"(She Was A) Hotel Detective" is a song and single by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a ...

. It was released as a single on May 5, 1988, two years after the release of ''

'', the album on which it originally appeared. The "Hotel Detective" title has become a somewhat recurring theme for the band. As in the single release of " Don't Let's Start", the version of the song on the "Hotel Detective" single is slightly different from the album version. In this case, a drum track fades in to open the song, and Linnell's saxophone is more prominent. Additionally, Peter Pearmain Thomson sings backing vocals, whereas on the album, the backing vocals are sung by

John Flansburgh John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York-based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Commo ...

. The entire contents of the EP also appear on the compilation album '' Miscellaneous T''. The track "Kiss Me, Son of God" went on to be re-recorded and released on the band's 1988 album, ''

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

''. Neither the CD release nor the 12" release of the EP list the untitled track in their respective track listings. The track consists of a conversation recorded on Dial-A-Song's answering machine between a listener known only as "Gloria" and an unknown male.

"Hotel Detective" series

The song "(She Was A) Hotel Detective", which was written by

, first appeared on ''

'', the band's debut album. It was later followed up by "She Was a Hotel Detective", which appeared on an EP, ''

Back to Skull ''Back to Skull'' is an EP released by American alternative rock group They Might Be Giants in 1994. The EP was issued contemporaneously with the band's 1994 album '' John Henry''. Artwork for the EP was done by Mike Mills. Track listing All son ...

'', released in 1994. The sequel was written by

John Linnell John Sidney Linnell ( ; born June 12, 1959) is an American musician, known primarily as one half of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to singing and songwri ...

, "in the tradition of '

Peggy Sue Got Married ''Peggy Sue Got Married'' is a 1986 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high sch ...

' and '

Let's Twist Again "Let's Twist Again" is a song written by Kal Mann and Dave Appell, and released as a single by Chubby Checker. One of the biggest hit singles of 1961, it reached No.8 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' pop chart (No.3 on ''Cash Box'') in August of that ...

'". The lyrics to "She Was A Hotel Detective" (the sequel) include the phrase "motel directive", which is transcribed between the leadout grooves of the original ''Hotel Detective'' vinyl EP. A second sequel, "(She Was A) Hotel Detective in the Future", was released on the band's podcast, and subsequently on a CD compilation of songs from the podcast, '' Cast Your Pod to the Wind''. This final sequel was followed by a fake "commentary track" for the song, which was actually far longer than the song itself.

Music video

The music video for "(She Was A) Hotel Detective" was directed by

Adam Bernstein Adam Bernstein (born May 7, 1960) is an Emmy Awards, Emmy Award-winning American film director, music video director and television director. For his work on the television show ''Fargo (TV series), Fargo'' in 2014, he received a nomination for ...

. Some portions of the video show cartoons of the two Johns, animated by Joey Ahlbum.Myke Weiskopf interview with

, 1995. Archived

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Technologies, Here Television * Here TV (form ...

. Retrieved 2012-10-04. The video is split between these animated segments and segments of John Flansburgh and John Linnell performing the song in a dark room in front of a large "ROCK MUSIC" sign. The video is intentionally over-indulgent, but John and John were unhappy with the final result.''

Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) ''Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)'' is a documentary profiling the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, featuring interviews with Frank Black, Sarah Vowell, Dave Eggers, Mark Hoppus, and others. It was directed by AJ Schnack and premiered ...

'', 2003 DVD special features. Joey Ahlbum's animated versions of John Linnell and John Flansburgh from the "(She Was A) Hotel Detective" music video were used in the first episode of the 1991 sitcom ''

Clarissa Explains It All ''Clarissa Explains It All'' is an American teen sitcom created by Mitchell Kriegman for Nickelodeon. In the series, Clarissa Darling ( Melissa Joan Hart), is a teenager who addresses the audience directly to explain the things that are happenin ...

'' to show that Clarissa liked Linnell (referred to as "John, the one without glasses"). The figures were also used by

Bar/None Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his n ...

on promotional postcards.

Track listing

All tracks by

CD track listing

12" track listing

Personnel

;They Might Be Giants *

– vocals, guitar *

– vocals, bass saxophone, baritone saxophone, synthesizers, accordion ;Additional musicians * Lt. Anne Moore – vocals * Peter Pearmain Thomson – backup vocals ;Production * Al Houghton – engineer * Bill Krauss – producer * Mark Marek – cover art * Rita Zaitschek – cover production

References

External links

* '' (She Was A) Hotel Detective'' EP at This Might Be A Wiki * " (She Was A) Hotel Detective" (song) at This Might Be A Wiki {{DEFAULTSORT:She Was A Hotel Detective Songs about hotels and motels Songs written by John Flansburgh They Might Be Giants songs Rough Trade Records singles Songs written by John Linnell 1988 songs