Miscellaneous T

Miscellaneous T
Compilation album by
They Might Be Giants
ReleasedOctober 8, 1991
Recorded1986–1989
StudiosStudio Pass, New York City
Dubway Studio, New York City
Charles Eller Studio, Charlotte, VT, Hello Studio, New York City
GenreAlternative rock
Length37:47
LabelRestless/Bar/None
ProducersBill Krauss, They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants chronology
Flood
(1990)		 Miscellaneous T
(1991)		 Apollo 18
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar
Robert Christgau(choice cut)
The Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStar
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album GuideStarStarStar
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStar
Spin Alternative Record Guide7/10

Miscellaneous T is a B-side and remix compilation album released by American alternative rock band They Might Be Giants in 1991. It is a US re-release of Don't Let's Start (which was only released in the UK and West Germany), 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.

Critical reception

Trouser Press called the compilation a "neat if uneven appendix to the longplaying oeuvre." The Spin Alternative Record Guide wrote that it "reveals TMBG's enormous depth of material."

Song notes

The tracks are grouped according to the singles they originally appeared with:

The 13th track, which has no name listed on the album's track listing, is not a song, but a snippet of a recording inadvertently left on the TMBG Dial-A-Song 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.

"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
No.TitleLength
1."Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal"3:48
2."Lady Is a Tramp" (Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers)1:20
3."Birds Fly"1:25
4."The World's Address [Joshua Fried Remix]"5:42
5."Nightgown of the Sullen Moon"1:59
6."I'll Sink Manhattan"2:32
7."It's Not My Birthday"1:52
8."Hello Radio"0:56
9."Mr. Klaw"1:19
Side two
No.TitleLength
10."Kiss Me, Son of God [Alternate Version]"1:52
11."The Biggest One"1:22
12."For Science"1:19
13."untitled"2:33
14."(She Was A) Hotel Detective [Single Mix]"2:20
15."The Famous Polka"1:33
16."When It Rains It Snows"1:33
17."We're the Replacements"1:50
18."Don't Let's Start [Single Mix]"2:34

References

  1. ↑ Then: The Earlier Years liner notes.
  2. 1 2 "They Might Be Giants". Trouser Press. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  3. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Miscellaneous T at AllMusic. Retrieved 28 June 2006.
  4. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "CG: They Might Be Giants". Robert Christgau. Retrieved December 15, 2009.
  5. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 8. MUZE. p. 120.
  6. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1139.
  7. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 808. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  8. 1 2 Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. 1995. pp. 401–402.
  9. ↑ "They Might Be Giants | Biography & History". AllMusic.