Miscellaneous T

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Miscellaneous T tmbg compilation cover
Miscellaneous T
Collection by They Might Be Giants
First released October 8, 1991
Release details / collectors: Show | Hide
Tracks 18
Label Bar/None / Restless <72646> Length 37:47
Back cover of the CD

Miscellaneous T is a compilation album first released in the United States in 1991, collecting every They Might Be Giants b-side from 1986 to 1989. It had first been released outside the US in 1989 under the title Don't Let's Start, but with a different track order and not including "Hello Radio".

Purchase[edit]

Seller Format Price Link
Download Purchase

AAC 9.99 Purchase

Track listing[edit]

# Title Length  Lyrics Guitar Tab
1 Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal 3:48

 

2 Lady Is A Tramp 1:20

 

3 Birds Fly 1:25

 

4 The World's Address (Joshua Fried Remix) 5:42

 

N/A
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 0:55

 

9 Mr. Klaw 1:19

 

10 Kiss Me, Son Of God (Alternate Version) 1:49

 

11 The Biggest One 1:22

 

12 For Science 1:19

 

13 Untitled
unlisted
2:33

 

N/A
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) 2:35

 


Trivia/Info[edit]

  • The album's title is a reference to the section of record store bins where TMBG's albums were still being filed at the time, as well as the scattered nature of the tracks found on it.
  • "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal" was released as a promotional single for this compilation.
  • A working title for this album was Millenium One.
  • Two versions of the cover photo have been used. The CD version (also used for the European CD single for Ana Ng) features the words "They Might Be Giants" arranged in a hallway in Flansburgh's old apartment.[1] The one used for the cassette and CD longbox releases of Miscellaneous T had the words placed on a staircase. The cover photo for the CD was staged upside-down and then flipped. The photography and artwork for the album were done by Brian Dewan and Rolf Conant (John Flansburgh).
  • In 2010, the A.V. Club placed Miscellaneous T at number 22 in their list of "35 B-side/rarity/outtakes collections as essential as the official albums":[2]
Before they became the geek-rock superstars they are today, John Flansburgh and John Linnell were one of the better singles bands of the alternative era. Drawing from four of their early singles, the B-sides collection Miscellaneous T actually outshines its origins more than once: the nasty payola anthem “Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had A Deal,” the bitter-romance ode “I'll Sink Manhattan,” and the goofy, likeable “The Famous Polka” are all A-list material. There album also contains some terrific new takes on previously issued material; the Josh Fried remix of “The World’s Address” is a winner, sounding for all the world like a future echo of Beck, and the alternate version of “Kiss Me, Son Of God”—a crazed bit of class warfare filtered through Frank Sinatra and chanson—is far superior to the original.

Gallery[edit]