# Phantom Planet
**Phantom Planet** is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1994, known for a sound that mixes Beatlesque pop with garage rock and for "California", the theme song of the Fox teen drama *The O.C.*[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440). The original lineup consisted of high school classmates [Alex Greenwald](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-greenwald) (vocals, guitar), Jacques Brautbar (guitar), Sam Farrar (bass), Darren Robinson (guitar), and actor [Jason Schwartzman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-schwartzman) (drums)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440). The band took its name from the 1961 cult science-fiction film *The Phantom Planet*[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1994, Los Angeles, by high school classmates; named after the 1961 film *The Phantom Planet*[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440) |
| Original lineup | Alex Greenwald (vocals, guitar), Jacques Brautbar (guitar), Sam Farrar (bass), Darren Robinson (guitar), Jason Schwartzman (drums)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440) |
| Signature song | "California" from *The Guest* (2002); number 35 on the Alternative Songs chart and theme of *The O.C.*[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/song/california-mt0004335249) |
| Studio albums | *Phantom Planet Is Missing* (1998), *The Guest* (2002), *Phantom Planet* (2004), *Raise the Dead* (2008), *Devastator* (2020)[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/phantom-planet-mw0000695699) |
| Drummer change | Schwartzman left in August 2003 to pursue acting; Jeff Conrad of the Los Angeles band Big City Rock replaced him[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/) |
| Labels | Geffen (debut), Epic/Daylight for the self-titled album, Fueled by Ramen for *Raise the Dead*[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/) • [5](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2004/02/phantom-planet-phantom-planet-epicdaylight/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440) |
| Hiatus and return | Farewell show at The Troubadour in December 2008; reunited in 2011; official return announced with the 2019 single "Balisong"[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440) |
## Formation and early years
The five founding members met in 1994, and the band's Japanese label profile places its formation at a local [Pizza Hut](https://www.edgepedia.org/pizza-hut) while the members were in their early teens[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/). Family connections drew early attention. Schwartzman is the son of actress [Talia Shire](https://www.edgepedia.org/talia-shire) and the nephew of director [Francis Ford Coppola](https://www.edgepedia.org/francis-ford-coppola), and he appeared in *Rushmore* (1998) while playing in the band[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440). Farrar is the son of the songwriter John Farrar, whose hits include "You're the One That I Want" and "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from the 1978 film *Grease*[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440) • [4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/). Greenwald also worked outside the band, appearing in GAP commercials as a model and taking a role in the 2001 film *Donnie Darko*[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/).
**First recordings.** The band played around Los Angeles in the late 1990s and secured a contract with Geffen in 1997[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/). Its debut album, *Phantom Planet Is Missing*, arrived the following year to a lukewarm reception, though members made guest appearances on the television shows *Sabrina, the Teenage Witch* and *Get Real*[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440) • [4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/).
## "California" and The O.C.
For the second album the band entered the studio with engineers and producers including Chad Blake ([Pearl Jam](https://www.edgepedia.org/pearl-jam), Sheryl Crow) and Mitchell Froom ([Elvis Costello](https://www.edgepedia.org/elvis-costello), Paul McCartney)[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/). *The Guest* appeared in 2002, and its single "California", composed by Greenwald and Schwartzman, became the band's breakthrough[2](https://www.allmusic.com/song/california-mt0004335249). A Top Ten hit in several countries, the song reached number 35 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart and helped land the album on the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) 200[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440).
Television multiplied the song's reach. *The O.C.* creator [Josh Schwartz](https://www.edgepedia.org/josh-schwartz) said the team selected "California" so it could present Fox executives with a tune they would find familiar; it turned out nobody at the network had heard the song before, but they "responded to it"[6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-teen-drama-the-oc-launched-indie-bands-into-musical-stardom/2018/08/01/271c86fe-93f0-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html). The song plays over the montage of Sandy driving Ryan from Chino to Newport Beach in the pilot, and it ran weekly under the show's opening credits[7](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a45958135/welcome-to-the-oc-book-excerpt/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440). Critics have described the song's construction as central to that fit: an expertly paced, Weezer-esque tune that is both poppy and gritty, with lyrics homesick for Highway 101 whose optimism is tempered by weariness and uncertainty[8](https://www.avclub.com/phantom-planet-s-california-strikes-a-balance-between-1798244933). On the twentieth anniversary of the show's premiere, *The Ringer* wrote that *The O.C.* has a strong claim to the most iconic theme song of this century in "California"[9](https://www.theringer.com/2023/08/03/tv/20th-anniversary-of-the-oc-music-soundtrack-rooney-death-cab-for-cutie).
## Reinvention: Phantom Planet and Raise the Dead
In August 2003 Schwartzman announced his departure, saying he wanted to move into acting rather than continue with the band; Jeff Conrad, then of the Los Angeles band Big City Rock, joined as his replacement[4](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/). The self-titled third album followed on January 6, 2004, recorded in Fredonia, New York, with the indie producer Dave Fridmann[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/phantom-planet-mw0000695699). It turned away from the manicured pop of *The Guest* toward a scuzzy sound influenced by garagey New York bands like the Strokes, with Greenwald's formerly earnest croon recast as a surly, slurry sneer and "Big Brat" as the lead single[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/phantom-planet-mw0000695699). Pitchfork's review called it a square-one, career-redefining rock album recorded in Schwartzman's wake[10](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6258-phantom-planet/), and *SPIN* noted that the band worked hard to leave the *O.C.* sound behind, describing the theme-song fame as a mixed blessing[5](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2004/02/phantom-planet-phantom-planet-epicdaylight/).
