St. Paul, MN-based punk group Dillinger Four were formed in 1994 by guitarist Erik Funk and bassist Patrick Costello; the group's original line-up, also including guitarist Sloan and drummer Lane Pedersen, held together long enough to record the debut 7" Higher Aspirations: Tempered and Dismantled before Sloan exited to join Man Afraid. After recruiting ex-Scooby Don't guitarist Bill Morrisette, Dillinger Four resurfaced in 1996 with the EP The Kids Are All Dead; a split single with fellow Twin Cities band the Strike followed a year later, as did a series of compilation appearances. This Shit is Genius, a collection of songs taken from compilations and various other releases, came out in 1999 on No Idea.