Touch-Tone Telephone

For the telecommunication system, see Touch-Tone.
"Touch-Tone Telephone"
Cover art of the 2023 single
Single by Lemon Demon
from the album Spirit Phone
ReleasedFebruary 29, 2016 (album)
May 23, 2023 (single)
Genre
Length4:42
SongwriterNeil Cicierega
ProducerNeil Cicierega
Licensed audio
"Touch-Tone Telephone" on YouTube

"Touch-Tone Telephone" is a song by Lemon Demon, a musical project created by American musician Neil Cicierega. It was released on February 29, 2016, as the second track of Lemon Demon's seventh studio album, Spirit Phone, and as a wax cylinder single on May 23, 2023.[2]

Background

In 2009, Cicierega produced a demo titled "Ivanushka", based on the plot of the film Jack Frost. This demo would later be adapted into "Touch-Tone Telephone".[3] Following four years of development, 11 previews of songs intended for Spirit Phone were showcased in 2012, with "Touch-Tone Telephone" featured as the unnamed penultimate song.[4] The song would release on Spirit Phone on February 29, 2016.[5] In Spirit Phone's commentary, Cicierega states that the song's perspective is from "a dedicated caller into a radio show who has it all figured out", calling it a "big rant of preemptive defensiveness and saying you're going to do something without ever doing it".[3]

Composition

"Touch-Tone Telephone" is an uptempo new wave song. It instrumentally features strings,[5] bass, drums, synth, and keytar, with the Collegian describing its "whimsical sound" as reminiscent of Lemon Demon's fourth studio album, Damn Skippy (2005).[6] The song's hook contains embellishments of piano and violin underneath Cicierega singing the song's title, with the bridge using a phone ringing sound effect to set up a crescendo into the final chorus.[1] Following the lyrical end of the song, "Touch-Tone Telephone" closes with a minute of experimental synthesizers, described by the Vector as "melting into space".[5] Cicierega composed this portion to decompress the song and create a soundscape that transitions into "Cabinet Man".[3]

Music video

A music video for "Touch-Tone Telephone" directed by Chris Spargo was released on October 30, 2020. The video stars Tom Wohlfahrt, who dances and acts out the song's lyrics in a room with an evidence board, a push-button telephone, and a projector. After the creation of the video's concept, filming took four days and production took three weeks, intending to match its close release date to Halloween with the paranormal themes of Spirit Phone. Initially released unofficially, it later received approval from Cicierega to represent the song in film festivals.[7]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2021 Oxford Film Festival Best Music Video "Touch-Tone Telephone" Won [8]
Birmingham Film Festival Nominated [9]
Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival Nominated

Reception

Mashable included "Touch-Tone Telephone" on their 2019 Halloween playlist, calling the song one of many "real gems".[10] It additionally received inclusion on McDonald's "Grimace's Birthday" playlist.[11] "Touch-Tone Telephone" has amassed over 100 million streams across Spotify and YouTube.

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b Fantano, Anthony (March 10, 2016). "Lemon Demon - Spirit Phone". The Needle Drop. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  2. ^ "Touch-Tone Telephone (Wax Cylinder)". Needlejuice Records. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Spirit Phone (Media notes). Lemon Demon. Needlejuice Records. 2018.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  4. ^ Cicierega, Neil (April 3, 2012). "It's over 5 minutes of cool excerpts from 11 various songs I have been working on". Tumblr. Archived from the original on February 2, 2026. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Dimaya, Aaron (November 5, 2023). "A Spectacular Halloween Album If You Still Want to Stay Spooky". The Vector. Archived from the original on May 16, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  6. ^ ""Spirit Phone" shows Lemon Demon's growth". The Collegian. University of Tulsa. March 7, 2016. Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  7. ^ Spargo, Chris (February 9, 2021). Touch Tone Telephone - Behind The Scenes (Video). Archived from the original on April 1, 2026. Retrieved April 2, 2024 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Thompson, Jake (March 30, 2021). "Oxford Film Festival names 2021 winners". Oxford Eagle. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  9. ^ "Chris Spargo". 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  10. ^ Houghtaling, Ellie (October 11, 2019). "Here's a Halloween playlist for all your spooky music needs". Mashable. Archived from the original on June 14, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  11. ^ Varvaris, Mary (July 7, 2023). "Lorna Shore & Cannibal Corpse Feature On McDonald's 'Grimace's Birthday' Spotify Playlist". The Music. Archived from the original on July 17, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2024.

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