Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla
Encyclopedia
Excerpts From the Diary of Todd Zilla is an EP
by indie rock
band Grandaddy
, released on September 27, 2005. The name comes from something Jason Lytle
saw on the vanity license plate of a large truck in his home town of Modesto, California
. The CD version was released by V2 Records
, while a limited-pressing vinyl edition was released on the Devil in the Woods label, with a bonus track "Hidden Health Announcement".
, on older equipment — "none of that glitzy 24-track business". Its eight tracks do not appear on the band's fourth full-length album, Just Like the Fambly Cat. He recorded it as "a way to fill the gaps of time while recording the new album. I just thought I could throw together some old songs and some newer ones and a really new one". Some of the songs had been written much earlier, as far back as ten years before, as Lytle stated: "There are years-long gaps between a lot of these songs, and mostly they were just annoying me because they were sitting around doing nothing."
Everything on the EP was written and recorded by Lytle with the exception of drum tracks by Aaron Burtch.
gave it 5.6/10, calling it "a goofy, sloppy mini-album, cramming familiar Weezer fuzz, stoned piano ballads, playful analogue synths, and misguided Bad Company references into a little more than half an hour". Gareth Dobson of Drowned in Sound
gave it five out of ten, calling it a "mixed bag". SPIN
gave it a B+ rating, calling it "richly illustrated, grim but empathetic, epic yet humane art rock". In the view of Joey Lipps of The Michigan Daily, "it falls short of the captivating quality of their previous recordings". Shilpa Ganatra of Hot Press
opined that the EP represented "a wander into the field of revolution rather than evolution".
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
by indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Grandaddy
Grandaddy
Grandaddy was an American indie rock band, formed in 1992 in Modesto, California by singer, guitarist, and keyboardist Jason Lytle, bassist Kevin Garcia, and drummer Aaron Burtch. Guitarist Jim Fairchild and keyboardist Tim Dryden later joined the band in 1995...
, released on September 27, 2005. The name comes from something Jason Lytle
Jason Lytle
Jason Lytle is an American musician best known for his work in the indie rock group Grandaddy. He released a solo album in 2009 and is currently in the band Admiral Radley.-Biography:...
saw on the vanity license plate of a large truck in his home town of Modesto, California
Modesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
. The CD version was released by V2 Records
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
, while a limited-pressing vinyl edition was released on the Devil in the Woods label, with a bonus track "Hidden Health Announcement".
Title and theme
The EP's title reflects Lytle's frustration with Modesto, and has been described as "not so much a farewell as a fuck off to the town". In Lytle's words, the EP "was a nice opportunity for me to produce some whiney little complaining songs about my hometown. I think it's pretty blatant; it's pretty stripped down in terms of the message." It was recorded simulataneously with the final Grandaddy album, and Lytle planned to leave Modesto as soon as the album was complete, stating "In Modesto, it's like gravity is a lot heavier. There's something that just makes you feel like you’re doing all you can just to keep your head above water, when in fact there's not a whole lot going on."Recording
Todd Zilla was recorded at Lytle's second studio, in Ceres, CaliforniaCeres, California
Ceres is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 45,417 at the 2010 census, up from 34,609 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area.-General:...
, on older equipment — "none of that glitzy 24-track business". Its eight tracks do not appear on the band's fourth full-length album, Just Like the Fambly Cat. He recorded it as "a way to fill the gaps of time while recording the new album. I just thought I could throw together some old songs and some newer ones and a really new one". Some of the songs had been written much earlier, as far back as ten years before, as Lytle stated: "There are years-long gaps between a lot of these songs, and mostly they were just annoying me because they were sitting around doing nothing."
Everything on the EP was written and recorded by Lytle with the exception of drum tracks by Aaron Burtch.
Reception
Marc Hogan of Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
gave it 5.6/10, calling it "a goofy, sloppy mini-album, cramming familiar Weezer fuzz, stoned piano ballads, playful analogue synths, and misguided Bad Company references into a little more than half an hour". Gareth Dobson of Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
gave it five out of ten, calling it a "mixed bag". SPIN
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
gave it a B+ rating, calling it "richly illustrated, grim but empathetic, epic yet humane art rock". In the view of Joey Lipps of The Michigan Daily, "it falls short of the captivating quality of their previous recordings". Shilpa Ganatra of Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
opined that the EP represented "a wander into the field of revolution rather than evolution".