Despite the title, Dial-a-Song is not a collection of highlights from They Might Be Giants' famed Dial-a-Song service (call a toll-free number, get a new song from They Might Be Giants every day), although that is a collection that would be welcome. Instead, this Rhino/Elektra set is two discs and 52 songs of highlights from They Might Be Giants' absurdly prolific two-decade career. Throwing chronology out the window, this set cheerfully zig-zags through the Bar/None and Elektra records alike, hitting most of the highlights while adding just a couple of rarities (and those are primarily live tracks). Certainly, some listeners may have preferred a straight-up chronological approach, but there are advantages to this method, since it reveals that instead of peaking early, They Might Be Giants have produced a remarkably consistently smart, tuneful, clever body of work that holds together well, and those who, say, think they just like the first album and Lincoln may be surprised how good John Flansburgh and John Linnell were throughout the '90s. Given the size of their catalog, it's perhaps inevitable that fans may find a few favorites missing (personally, I would have made room for "Everything Right Is Wrong Again" and "The World's Address"), but all the truly necessary songs are here, and while its size may seem intimidating to listeners just wanting "Boss of Me" or "Birdhouse in Your Soul," it's worth the journey -- there's plenty of wonderful pop music here. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Garo Yellin (Cello), Julie Kantner (Photography), Peter Stampfel (Banjo), UE Nastasi (Assistant), Tony Maimone (Bass), Bob Clearmountain (Mixing), Adam Schlesinger (Producer), Ron Lawrence (Viola), Dan Miller (Guitar (Synthesizer)), Luis Jardim (Percussion), Nicholas Hill (Vocals), Paul Angelli (Mixing), Bruce Calder (Assistant), Alan Bezozi (Drums (Snare)), Brent Sigmeth (Engineer), Danny Weinkauf (Bass), Tom Durack (Mixing), Sue Hadjopoulas (Conga), Tony Gillis (Engineer), Jim Hughes (Compilation), Sue Hadjopoulas (Percussion), Adam Schlesinger (Programming), Albert Caiati (Engineer), Bill Krauss (Engineer), Laura Cantrell (Vocals), Robin "Goldie" Goldwasser (Vocals), Brian Speiser (Mixing), Jeremy Wolff (Photography), John Flansburgh (Keyboards), Ed Thacker (Engineer), Paul Angelli (Engineer), Lyle Workman (Guitar), Jeff White (Compilation), Zachary Alford (Drums), Dan Hickey (Drums), John Flansburgh (Vocals), Peter Stampfel (Vocals), Mark Bishop (Engineer), Danny Alonso (Engineer), Alex Noyes (Engineer), John Linnell (Saxophone), Amy Allison (Vocals), TJ Doherty (Engineer), Adam Schlesinger (Keyboards), Hal Cragin (Bass), David Robbins (Engineer), Sarah Vowell (Liner Notes), Chris Laidlaw (Engineer), Kurt Hoffman (Horn), John Linnell (Compilation), Dan Miller (Guitar), Ron Caswell (Tuba), Tim Scanlin (A&R), Reuben Cox (Photography), John Linnell (Accordion), John Flansburgh (Guitar), Eric Schermerhorn (Guitar), Kurt Hoffman (Horn Arrangements), Al Houghton (Engineer), April Milek (Project Assistant), Ed Thacker (Mixing), Barbara Glauber (Design), Tom Durack (Producer), Paul Fox (Producer), Steve Calhoon (Drums), Julian Koster (Singing Saw), Steve Woolard (Discographical Annotation), Paula Court (Photography), Jim O'Connor (Trumpet), Marc Salata (Product Manager), Patrick Dillett (Producer), Dan Hersch (Remastering), Dan Levine (Trombone), Randy Perry (Project Assistant), Bill Krauss (Producer), Erik Sanko (Bass), Katherine Miller (Engineer), Mark Pender (Trumpet), Alex Olsson (Engineer), John Linnell (Vocals), Mark Feldman (Violin), Roger Moutenot (Mixing), Patrick Dillett (Mixing), Susan Anderson (Photography), Ben Bailes (Engineer), Rich Lamb (Engineer), Elma Mayer (Vocals), Michael Halsband (Photography), Skyline Staff (Handclapping), Hiro Ishihara (Engineer), John Flansburgh (Compilation), Kurt Hoffman (String Arrangements), Jason Spittle (Engineer), Beverly Joel (Design), Eric Schermerhorn (Guitar (Acoustic)), Mark Stern (Photography), Clive Langer (Producer), Greg Thompson (Engineer), Mauro Refosco (Percussion), Bill Inglot (Remastering), John Linnell (Keyboards), They Might Be Giants (Producer), Roger Moutenot (Engineer), Alan Winstanley (Producer), Alan Ford (Engineer), Edward Douglas (Engineer), Alan Bezozi (Tambourine), Frank London (Trumpet), Cosmo Heidtman (Engineer), Alan Winstanley (Mixing), Krystof Witek (Violin), Sheryl Farber (Editorial Supervision), Cheryl Fugate (Project Assistant), Toshikazu Yoshioka (Engineer), Peter Dilg (Producer), Roger Moutenot (Whip), Patrick Dillett (Engineer), Matt Gold (Engineer), Mark Leviton (Compilation), Tim Newman (Trombone), Gregor Kitzis (Violin)
Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants is a 2002 compilation album by They Might Be Giants. Despite the name, it is not a compilation of tracks from the band's "Dial-A-Song" service. It is instead an anthology of various 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!, which was only released three months before this compilation.
"Robot Parade" is the "Adult Version", with a more thrashy sort of sound.
"Boss of Me" is best known as the theme song to Malcolm in the Middle, although the version here is the full version, not the shortened version used on the show
"Why Does the Sun Shine (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) (live)" is the live version of the song from Severe Tire Damage and it is a cover, originally recorded by Tom Glazer
"James K. Polk" is a new unreleased version, although it is not labeled as such. It seems to include the same instrumentation as the version from Factory Showroom, but with different vocals
"She's Actual Size (live)" is, along with the above "James K. Polk", the only other exclusive, unreleased song on the set
