Peeping Tom
Studio album by Peeping Tom
Released	May 30, 2006
Recorded	2000-2006
Genre	Avant-Garde Pop Trip-hop Hip hop/Electro
Length	44:03
Label	Ipecac Recordings (IPC77)
Producer	Mike Patton, Dan The Automator, Amon Tobin, Odd Nosdam, Massive Attack, Dub Trio, Jel
Professional reviews
Allmusic link mxdwn.com (very favorable) link Okayplayer link Pitchfork Media link

Peeping Tom is an avant-garde trip hop/hip hop album by Mike Patton's collaboration group, Peeping Tom. It was released May 30, 2006 on Patton's own record label, Ipecac Recordings. The album was produced by swapping song files through the mail with collaborators such as Norah Jones, Kool Keith, and Massive Attack, among others.

The album, and the band associated with it, is named after Michael Powell's 1960 film Peeping Tom, which Patton has mentioned liking.^[1]

General description and history

"I don't listen to the radio, but if I did, this is what I'd want it to sound like," Patton says of the project. "This is my version of pop music. In a way, this is an exercise for me: taking all these things I've learned over the years and putting them into a pop format."

Peeping Tom debuted #12 mainstream album ARIA charts & #1 ARIA urban album chart on June 7, 2006. The first single from the self-titled record is "Mojo". It is accompanied by a music video featuring appearances by Danny DeVito, Mark Hoppus, Rachel Hunter as well as song collaborators Dan the Automator and Rahzel. The video was created by music video director Matt McDermitt.

Work on Peeping Tom began in 2000, but faced constant interruptions to accommodate Patton's recording or touring work with other bands and side projects including two feature film scores and a film acting debut in Firecracker. Over this six year period, enough material was written for a second and possible third album.

In April 2005, Patton decided to scrap the Peeping Tom project, which was originally planned to be produced solely by Dan the Automator, stating "It's just turning into a lot of work, and it's too difficult to keep everyone up to speed." The project was later revived.

The album has multiple influences, including hip hop, alternative rock, trip hop, G-Funk, electro, ghettotech, soul music, pop music, ambient music, lounge^[2], and experimental rock.

The band made their public debut on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on May 26, 2006. The group performed the song "Mojo", which, according to literal interpretation, is from the perspective of a drug addict. (This is especially ironic since Patton has claimed to have never used drugs in his life.) Alongside Patton, the other musicians involved were Rahzel, Dan The Automator, Rob Swift, Dub Trio and guest vocalist Imani Coppola. They were booed off the stage in Philadelphia on September 12, 2006, Wantagh, NY on September 13, and in Boston on September 16 while opening for classic rock group The Who. This may have been a problem of mismatched bands with the hip hop influenced Peeping Tom opening for classic rockers The Who, since shows featuring Peeping Tom as headliners with supporting acts Pigeon John and Miho Hatori were well received.

Patton has toured to support the album with band made up of different rotating members, according to Patton's appearance on The Henry Rollins Show, "depending on where I am and who's available." Patton mentioned the Dub Trio as a "constant", but other members have rotated, including America's Got Talent competitor Butterscotch, who came in to beatbox in place of Rahzel and DJ Z-Trip in place of Dan the Automator.

For the week ending June 17, 2006, Peeping Tom was the top debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart, appearing at #103 with 10,000 units shipped. This is the highest-ever entry on this chart for the Ipecac Recordings label.

Track listing

1. "Five Seconds" (featuring Odd Nosdam) - 4:20
2. "Mojo" (featuring Rahzel and Dan The Automator) - 3:40
3. "Don't Even Trip" (featuring Amon Tobin) - 5:46
4. "Getaway" (featuring Kool Keith) - 3:22
5. "Your Neighborhood Spaceman" (featuring Jel and Odd Nosdam) - 5:45
6. "Kill the DJ" (featuring Massive Attack) - 4:09
7. "Caipirinha" (featuring Bebel Gilberto) - 2:46
8. "Celebrity Death Match" (featuring Kid Koala) - 3:42
9. "How U Feelin-" (featuring Doseone) - 2:44
10. "Sucker" (featuring Norah Jones) - 2:33
11. "We're Not Alone" (remix) (featuring Dub Trio) - 5:10

Chart positions

Album

Singles

References

External links

• Ipecac Recordings
• Peeping Tom at Ipecac Recordings
• Peeping Tom at MySpace
• Interview with Mike Patton