Tom's Diner#Charts 2

Image:Tom's Restaurant on 2880 Broadway, New York.JPG]]

The "Tom's Diner" of the song is Tom's Restaurant in New York City,{{cite web |url=http://rustedpipe.vega.net/toms_diner.htm |title=Tom's Diner |publisher=The Rusted Pipe Web Site |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724120826/http://rustedpipe.vega.net/toms_diner.htm |archive-date=July 24, 2011 |access-date=November 8, 2015 }}{{cite web |author-link=Suzanne Vega |first=Suzanne |last=Vega |title=Tom's Essay |date=September 23, 2008 |url=http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/toms-essay/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928131313/http://measureformeasure.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/toms-essay/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 28, 2008 |work=The New York Times |access-date=November 8, 2015 }} a mid-20th-century diner on the northeast corner of Broadway and West 112th Street. Singer and songwriter Suzanne Vega was reputedly a frequent patron during the early 1980s when she was a student at nearby Barnard College.{{Cite news |last=Plassy |first=Charles |date=September 25, 1994 |title=The coffee's hot; Seinfeld's cafe's not |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5841354/santa_cruz_sentinel/ |newspaper=Santa Cruz Sentinel |location=Santa Cruz, CA |agency=Cox News Service |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=July 9, 2016 }} {{Open access}} The diner later became famous as the location used for the exterior scenes of Monk's Café in the popular 1990s television sitcom Seinfeld.

The song begins with the narrator stopping at a diner for a cup of coffee. The song mentions reading a newspaper as well as seeing two women, one who enters the diner and one who stands outside in the rain. The ringing of bells at a nearby cathedral (St. John the Divine) causes the narrator to reminisce about an unnamed companion and a midnight picnic. At the end of the song, the narrator leaves the diner to catch the train after the coffee is finished.

Vega wrote the song based on a comment by her friend Brian Rose, a photographer, who mentioned that in his work, he sometimes felt as if "he saw his whole life through a pane of glass, and [...] like he was the witness to a lot of things, but was never really involved in them". She attempted to think and write in this fashion (including a male perspective) while sitting at Tom's Restaurant.

An article on Suzanne Vega's official website{{cite web |url=http://www.suzannevega.com/Features/TomsDinerDay.htm |title="Tom's Diner Day" November 18th, 1981 |first=David|last=Hammar |publisher=The Official Suzanne Vega Website |access-date=March 27, 2011 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20070309130144/http://www.suzannevega.com/Features/TomsDinerDay.htm |archive-date= March 9, 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://www.vega.net/rustedpipe/toms_diner.htm |title=Tom's Diner |access-date=March 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718052102/http://www.vega.net/rustedpipe/toms_diner.htm |archive-date=July 18, 2011 }} uses clues in the song to determine the exact date that Vega wrote it.

Vega said that she wrote the song in 1982; Brian Rose has said that it was written sometime between mid-1981 and mid-1982. The lyrics refer to a rainy morning, when she was at the diner on the corner, reading in her newspaper of "a story of an actor / who had died while he was drinking", and afterwards "turning to the horoscope / and looking for the funnies". Only two newspapers in New York City carried comic strips, or "funnies", in 1981 and 1982, and only one, the New York Post, featured a front-page story of the death of Oscar-winning actor William Holden, whose body was discovered on Monday, November 16, 1981. In a 2008 essay for The New York Times, Vega confirmed that Holden was the actor whose death she had read about and inspired the line in the song.{{cite web |last1=Vega |first1=Suzanne |title=Tom's Essay |url=https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com//2008/09/23/toms-essay |website=Opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com |access-date=January 7, 2021 |date=September 23, 2008}}

Vega conceived "Tom's Diner" as a piece for voice and solo piano. Two versions feature on her album Solitude Standing; the album opens with an a cappella version, and closes with an instrumental version played on keyboards, with guitars lending support.

