Track Listing

1. Fibber Island
2. Four Of Two
3. Robot Parade
4. No
5. Where Do They Make Ballons
6. In The Middle In The Middle In The Middle
7. Violin
8. John Lee Supertaster
9. Edison Museum
10. House At The Top Of The Tree
11. Clap Your Hands
12. I Am Not Your Broom
13. Wake Up Call
14. I Am A Grocery Bag
15. Lazyhead And Sleepybones
16. Bed Bed Bed
17. Sleepwalkers

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7274 in Music
• Released on: 2002-06-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced

CD Description
They Might Be Giants's first children's album, NO!, is remarkably similar to their albums for adults. Characterised by irrepressibly catchy melodies, witty lyrics, and an overall sense of irreverent playfulness, NO! is business-as-usual for the dynamic duo of John Flansburgh and John Linnell, and fits perfectly within their discography. In fact, in inventiveness, songwriting, and pure crazy pleasure, NO! may be the best Giants album since FLOOD. Musically, the Giants are allover the map here with funky grooves ("Clap Your Hands"), wistful lullabies ("Sleepwalkers") and avant experimentalism ("Violin").
While whimsy is a given for Flansburgh and Linnell, there is a sense that they've tailored their songwriting for a younger set on this release. "In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle" is a public service announcement about crossing the street safely, while the loopy, building narrative of "The House at the Top of the Tree" belongs to thecategory of smile-inducing tongue-twisters like "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly". As freewheeling, clever, and appealing as anything they've done, NO! reminds all of us--kids and the kids inside us--how much fun life can be.

Customer Reviews

This is a very special CD!
As a trainee teacher I stumbled across this by accident and bought it more out of curiosity more than anything else - and what a fabulous purchase it was! My family are hooked (and the youngest is 15!) We must have listened to this CD hundreds of times by now! - the songs are so catchy and never get boring.The interactive features are amazing for the price of this album, I have never seen anything like it. I introduced this to a Reception class (4 and 5 year olds) who soon became addicted to it, and really learned a lot from using it. Not only are they improving their computer skills, listening skills, musical awareness etc etc but they are also having so much fun! I have also used this CD with children with special needs who love it as it holds their attention and many of the interactive parts need very little mouse control. I would recommend this to absolutely anyone, whether you have children or not, and promise you will find yourself singing "in the middle in the middle in the middle" for weeks on end!

Cheerful, catchy and musically quite good.
I was anxious, I'll admit. I've been a fan of They Might Be Giants since Birdhouse In Your Soul was a hit in 1990, but when I found out they were releasing a children's album I was a tad concerned. Would this album be immature, just a little too silly? Anyway, being a fan, I bought the album from Amazon for completist's sake.

Granted, some of the songs are a little daft - Violin, for example - but a lot of the songs are cheerful, catchy and musically quite good: Four Of Two and The House At The Top Of The Tree are two of my favourites. The CD is enhanced, which means you can listen to the songs and interact with and watch various pieces of animation on your PC. This feature, presumably, is for the benefit of youngsters, but - hey! - I'm 27 and have just spent the best part of 30 minutes bursting balloons, spilling grocery and feeding potato chips to a cartoon mouse.

If you're a fan of They Might Be Giants, or if you have kids and want to introduce them to music other than, I don't know, Bob The Builder or S Club Juniors, or if you simply want to buy an album that's unusual and different without it being Kid A by Radiohead, then I strongly recommend No! by They Might Be Giants. You will love it.

Not just for toddlers
After the lengthy wait the No! Landed. 33 Minutes of music for the minature, and the not so minature.

It is filled with a sense of humor - Not many albums come with warning that the last three songs are designed to induce sleep so don't operate heavy machinery or plush toys whilst listening to them.

What makes it the ideal kids album is the PC and MAC compatible interactive section on the CD; shove it in your iMac or PC and you get flash animation for the songs; so the ghost of Thomas Edison tells you about the light bulb whilst the johns sing about his tomb.

For the grown ups this album takes they might be giants back to the begining, simpler music, the lyrics are crazy but sensible enough for a 3 year old to understand - well maybe not "idependantly owned and operated mausoleum" on The Edison Museum.

Its an american album so kids will have to learn not to cross the block in the middle in the middle in the middle. But some of the songs are absolute heaven; stick it in your PC and your toddler can see the words flash up on the screen, along with animated sequences and interactive games that on a song like "Where do they make baloons" lets them see where differant countries in the world are located. Whilst in a song like bed bed bed toddlers everywhere get to thing about the day they had playing whilst getting into their pajamas! (in a stompy/stilted sounding chant complete with the sound of toothbrushes and cows mooing !

The next concert could be very interesting ... all the 30 somethings with little John and John ...

PS
Everyone at work loves Robot Parade ;)