| Excerpts From the Diary of Todd Zilla | |
| Type: | EP |
| Artist: | Grandaddy |
| Cover: | toddzilla.jpg |
| Released: | September 27, 2005 |
| Genre: | Indie rock |
| Length: | 31:14 |
| Label: | V2 |
| Producer: | Jason Lytle |
| Prev Title: | Below the Radio |
| Prev Year: | 2004 |
| Next Title: | Just Like the Fambly Cat |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla is an EP by American indie rock band Grandaddy, released on September 27, 2005 through record label V2.
According to frontman Jason Lytle, the EP was "a way to fill the gaps of time while recording [''Just Like the Fambly Cat'']".[1] The EP received a mixed-to-favorable response from music critics.
The EP's title reflects frontman Jason Lytle's frustration with his hometown, Modesto, California, and has been described as "not so much a farewell as a fuck off to the town".[2] [3] The name comes from something Lytle saw on the vanity license plate of a large truck in Modesto.[5] [1] 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 simultaneously with Just Like the Fambly Cat, 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." He recorded the EP 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".[1]
Todd Zilla was recorded on 8-track equipment at one of Lytle's two home studios.[3] [3] Its eight tracks do not appear on the band's fourth full-length album, Just Like the Fambly Cat. 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.
Excerpts from the Diary of Todd Zilla was released on September 27, 2005 by record label V2.[6] A limited-pressing vinyl edition was released by record label Devil in the Woods, containing the bonus track "Hidden Health Announcement".