"Tom's Diner" was used by the researcher Karlheinz Brandenburg as a reference in developing the MP3 audio compression scheme. He recalled: "I was ready to fine-tune my compression algorithm...somewhere down the corridor, a radio was playing 'Tom's Diner.' I was electrified. I knew it would be nearly impossible to compress this warm a cappella voice."{{Cite web|url=http://www.suzannevega.com/music-facts/|title=Suzanne Vega Fun Facts (official Web site)|website=Suzannevega.com|access-date=March 14, 2022|archive-date=March 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310000309/http://www.suzannevega.com/music-facts/|url-status=dead}}

In a 2009 documentary about the history of the song by Swedish SVT, Brandenburg said: "I was finishing my PhD thesis, and then I was reading some hi-fi magazine and found that they had used this song to test loudspeakers. I said 'OK, let's test what this song does to my sound system, to MP3'. And the result was, at bit rates where everything else sounded quite nice, Suzanne Vega's voice sounded horrible."Sveriges Television, Hitlåtens historia: Tom's Diner – Suzanne Vega. Aired February 6, 2010. {{cite web|url=http://svtplay.se/v/1878392/hitlatens_historia/del_3_av_6__tom_s_diner_-_suzanne_vega |title=Del 3 av 6: Tom's diner - Suzanne Vega - Hitlåtens historia | SVT Play |access-date=February 26, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310084155/http://svtplay.se/v/1878392/hitlatens_historia/del_3_av_6__tom_s_diner_-_suzanne_vega |archive-date=March 10, 2010 }}

Brandenburg adopted the song for testing purposes, listening to it again and again each time he refined the scheme, making sure it did not adversely affect the subtlety of Vega's voice. While the MP3 compression format is not specifically tuned to play the song "Tom's Diner" (an assortment of critically analyzed material was involved in the design of the codec over many years), among audio engineers this anecdote has earned Vega the informal title "The Mother of the MP3".{{cite web

|url=http://www.mp3-history.com/en/mp3_history_a_lookintothelab/suzanne_vega.html

|title=Suzanne Vega|author=Jürgen Herre|publisher=Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft|access-date=December 31, 2013}}

• 12-inch maxi

1. "Tom's Diner"
2. "Left of Center"
3. "Tom's Diner" {{small|(live)}}
4. "Luka" {{small|(live)}}

==DNA remix==

{{Infobox song

| name = Tom's Diner (DNA Remix)

| cover = Tom's_diner_(DNA).jpg

| alt =

| caption = Artwork for European releases

| type = single

| artist = DNA featuring Suzanne Vega

| album =

| B-side =

| released = {{start date|1990|7|16}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Trip hophttps://apps.voxmedia.com/at/theverge-toms-diner-timeline-suzanne-vega/https://www.discogs.com/master/101413-DNA-Taste-This

| length = 3:47

| label = A&M

| writer =

• Steve Addabbo
• Lenny Kaye
• Suzanne Vega

| producer =

• Steve Addabbo
• Lenny Kaye
• DNA

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

| misc = {{Extra chronology

| artist = Suzanne Vega

| type = single

| prev_title = Men in a War

| prev_year = 1990

| title = Tom's Diner

| year = 1990

| next_title = In Liverpool

| next_year = 1992

}}{{Audio sample

| type = single

| file = SuzVega-TomsDinerRemix.ogg

}}{{External music video|{{YouTube|j4jtIDaeaWI|"Tom's Diner"}}}}

}}

{{Quote box|width=25%|align=left|quote="Three years later, I heard that two young English guys called DNA had put a beat to it – and I cringed. I'd just had a big hit with "Luka", which – unfortunately, despite its dark subject matter, child abuse – lent itself to all sorts of parodies and covers, most of which I hated. I feared more of the same, but to my great relief I loved what DNA had done. I thought it would be played in a few dance clubs and that would be it, but it surpassed everyone's expectations. I even got a plaque for it being one of the most played R&B songs – funny for a folk singer."|source=—Suzanne Vega talking about the song.{{cite web|last=Simpson|first=Dave|title=Suzanne Vega: how we made Tom's Diner|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/18/suzanne-vega-how-we-made-toms-diner-dna|work=The Guardian|date=October 18, 2016|access-date=March 5, 2020}}

