Superfueled Freaksickle

Superfueled Freaksickle was a tentative title for a canceled They Might Be Giants B-sides and rarities compilation that would have been released around 1995-97. It was intended to be the follow-up to the 1991 compilation Miscellaneous T, reflecting songs released alongside Elektra albums from 1990 to 1996: Flood, Apollo 18, John Henry and Factory Showroom.

The first known mention of the title Superfueled Freaksickle came in a spring 1994 Information Club newsletter, where it was mentioned as the working title of an upcoming TMBG music video compilation. The title was mentioned again in an April 1995 interview with Yale Daily News, as an early title for Factory Showroom. In a February 1995 interview, John Linnell introduced the idea of a compilation containing Elektra B-sides, which would act as a follow-up to Miscellaneous T:

We want to put out a compilation album of all the B-sides we've done for Elektra. [We] don't know what to call it. T2 or something. But that'll be topped off with some kind of single that we'll crank out for that. That's the main prospect for some kind of release this year. And by the way, we have a ton of material from B-sides, because we put out three albums on Elektra.

The compilation was formally announced in a 1995 Information Club newsletter: "We are planning on releasing some other live tracks along with a compilation of better rarities and b-sides on CD sometime. The compilation is tentatively titled 'Superfueled Freaksicle.' The other b-sides that don't make the cut might come out on a vinyl-only disc called 'Crappy.'"^[1]

The album had a set release date of October 24, 1995. This release date appeared in Elektra's mail order catalog in mid-1995,^[2]^[3] and was listed in the internal systems of distributors and record stores.^[4]^[5] In September 1995 an update was posted to the band's semi-official website: "Sadly, the release of "Super-Fueled Freaksicle" (the long-awaited and much-anticipated followup to "Miscellaneous T") which collects most of the "b-sides" and other non-album tracks the Giants have released since they signed with Elektra, has been postponed indefinitely."^[6]

In February 1996 John Flansburgh confirmed that the album had been canceled by Elektra: "The B-side thing is not going to happen. Elektra's not going to put it out, and it is a shame, but it didn't fit in with our release schedule. They just had too many priority things to put out."^[7]^[8] Still, fans continued to speculate about the album.^[9] On April 1, 1996, one such fan posted as an April Fools' Day joke that he had found a promotional copy of the compilation at his local record store.^[10] On July 12, 1996, Flansburgh participated in an IRC chat on Sonicnet.com, primarily to talk with fans about his Mono Puff side project. In addition to clarifying the title of the then-upcoming Factory Showroom album, Flansburgh ("MONOflans") also answered a question about Superfueled Freaksickle:

<Ruprecht> John: has Superfreaksickle been killed? or will it still come out some time? and will it be a double album?

<MONOflans> Superfueled Freakcicle will be out next year although I don't know if that's what it will be called
<MONOflans> but it will have a lot of the better ep songs, a lot of new tracks, and some live tracks

The tentative 1997 release date was also mentioned by the band's management.^[11] In September 1996 the compilation album Then: The Earlier Years was announced, and was set to be released in January 1997. The release of this compilation resulted in another delay for Superfueled Freaksickle. Linnell stated in a 1997 online Q&A: "Superfueled Freaksicle is indefinately on hold while we put out Then: the early years and possibly one other record."^[12] In an October 1996 online Q&A, Flansburgh explained: "Superfueled Freaksicle was slated to come out last spring but Elektra felt the timing was wrong. It's a pretty interesting record but a little less consistent than Misc. T which some people think is a pretty bumpy ride already."

Though never officially canceled, fans began losing hope by mid-1997 when the compilation hadn't been mentioned by the band in over half a year. Flansburgh mentioned in a September 1997 interview that he wanted to release it, but Elektra were reluctant to put it out so soon after Then: The Earlier Years.^[13]^[14] In November 1997 the band parted ways with Elektra. This almost certainly put a definitive end to the album. John Linnell mentioned the status of the compilation in a 1998 interview: "That one's kind of indefinitely on hold because it's all owned by Elektra. [The compilation] is actually completed. Everything's sequenced and ready to go. It got lost in the shuffle." By 1999, fans had taken to creating and sharing their own versions of the would-be compilation, some of which are listed below.

John Flansburgh mentioned new plans of releasing an Elektra b-sides compilation in a 2021 interview:

One thing we've been talking about doing is putting out a b-side and remix compilation on vinyl from the Elektra years. That never really existed. It would be all the EPs we put out. [...] We'd probably be able to put out all the EPs, except for the remixes, on one disc. And then put all the remixes on some double album [second disc].

Fan versions[edit]

ProphetM's version[edit]

Superfueled Freaksicle fan-made front cover by ProphetM

Superfueled Freaksicle Disc One booklet interior by ProphetM

This version was posted to alt.music.tmbg on October 18, 1999, and sold as a physical two-disc set, including booklets depicting the source of each track. All copies of the original run were burned to TDK "CD Twin" 80-minute CD-R discs with a white disc face, and had CD cases with white trays. It was made available via alt.music.tmbg for a short time in October 1999 at a price of $20, which was roughly equal to production cost; 80-minute CD-R discs and double-sided color printing were still very costly at the time. About a dozen copies of the set were sent out to those interested. Operator Dot privately requested that distribution cease; TMBG could not officially condone such a project as it was a re-distribution of commercial tracks without record company permission. They appreciated the effort, however, and requested a copy for their own use. Two full copies were sent to TMBG, along with the remaining uncut sheets of color artwork.

Nearly all of the 29 tracks from Disc One later appeared on TMBG Clock Radio with title numbering of "x of 29" in the same order as the CD, strongly indicating that those Clock Radio files were ripped from one of TMBG's copies of this set.

Three tracks by Mono Puff from The Devil Went Down To Newport (EP) were also included, placed at the end of each disc, as there was enough room on the discs, and they are from the same time period as the other tracks. The rest of the tracks on each disc are in chronological order of release, with one major exception: The Guitar B-sides precede those of I Palindrome I. Due to unsure release date information, these appear in order of their Elektra product numbers.

Track listing[edit]

Disc One: B-sides and alternate versions

Disc Two: Remixes and edits

Bryce's version[edit]

Superfueled Freaksickle fan-made cover by Bryce

Description from Bryce at fan site BryceLand:

This was the rumored title of a rumored album that never saw the light of day. Had it existed, this album would feature the b-sides from TMBG's years on the Elektra label. Fortunately, Elektra's failure to recognize the market for such a compilation doesn't prevent you from collecting the songs and burning your own. :) I've added a few more (non-Elektra) songs just because they fit: stray songs from "various artists" albums and the studio recordings from Severe Tire Damage. There's at least one other fan-created incarnation of this compilation out there, with a chronological tracklist. For mine, I decided to exclude all the remixes to make more room for unique titles, and to arrange the songs for a more interesting flow. Preference is given to alternating Johns, and to breaking chronology as much as possible.

Bryce adds: "In the spirit of the phrase, it should really be spelled 'Freakcicle' (much like 'icicle' or 'popcicle'), and not the widely-known corruption 'Freaksickle' (which connotes a farm implement). That's why I've spelled it that way on the cover shown above."

Track listing[edit]

Info/Trivia[edit]

In 2007, the song Employee Of The Month was released on TMBG's Myspace profile with the text "Superfueled Freaksicle, 2011 No Doubt Theater" displayed to the left of the Myspace player.

Superfueled Freaksickle

Contents

History[edit]

Fan versions[edit]

ProphetM's version[edit]

Track listing[edit]

Bryce's version[edit]

Track listing[edit]

Info/Trivia[edit]

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