"Frontier Psychiatrist" is a song by Australian group The Avalanches

The Avalanches

The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in 1997 with mainstays Robbie Chater on keyboards, Tony Diblasi on keyboards, bass and backing vocals, and Darren Seltmann on vocals and keyboards. They are known for their live DJ sets and their debut album Since I Left You , which was...

, released as the second single from their debut album Since I Left You

Since I Left You

Since I Left You is the debut studio album by Australian music group The Avalanches released on 27 November 2000. Produced by Avalanches members Robbie Chater and Darren Seltmann, it was released on Modular Recordings. The album was created in two separate near-identical studios by Chater and...

.

Background

The song is a mix of audio samples of music, dialogue and sound effects.
The primary music samples consist of the main choir and organ sample from the Enoch Light

Enoch Light

Enoch Henry Light was a classical violinist, bandleader, and recording engineer. As A&R chief and vice-president of Grand Award Records, he founded Command Records in 1959. Light's name was prominent on many albums both as musician and producer...

 recording "My Way of Life;" a sample from Maurice Jarre

Maurice Jarre

Maurice-Alexis Jarre was a French composer and conductor.Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores, and is particularly known for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films since Lawrence of Arabia...

's "Overture" for the 1962 film, Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia (film)

Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel through his British company, Horizon Pictures, with the screenplay by Robert Bolt and Michael Wilson. The film stars Peter O'Toole in the title role. It is widely...

; drums from Harvey Mandel

Harvey Mandel

Harvey Mandel is an American guitarist known for his innovative approach to electric guitar playing. A professional at twenty, he played with Charlie Musselwhite, Canned Heat, The Rolling Stones, and John Mayall before starting a solo career...

's 1968 "Wade in the Water;" and the guitar from Flo Sandon's

Flo Sandon's

Mammola Sandon, known by the stage name of Flo Sandon's , was an Italian singer who was popular in the post-WWII years. She won the Sanremo Music Festival in 1953 with the song "Viale d'autunno".-Career:...

' 1951 "El Negro Zumbon."

The track's opening dialogue was taken from the 1981 John Waters

John Waters (filmmaker)

John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...

 film Polyester

Polyester (film)

Polyester is a 1981 comedy film directed, produced, and written by John Waters, and starring Divine, Tab Hunter, Edith Massey, and Mink Stole...

. Samples from comedians Wayne and Shuster

Wayne and Shuster

Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. They were active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s....

's routine "Frontier Psychiatrist" serves as the chorus, and edits from both "I Was a TV Addict" and "A Shakespearean Baseball Game" from the same duo are included in the song. Samples from three routines by comedian Flip Wilson

Flip Wilson

Clerow Wilson, Jr. , known professionally as Flip Wilson, was an American comedian and actor. In the early 1970s, Wilson hosted his own weekly variety series, The Flip Wilson Show...

 are used, "Cowboys & Colored People", "Midget" and "Riot Suit." In addition to a sample from the 1989 movie The Burbs, the song also features samples from 37 "spoken word" records

Spoken word album

A spoken word album was a record album that did not consist mainly of music or songs, but of spoken material. It could be said to be the ancestor of today's audiobook format...

, including a golf instructional, as well as Christianity albums and "Reading For The Blind" tapes.

The horse neigh is from the 1970 Mel and Tim

Mel and Tim

Mel and Tim were an American soul music duo active in the 1960s and early 1970s, and best known for the hit, "Backfield in Motion" . They are also well known for: "Hope, Life's Goal" and "Starting All Over Again" .-Career:...

 song, "Good Guys Only Win In The Movies."

Group member Robbie Chater explained in an interview with Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork 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...

 that this track "was a good example of something we didn't plan and just happened from us just fucking around."

The song served as their breakout single, being their only single to chart in their native Australia, and also making the charts in the United Kingdom.

The song was also included by Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby

Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...

 in his book 31 Songs

31 Songs

Songbook is a 2002 collection of 26 essays by English writer Nick Hornby about songs and the particular emotional resonance they carry for him. In the UK, Sony released a stand-alone CD, A Selection of Music from 31 Songs, featuring 18 songs. The hardcover edition of Songbook, published in the U.S...

, a collection of short essays on songs with particular emotional resonance to Hornby.

Music video

The song's music video, directed by Tom Kuntz

Tom Kuntz

Tom Kuntz is a filmmaker who is most known for his unique television commercials and music videos, which either have colorful settings, time-lapse photography or wildly eccentric humans...

 and Mike Maguire, features various characters re-enacting the elements of the track, including the vocal samples, the violin, the horns and the drums.

The video was the runner-up in the "Best Music Video" category Soho Shorts Film Festival in 2002, and was #19 in Pitchfork Media

Pitchfork 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...

's Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s.

An alternative video was made, featuring actors acting out the 'dialogue' of the track in various scenes, including a psychiatrist's office and "Dexter's" bedroom. In addition, Rorschach ink-blots are animated to reflect various samples in the track.

Formats and track listings

EP

1. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (Radio Edit)
2. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (Mario Caldato's 85% Mix)
3. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (85% Instrumental)
4. "Slow Walking"
5. "Yamaha Superstar"
6. "Frontier Psychiatrist"
7. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (video)

12" single

1. "Frontier Psychiatrist" - 4:49
2. "With My Baby" - 4:38
3. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (Mario Caldato's 85% Mix) - 4:00
4. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (85% Instrumental) - 4:03

CD maxi single 1

1. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (Radio Edit)
2. "Slow Walking"
3. "Yamaha Superstar"

CD maxi single 2

1. "Frontier Psychiatrist" - 4:57
2. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (Mario Caldato's 85% Mix) - 4:04
3. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (85% Instrumental) - 4:02

CD mini single (Australia)

1. "Frontier Psychiatrist"
2. "A Different Feeling"

CD mini single (United States)

1. "Frontier Psychiatrist"
2. "Radio"
3. "Two Hearts in 3/4 Time"

DVD single

1. "Frontier Psychiatrist" (video)

Charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	49
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	18