Difference between revisions of "Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (Album)"

'''Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum''' (M.M.M.M.) is [[Tally Hall]]'s first studio album, released under the [[Quack! Media]] label on November 12th 2005.<ref name=THwebsite05>[https://web.archive.org/web/20051125073421/https://www.tallyhall.com/ Tally Hall Website Archive 10/25/05] ''TallyHall.com'', November 25th 2005. [Archive.org.] Archived via The Wayback Machine. Accessed 24th March 2024.</ref>

Despite having a major hit on the early internet and being a popular band in their home of Michigan, Tally Hall didn't think about re-recording the songs featured on [[Complete Demos]] until they signed a recording contract with [[Quack!Media]]'s [[Al McWilliams]] in 2005. The idea came to record those songs, plus newly written ones, starting in June of the same year. McWilliams would give the band 2 weeks to record the album, but they needed more time to finish the album.<ref>[https://www.himalaya.com/episode/episode-5-andrew-horowitz-in-a-state-15932783 In A State Andrew Horowitz interview] ''Himalaya.com''. [Episode 5].</ref>  

They would also run into budgetary concerns, as the album cost more than triple their original budget to create.<ref>Andrew Horowitz. [https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily/mdp.39015071755156/355 In My Own Words: Making It Big. Newspaper Article.] ''The Michigan Daily'', February 16th 2006. (Vol 115, iss 77). Archived Via Umich.edu. Accessed March 24th 2024.</ref> Part of this cost would be spent pulling in music school graduates and friends like [[Jeremy Kittel]] ([[Be Born]]) and Bobby Streng ([[Welcome To Tally Hall (Song)|Welcome To Tally Hall]]) to record parts. One track planned for recording was [[Inside The Mind of Simon]], a track [[Joe Hawley]] penned in 2004. This however would never happen, due to budgetary and time constraints. By October 2nd, the band only had two tracks left to record<ref>[https://holler-at-us.livejournal.com/57327.html Doris the cat - rf. LiveJournal.]</ref>. Meanwhile, Court Jones was working hard on the album cover with art design by Joe Hawley.

Later on, the album was officially re-released on September 12th, 2006.{{cn}} The reasons for the re-release were never clear, but this re-release coincided with additional publicity on MTV, national distribution in all major retail stores, and various other TV appearances including [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Late_Late_Show_(U.S._TV_series) The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson].  

The album was reprinted once more and was likely released on January 29th, 2007<ref>[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BPYKJG?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details Amazon Product Page. 'Tally Hall - Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum'.] ''Amazon.com''</ref>. This reprint was largely the same as the 2006 version except that Zubin's page in the lyric book is a different shade of blue and it featured a hype sticker on the front when sealed.{{cn}}

^{''If you're looking for the differences between '''2005''' and '''2008''', please look for the "History" section on each song.''}

Tally Hall would sign with [[Atlantic Records]] in early 2007 and was approved to go back and touch-up '''Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum''' at Stratosphere Sound Recording Studios in NYC with producer [[Chris Shaw]]. Of the tracks on the album, two would be re-recorded ([[Just Apathy]] and [[The Bidding]]) and the drums on each track were re-recorded.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdViYbraiso Keep Up The Good Work Special Edition: Steve Loter and Rob Cantor discuss The Ghost and Molly McGee] ''YouTube''.</ref> During this time the band filmed multiple vlog style videos cataloging the recording of this new version<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSdPHLlfZmk NYC I: RE-MMMM] ''YouTube''.</ref>, culminating in a skit video ("APRIL FOOLS") promoting its release on April 1st.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xf0YLzjDUw APRIL FOOLS (Tally Hall, re-upload)] ''YouTube''.</ref>

The first single, Good Day, was released on February 26th, 2008. Another single from the album, Welcome To Tally Hall would be released but only as a radio promotional item.<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/release/7319830-Tally-Hall-Welcome-To-Tally-Hall Tally Hall – Welcome To Tally Hall.] ''Discogs.''</ref> The new version of the album was released on April 1st, 2008 on CD and digital services and with it, a limited black vinyl LP pressing of the album.{{cn}}

M.M.M.M. CDs bought at Tally Hall concerts after the album's re-release included a download code for three bonus tracks. These are [[Mucka Blucka]], [[Dream]], and [[Just A Friend]]. Mucka Blucka and Dream were included with the iTunes release of Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum along with the Good Day music video and first episode of [[Tally Hall's Internet Show]], [[Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum (T.H.I.S. Episode)|Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum]]. Just A Friend however would stay exclusive to the download code for years, until the release of [[Admittedly Incomplete Demos]] in 2015.<ref>[https://tallyhall.bandcamp.com/track/just-a-friend Tally Hall - Just a Friend on Bandcamp.] ''Bandcamp''.</ref>

After a resurgence in popularity, Tally Hall signed to [[Needlejuice Records]] and agreed to re-release physical copies of the 2008 version of Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum on CD, Vinyl, and for the first time: cassette tapes. This version also includes Mucka Blucka, Dream, and Just A Friend as bonus tracks.<ref>https://needlejuicerecords.com/product/marvinsmarvelousmechanicalmuseum/ Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum. Needlejuice Records. 2021.</ref> The physical releases include new artwork by Court Jones, the artist behind the original album cover.<ref>[https://twitter.com/needlejuicerec/status/1366248201003667459 Court Jones designing new gatefold art] [Tweet]. ''Twitter''.</ref>

The 2021 CD release is an enhanced CD, containing the music video for Good Day and the first episode of Tally Hall's Internet Show. The Simlish version of Good Day recorded for The Sims 2 also appears for the first time on physical and digital platforms, being the "pregap" track on the 2021 CD and a hidden track on the Bandcamp release.{{cn}}

Marvin's Marvelous Mechanical Museum has become a favorite among many fans since its release(s) for its variety and strong tracklist, and original vinyl copies have been in high demand in recent years. Among the tracks on the album, [[Hidden In The Sand]] and [[The Bidding]] have enjoyed a big boost in popularity after the rise of the social media app TikTok.{{cn}}