They Might Be Giants

They Might Be Giants was always a novelty act, so it's no surprise that John Flansburgh and John Linnell have turned out to have a flair for children's music, first demonstrated on their album No! in 2002. Here Come the ABCs, packaged both as a CD and a DVD, presents a typically eclectic and quirky collection of their music, although here the supposed irony of their approach gives way to a sense of harmless goofiness designed to draw and hold the attention of preschoolers. In musical terms, that should be easy, since, whether borrowing styles from '60s pop/rock, country, or a number of other styles, they consistently turn out catchy tunes. And while their lyrical style has been harnessed to explications of matters alphabetical, their usual wit is very much in evidence, whether they are making their way through the alphabet by naming countries around the world ("Alphabet of Nations") or asking the musical question "Who Put the Alphabet in Alphabetical Order?" Some of these songs could fit onto a "grownup" They Might Be Giants album without anyone being the wiser. For example, "C Is for Conifers" doesn't have much to do with the alphabet, but its celebration of a particular type of tree and bush is typical of the group's quirky choices of subject matter. For the DVD, they have employed 14 different groups of illustrators, animators, and puppeteers, resulting in some wonderful visual representations of the songs that range from cartoons of robots to live-action footage of people wearing head coverings with letters on them and wandering around Brooklyn. This is a DVD that young children, as is their wont, probably will want to watch over and over, while parents should be able to tolerate at least the first hundred or so viewings. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide