''Miscellaneous T'' is a
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
and
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
released by the
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 Popular culture, mainstre ...
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 d ...
in
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
. It is a
US re-release of ''
Don't Let's Start
"Don't Let's Start" is a song by an alternative rock band, They Might Be Giants from their 1986 eponymous debut album. It was the first single released from the album, released as a maxi-single. The single peaked at #94 on the Australian ARIA si ...
'' (which was only released in the
UK and
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
), with different cover art, track order, and the additional song "Hello Radio".
The album consists of all of the B-sides from the singles the band released between 1987 and 1989 (except "
Ana Ng
"Ana Ng" ( ) is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released as the lead single from the band's 1988 album ''Lincoln''. Although the song was their first US chart appearance, hitting #11 on the US Modern Rock chart, the ...
"), with the addition of the relatively new songs "The World's Address (Joshua Fried Remix)"—released beforehand only on ''Don't Let's Start''—and "Hello Radio", which was previously released on a promotional sampler.
All of the songs, with the exception of "(She Was A) Hotel Detective (Single Mix)", are included on ''
Then: The Earlier Years'', a compilation of the band's early material.
''Miscellaneous T'' is said to be named for the section in record stores where They Might Be Giants' albums were most often shelved in the band's early years.
['' Then: The Earlier Years'' liner notes.]
Critical reception
''
Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' called the compilation a "neat if uneven appendix to the longplaying oeuvre."
The ''
Spin Alternative Record Guide
The ''Spin Alternative Record Guide'' is a music reference book compiled by the American music magazine '' Spin'' and published in 1995 by Vintage Books. It was edited by rock critic Eric Weisbard and Craig Marks, who was the magazine's editor-i ...
'' wrote that it "reveals TMBG's enormous depth of material."
[
]
Song notes
The tracks are grouped according to the singles they originally appeared with:
*1–3: "Purple Toupee
"Purple Toupee" is a 1988 song by alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants from their second album, ''Lincoln''. It was released as a promotional single in 1989. In 1994, a live performance of the song was recorded for the promotional live album, ...
" (unreleased)
*5–7: " They'll Need a Crane"
*9–14: "(She Was A) Hotel Detective
"(She Was A) Hotel Detective" is a song and single by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released as a single on May 5, 1988, two years after the release of ''They Might Be Giants'', the album on which it originally appeared. The " ...
"
*15–18: "Don't Let's Start
"Don't Let's Start" is a song by an alternative rock band, They Might Be Giants from their 1986 eponymous debut album. It was the first single released from the album, released as a maxi-single. The single peaked at #94 on the Australian ARIA si ...
"
The 13th track, which has no name listed on the album's track listing, is not actually a song, but a snippet of a recording inadvertently left on the TMBG Dial-A-Song
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 d ...
answering machine, in which a confused listener named Gloria talks to an unknown third party about the mystery of "There May Be Giants" and "There Must Be Giants", as she mistakenly refers to the band. It would later be referenced when Bryant Gumbel referred to them as "They Must Be Giants" when they performed "Your Racist Friend" on the Today Show to promote the release of ''Flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
''.
" Lady Is a Tramp" is a cover of a song from the Rodgers and Hart musical '' Babes in Arms''.
Track listing
All songs by They Might Be Giants unless otherwise noted.
;Side one
;Side two
References
External links
* ''Miscellaneous T'' page at This Might Be A Wiki
{{Authority control
B-side compilation albums
They Might Be Giants compilation albums
1991 compilation albums
Restless Records compilation albums