(She Was A) Hotel Detective

"(She Was A) Hotel Detective"
Cover art designed by Mark Marek
Single by They Might Be Giants
from the album They Might Be Giants
ReleasedMay 5, 1988 (1988-05-05)
Recorded1988
StudioDubway Studio, New York City and Charles Eller Studio, Charlotte, VT
GenreAlternative rock
Length11:01
LabelBar/None, Restless (US)
Rough Trade (EU)
Songwriter(s)John Flansburgh, John Linnell
Producer(s)Bill Krauss
They Might Be Giants singles chronology
"Don't Let's Start"
(1987)
"(She Was A) Hotel Detective"
(1988)
"Ana Ng"
(1988)
Music video
(She Was A) Hotel Detective on YouTube
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]

"(She Was A) Hotel Detective" is a song and single by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It was released as a single on May 5, 1988, two years after the release of They Might Be Giants, the album on which it originally appeared. The "Hotel Detective" title has become a somewhat recurring theme for the band.

As in the single release of "Don't Let's Start", the version of the song on the "Hotel Detective" single is slightly different from the album version. In this case, a drum track fades in to open the song, and Linnell's saxophone is more prominent. Additionally, Peter Pearmain Thomson sings backing vocals, whereas on the album, the backing vocals are sung by John Flansburgh.[2]

The entire contents of the EP also appear on the compilation album Miscellaneous T. The track "Kiss Me, Son of God" went on to be re-recorded and released on the band's 1988 album, Lincoln. Neither the CD release nor the 12" release of the EP list the untitled track in their respective track listings. The track consists of a conversation recorded on Dial-A-Song's answering machine between a listener known only as Gloria and an unknown male.[3]

  1. ^ (She Was A) Hotel Detective EP > Overview allmusic. Retrieved 2009-12-10.
  2. ^ (She Was A) Hotel Detective EP liner notes, 1989.
  3. ^ Who is speaking in the song with no name? tmbg.org. Retrieved 2009-12-10.