The Instigator is the second studio album by American country/rock band performer, Rhett Miller, lead singer of the Old 97's. Miller's first album came more than a decade earlier. Miller is joined by idol Robyn Hitchcock on "Point Shirley" and the album's title comes from the song "The El."

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2019)

The Instigator
Studio album by Rhett Miller
Released	September 24, 2002
Genre	Pop rock, adult alternative
Length	40:47
Label	Elektra
Producer	Jon Brion
Rhett Miller chronology
Mythologies (1989) The Instigator (2002) The Believer (2006)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	70/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The Austin Chronicle	[3]
Pitchfork	6.9/10[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]
The Village Voice	A−[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Rhett Miller, unless otherwise noted.

1. "Our Love" – 3:32
2. "This Is What I Do" – 3:10
3. "Come Around" – 3:41
4. "Things That Disappear" (Miller, Jon Brion) – 3:23
5. "World Inside The World" – 3:45
6. "Point Shirley" – 3:09
7. "Four-Eyed Girl" – 2:28
8. "Hover" – 2:50
9. "The El" – 3:09
10. "Your Nervous Heart" – 3:47
11. "I Want To Live" – 3:40
12. "Terrible Vision" – 4:06

Japan-only bonus tracks

13. "Erica the Beautiful"
14. "This Is What I Do (Too)"

Personnel

Primary Musicians

• Rhett Miller - vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar on "Our Love", "The El"
• Jon Brion - backing vocals, electric guitar, bass, drums, piano, acoustic guitar, dobro on "Point Shirley", upright piano on "Four Eyed Girl", "Hover", B-3 organ on "Four Eyed Girl", vibraphone on "Hover", baritone guitar on "The El", "Your Nervous Heart", "talentmaker" on "World Inside the World"
• Josh Freese - drums
• Lenny Castro - percussion

Additional Musicians

• Robyn Hitchcock - backing vocals, electric guitar on "Point Shirley"
• Jim Keltner - drums on "Point Shirley", "Terrible Vision", percussion on "Terrible Vision"
• David Garza - backing vocals, bass on "Four Eyed Girl", "distorto" guitar on "The El"
• John Doe - backing vocals on "The El"
• Dan McCaroll - drums on "The El"
• Chrissy Guerrero - backing vocals on "Terrible Vision"
• Karen Kilgarriff - backing vocals on "Terrible Vision"

References