**Raise the Dead.** The fourth album, produced by [Tony Berg](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-berg) and released on [Fueled by Ramen](https://www.edgepedia.org/fueled-by-ramen) in 2008, carried the singles "Do the Panic" and "Dropped"[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440). The Los Angeles Times framed it as another stylistic shift for a band that had first reached the pop masses through "California", and reported that the record engaged the subject of cults[11](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-planet12-2008jun12-story.html).
## Hiatus and side projects
After a farewell show at The Troubadour in December 2008, the band went on indefinite hiatus[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440). The members dispersed into other work: Greenwald pursued solo material and collaborated with the Young Veins and Phases; Farrar formed Operation Aloha with members of Gomez and [Maroon 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/maroon-5); Robinson toured with Miniature Tigers[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440). Schwartzman, the band's drummer from 1994 to 2003, released two albums under the name Coconut Records, *Nighttiming* (2007) and *Davy* (2009)[12](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2024/10/26/jason-schwartzman-l-acteur-et-ses-doubles_6360129_3246.html).
## Reunion and Devastator
The band reunited in 2011 for a handful of welcome-back shows, several at the [Troubadour](https://www.edgepedia.org/troubadour), where guitarist Brautbar joined them[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440). Around the same time Farrar began splitting his time between Phantom Planet and touring as a member of Maroon 5[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440). The official return from hiatus came with the Tony Berg-produced single "Balisong" in 2019, included on the group's fifth full-length album, *Devastator*, released in 2020[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440).
## What "California" left behind
The theme-song association has outlasted the band's chart career. Fifteen years after the pilot, *The Washington Post* reported that producer Stephanie Savage still heard people quietly singing "California" on plane rides to the state, its elongated vowels unmistakable even years after the show ended[6](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-teen-drama-the-oc-launched-indie-bands-into-musical-stardom/2018/08/01/271c86fe-93f0-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html). The same anniversary coverage credited the show's soundtrack, with "California" at its head, with helping popularize bands like [Death Cab for Cutie](https://www.edgepedia.org/death-cab-for-cutie) and the Killers and nudging them from indie into the mainstream[9](https://www.theringer.com/2023/08/03/tv/20th-anniversary-of-the-oc-music-soundtrack-rooney-death-cab-for-cutie).
The song's dominance also shaped how the band was read. *The Guest* drew mixed reviews on release, with Rolling Stone scoring it 50 and calling it a power-pop record whose songs seem catchy while they play but leave no lasting impression, while other critics scored it as high as 70[13](https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-guest/phantom-planet). AllMusic's review of the self-titled album argued that the band's success with "California" showed there was always a place for well-crafted, unapologetically pop music, even as the group willfully moved away from it[3](https://www.allmusic.com/album/phantom-planet-mw0000695699).
## References
1. [Phantom Planet — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phantom-planet-mn0000844440)
2. [California — Phantom Planet, AllMusic song review](https://www.allmusic.com/song/california-mt0004335249)
3. [Phantom Planet: Phantom Planet Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic album review by Heather Phares](https://www.allmusic.com/album/phantom-planet-mw0000695699)
4. [ファントム・プラネット プロフィール, Sony Music Japan](https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/PhantomPlanet/profile/)
5. [Phantom Planet, 'Phantom Planet' (Epic/Daylight), SPIN (February 2004)](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2004/02/phantom-planet-phantom-planet-epicdaylight/)
6. [How teen drama 'The O.C.' launched indie bands into musical stardom, The Washington Post (August 2, 2018)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-teen-drama-the-oc-launched-indie-bands-into-musical-stardom/2018/08/01/271c86fe-93f0-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html)
7. [Welcome to The O.C. excerpt: Cast on filming the show's first episode, Cosmopolitan](https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/tv/a45958135/welcome-to-the-oc-book-excerpt/)
8. [Phantom Planet's "California" strikes a balance between homesick and wary, The A.V. Club (March 7, 2016)](https://www.avclub.com/phantom-planet-s-california-strikes-a-balance-between-1798244933)
9. [The Perfect 'O.C.' Soundtrack Made Indie Music Mainstream, The Ringer (August 3, 2023)](https://www.theringer.com/2023/08/03/tv/20th-anniversary-of-the-oc-music-soundtrack-rooney-death-cab-for-cutie)
10. [Phantom Planet: Phantom Planet Album Review, Pitchfork (January 27, 2004)](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6258-phantom-planet/)
11. [Phantom Planet explores cults in 'Raise the Dead', Los Angeles Times (June 12, 2008)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-planet12-2008jun12-story.html)
12. [Jason Schwartzman, l'acteur et ses doubles, Le Monde (October 26, 2024)](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2024/10/26/jason-schwartzman-l-acteur-et-ses-doubles_6360129_3246.html)
13. [The Guest by Phantom Planet Reviews and Tracks, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-guest/phantom-planet)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Rock, indie, and pop groups › Rock bands › Pop rock and power pop bands › 1980s and 1990s pop rock*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license