom3:52
19."Number Three" They Might Be Giants1:27
20."The End of the Tour" John Henry3:18
21."They Might Be Giants" Flood2:45
22."Hey Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal" Purple Toupee EP3:48
23."Nightgown of the Sullen Moon" They'll Need a Crane EP1:59
24."Snowball in Hell" Lincoln2:31
25."Purple Toupee" Lincoln2:40
26."Cowtown" Lincoln2:21
Total length:71:02

Personnel

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Musicians

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  • John Flansburgh – guitar, keyboards, vocals, compilation
  • John Linnell – accordion, keyboards, saxophone, vocals, compilation
  • Dan Miller – guitar, synth guitar
  • Danny Weinkauf – bass
  • Dan Hickey – drums
  • Zachary Alford[6] – drums
  • Amy Allison – vocals
  • Alan Bezozi – tambourine, drums (snare)
  • Steve Calhoon – drums
  • Laura Cantrell – vocals
  • Ron Caswell – tuba
  • Hal Cragin – bass
  • Mark Feldman – violin
  • Robin Goldwasser – vocals
  • Sue Hadjopoulas – percussion, conga
  • Nicholas Hill – vocals
  • Kurt Hoffman – horn, horn arrangements, string arrangements
  • Luís Jardim – percussion
  • Gregor Kitzis – violin
  • Julian Koster – singing saw
  • Ron Lawrence – viola
  • Dan Levine – trombone
  • Frank London – trumpet
  • Tony Maimone – bass
  • Elma Mayer – vocals
  • Tim Newman – trombone
  • Jim O'Connor – trumpet
  • Mark Pender – trumpet
  • Mauro Refosco – percussion
  • Erik Sanko – bass
  • Eric Schermerhorn – acoustic guitar, guitar
  • Adam Schlesinger – keyboards, programming, producer
  • Peter Stampfel – banjo, vocals
  • Krystof Witek – violin
  • Lyle Workman – guitar
  • Garo Yellin – cello

Production Crew

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  • Danny Alonso – engineer
  • Susan Anderson – photography
  • Paul Angelli – engineer, mixing
  • Ben Bailes – engineer
  • Mark Bishop – engineer
  • Albert Caiati – engineer
  • Bruce Calder – assistant
  • Bob Clearmountain – mixing
  • Paula Court – photography
  • Reuben Cox – photography
  • Peter Dilg – producer
  • Patrick Dillett – producer, engineer, mixing
  • TJ Doherty – engineer
  • Edward Douglas – engineer
  • Tom Durack – producer, mixing
  • Sheryl Farber – editorial supervision
  • Alan Ford – engineer
  • Paul Fox – producer
  • Cheryl Fugate – project assistant
  • Tony Gillis – engineer
  • Barbara Glauber – design
  • Matt Gold – engineer
  • Michael Halsband – photography
  • Cosmo Heidtman – engineer
  • Dan Hersch – remastering
  • Al Houghton – engineer
  • Jim Hughes – compilation
  • Bill Inglot – remastering
  • Hiro Ishihara – engineer
  • Beverly Joel – design
  • Julie Kantner – photography
  • Bill Krauss – producer, engineer
  • Chris Laidlaw – engineer
  • Rich Lamb – engineer
  • Clive Langer – producer
  • Mark Leviton – compilation
  • April Milek – project assistant
  • Katherine Miller – engineer
  • Roger Moutenot – engineer, mixing, whip
  • UE Nastasi – assistant
  • Alex Noyes – engineer
  • Alex Olsson – engineer
  • Randy Perry – project assistant
  • David Robbins – engineer
  • Marc Salata – product manager
  • Tim Scanlin – A&R
  • Brent Sigmeth – engineer
  • Brian Speiser – mixing
  • Jason Spittle – engineer
  • Mark Stern – photography
  • Ed Thacker – engineer, mixing
  • They Might Be Giants – producer
  • Greg Thompson – engineer
  • Sarah Vowell – liner notes
  • Jeff White – compilation
  • Alan Winstanley – producer, mixing
  • Jeremy Wolff – photography
  • Steve Woolard – discographical annotation
  • Toshikazu Yoshioka – engineer

References

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  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dial-A-Song: 20 Years of They Might Be Giants - They Might Be Giants". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  2. ^ Caligiuri, Jim (2002-12-13). "They Might Be Giants". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958.
  4. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 808. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (2002-12-24). "Re-make/Re-model". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2018-11-30.
  6. ^ Discogs - Zachary Alford - (profile & discography)
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