''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 tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

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 mainstream or commercial ...

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 dr ...

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 Phi ...

. 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 ...

), 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"), 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 ...

'' 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" (unreleased) *5–7: "

They'll Need a Crane "They'll Need a Crane" is a single and song by They Might Be Giants. In addition to vinyl and cassette releases, the single was released as a 3-inch CD. "They'll Need a Crane" was the first song the band performed on network television, in 1989 o ...

" *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: "

" 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 ...

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 Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster, best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's '' Today''. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel. Since 1995, he has hosted ...

referred to them as "They Must Be Giants" when they performed "Your Racist Friend" on

the Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...

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 Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart' ...

musical ''

Babes in Arms ''Babes in Arms'' is a 1937 coming-of-age musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Rodgers and Hart. It concerns a group of small-town Long Island teenagers who put on a show to avoid being sent to a wor ...

''.

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