''Miscellaneous T'' is a
B-side and
remix
A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, 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, poem, or photograph ca ...
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
released by the
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band
They Might Be Giants
They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...
in
1991.
It is a
US re-release of ''
Don't Let's Start'' (which was only released in the
UK and
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
), 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'' 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:
*1–3: " Purple Toupee" (unreleased)
*5–7: " They'll Need a Crane"
*9–14: " (She Was A) Hotel Detective"
*15–18: " Don't Let's Start"
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 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 (list of non-water floods, 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 of significant con ...
''.
" 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