| Birds of a Feather | |
| Cover: | Phish - Birds of a Feather.jpg |
| Caption: | Cover of promo single |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Phish |
| Album: | The Story of the Ghost |
| Recorded: | March 11–15, September 29–October 2, 1997; April–June 1998, Bearsville Studios, Bearsville, New York and March 4–7, April 7–11, 1997, Dave O's Farmhouse |
| Genre: | Funk rock |
| Label: | Elektra PRCD 1191-2 |
| Producer: | Andy Wallace |
| Prev Title: | Character Zero |
| Prev Year: | 1997 |
| Next Title: | Wading in the Velvet Sea |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
"Birds of a Feather" is a 1998 song by the American band Phish. It is the second track from their 1998 album The Story of the Ghost and was released as their twelfth promotional single by Elektra Records. The song is a funk rock song written by the entire band and lyricist Tom Marshall, and was influenced by Talking Heads.[1]
The song premiered on April 2, 1998 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, the first of the four shows in the "Island Tour". This show is available as Live Phish 04.02.98. Musically, it was one of the more upbeat tracks from the predominantly slow and funky The Story of the Ghost album.
"Birds of a Feather" is one of the few Phish songs to be performed three times on U.S. national television. The song was first performed at the 1998 Farm Aid concert, on October 3, 1998, and shown live on CMT. It was also played at PBS's Sessions at West 54th on October 20, 1998 which was broadcast on PBS affiliates starting on January 9, 1999. The third performance was on the October 27, 1998 episode of CBS's Late Show with David Letterman.
The song also was featured on the October 7, 1998 episode of the WB teen drama Dawson's Creek, entitled "The Kiss".
"Birds of a Feather" was a Top 20 hit on Billboards Adult Alternative Songs chart, reaching a peak of #14 in December 1998.[2]
Additionally, the song was featured on the soundtrack of the video game MLB The Show 23.
| Chart (1998) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard) | 14 | |
| U.S. Rock (Radio & Records)[3] | 45 |
Musicians
Trey Anastasio – guitars, vocals
Page McConnell – keyboards, vocals
Mike Gordon – bass guitar, vocals
Jon Fishman – drums, vocals