Customer Reviews

Miscellaneous T

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One caveat: this should not be your first TMBG album. It's a collection of B-sides, so it's a little weirder than their album fare. If you have any of the others, however, this is worth a look.

There are several tracks here that aren't actual songs -- "Hello Radio," "Mr. Klaw," and the untitled track. These are worth a couple of listens, but are more novelty tracks than anything. Two of the remixes sound almost identical to their album mixes, while the third and fourth are different but not necessarily better.

But -- and it's a big "but," my friends -- then there are the actual songs. TMBG is notorious for putting great songs on their B-sides, and these are no exception. "Hey, Mr. DJ," "It's not my birthday," and "Nightgown of the sullen moon" are all good Linnel-based rock, reminiscent of "Letterbox," "Birdhouse in your soul," and "Don't Let's Start." "I'll Sink Manhattan" is a fantastic Flansburgh torch-song. "The Famous Polka" is a dizzying spin on the electric guitar and accordion. "For Science" is a 1950's B-sci-fi flick in under 2 minutes.

In short, there are at least 10 good songs you can't get anywhere else and two remixes that are substantially different from their album incarnations. A definite recommended purchase for the initiate.

Every fan loves Misc T. They will tell you to buy it, buy it, buy it. If this is your first-time TMBG experience, you should go for one of the classics (John Henry, Flood, Apollo 18) before investing in this album. Not to say it's not good, but it's more like a trivia album, a not-really album. Good for rounding out the collection.

If you have other albums, do go ahead and buy this, you will not be disappointed, regardless of my earlier warnings.

"Well how does he make money off... whatever he's advertising in the paper, that's the part that don't make no sense"

Not knowing that it was a remix album when I first bought it (it was one of my first TMBG albums I got), all of the songs sounded pretty new to me. I guess that made it even better, as the Kiss Me, Son of God remix grew to me before I heard the original.

Overall, album is really a mix of the incredible (Hey, Mr. Dj, Nightgown of the Sullen Moon, *Untitled*, The Famous Polka), the mediocre (For Science, Birds Fly, I'll Sink Manhattan), to the completely throw-away (Mr. Klaw, Hello Radio). Though, good tracks still outnumber the bad.

The Johns (still with a drum machine at this point) never cease to amaze me with Hey, Mr. Dj... which (combined with a couple others) really is enough to warrant a purchase alone. And regardless of how little effort they might've put into some of the other tracks (I'm still wondering about The Biggest One...) you still have the classic Don't Let's Start and The World's Address tracks to fulfill the nostalgic needs for previous TMBG album owners.

If the thought of a standard TMBG isn't quirky enough, a remix and B-side album is just pushing the limit, really. Though in the end, it comes out quite nice. I really wouldn't recommend this album to newcomers of TMBG, as they should start off with something a bit more classic to introduce them to the Giants' humor and intellect. But for everyone else, it's a still a beauty to behold and rightfully deserves a place on your shelf.

TMBG's best stuff is sometimes their B-sides (As said by everyone else.) Anyway, their B-sides and extra material always make it worth it to buy singles, even if you already have the album. In fact, sometimes, the B-sides are better than the song they're promoting. These songs don't sound like B-sides, they're album-worthy songs. So, in case you don't get what I'm saying, buy it! Better yet, buy Then:The Early Years with their first two albums, this compilation, and 15 unreleased tracks.

i'm going to have to go with the other reviews and say that this is an awesome cd, but but should not be your first They cd. The songs take some getting used to, but there are some real treasures - "Hey, Mr. DJ", "Don't Let's Start", and the wonderful Untitled Track 13 - for those of you who are not familiar with this, it is an actual recording from when you could leave a message at Dial-A-Song (718-387-6962 just a call to local brooklyn!), and a woman named Gloria didn't realize her conference call was being recorded....anyway, if you like They, then get this cd. If not, get another one or two (i'd recommend Flood for a first one, or maybe Apollo 18), then buy it!

Well being an avid TMBG fan for more the 15 years this is the one album that seems to be the anthesis of the John's. The range of styles from a rockin' "We're the Replacements" to the polka sounds of "The Famous Polka" to the swing sounds of "Birds Fly" even the random oddity of #13. This is what TMBG is about. Heck, you might even say most of their career is one wonderful "B" side. The only slight blemish is the Joshua Fried Re-Mix of "The World's Address" but hey that's what they make the "next" button for.

Miscellaneous T is a pretty good collection of stuff you can't find elsewhere, but like everyone else keeps saying, don't make this your first TMBG purchase.

There are gems, but they are more difficult to appreciate than most mass-appeal TMBG songs. After careful evaluation of the upbeat "It's Not My Birthday", the song sounds like it's about alcoholism, though thickly-veiled in typical TMBG verse ("But there'd be no percentage and there'd be no proof/And the sound upon the roof is only water.") My favorite is "Hey, Mr. DJ", if only for the line, "I could never sleep my way to the top/'Cause my alarm clock always wakes me right up." Odd genius, but it's genius nevertheless.

Fans of the earlier TMBG releases will appreciate this essential collection of b-sides, remixes, and odds n ends. It's consistent with the distinct whimsical sound and sense of humor of the first two albums (self-titled and Lincoln). If you're just discovering the beauty and wonder that is They Might Be Giants, I would go through the albums chronologically, getting this one third.

This is a "B-side/Remix compilation" from They Might Be Giants early years. There are some good tracks here, but there are also some rather forgetable tracks. There's a reason that these songs were left off of TMBG's "real" albums (other than the four songs here that were featured in different versions on other albums). Like I said, there are some good songs here, but this album is really only for serious TMBG fans.

If you like Lincoln, this is definitely the next one to buy! I have listened to this album only three times, but I am stuck on it. If you were to buy only two TMBG albums, get this and Lincoln! Drum machines and lunacy.