}}

In 1990, two British record producers under the name DNA remixed "Tom's Diner", grafting Vega's vocals onto a dance beat from Soul II Soul ("Keep On Movin'") and turning her simple ad-libbed outro – "Do do do uh, do da-do uh" – into the song's driving hook. At the time, it was impossible to get a whole song into a sampler, so they spent evenings and weekends cutting Vega's vocals into little bits. Without permission from Vega, her record label, or publisher, the duo released the remix on a limited basis for distribution to clubs as "Oh Suzanne" by "DNA featuring Suzanne Vega". Vega's record company of the time, A&M, arranged to release the remix rather than take DNA to court for copyright infringement.

A&M struck the deal after consulting with Vega, who liked the interpretation.{{citation|title=Will Pop Eat Itself?|last=Beadle|first=Jeremy|isbn=0-571-16241-X|page=[https://archive.org/details/willpopeatitself00bead/page/207 207]|publisher=Faber and Faber|year=1993|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/willpopeatitself00bead/page/207}} Vega told a British columnist, "(A&M) asked me what I thought of it and I told them it was really kind of nice. So I said, 'Go ahead and release it.' I wasn't expecting it to be successful—I never thought it would be that popular. It just seemed very charming." The remix became a much larger hit than Vega had with the song originally, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart and number five on the US Billboard Hot 100, and it became one of a handful of tracks to chart in the top 10 of both the Modern Rock Tracks (number seven) and Billboard Hot R&B Singles (number 10) charts. The remix also reached number one in Austria, Germany, Greece and Switzerland.

The remix of the song is written in the key of F{{sharp}} minor in common time with a tempo of 99 beats per minute.{{Cite web|url=https://songbpm.com/dna/tom's-diner|title=BPM for 'tom's diner' by dna {{!}} songbpm.com|website=Songbpm.com|access-date=August 6, 2016}} Vega's vocals span from F{{sharp}}₃ to E₄ in the song.{{Cite web|url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0094740|title=Suzanne Vega "Tom's Diner (DNA Remix)" Sheet Music in F# Minor (transposable) - Download & Print|last=Vega|first=Suzanne|website=Musicnotes.com|date=June 27, 2011|access-date=August 6, 2016}}

Larry Flick from Billboard commented, "Don't miss the exceptional 'Tom's Diner', by DNA featuring Suzanne Vega." He noted that the Brit outfit had placed "a slammin' Soul II Soul-flavored swing instrumental" underneath Vega's song,{{cite magazine|first= Larry |last= Flick |title= Dance Trax: As Majors Phase Out The 12-Inch, Dance Community Ponders An All-Digital Future |magazine= Billboard |date= September 22, 1990 |page= 35 |access-date= October 14, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/BB-1990-09-22.pdf |author-link= Larry Flick}} and also described the track as "indelibly infectious."{{cite magazine|first= Larry |last= Flick |title= Single Reviews |magazine= Billboard |date= September 22, 1990 |page= 75 |access-date= October 28, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/90s/1990/BB1990.pdf |author-link= Larry Flick}} Student newspaper Columbia Daily Spectator named it a "surprise hit".{{cite magazine|title= The 250 Greatest Columbia Alumni |magazine= Columbia Daily Spectator |date= November 21, 2003 |page= 1 |access-date= April 24, 2020 |url= http://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/columbia}} Marisa Fox from Entertainment Weekly complimented its dance beat as "mesmerizing".{{cite magazine|first= Marisa |last= Fox |title= Dance Now!! |magazine= Entertainment Weekly |date= April 26, 1991 |access-date= November 11, 2020 |url= https://ew.com/article/1991/04/26/dance-now/}} Patrick Goldstein from Los Angeles Times said, "Strange but true-almost." He added that the "waif-like pop songstress" has suddenly become the "queen of London's trendy club scene, thanks to her sinewy, Soul II Soul-style dance hit".Goldstein, Patrick (August 19, 1990). "Vega Takes a Spin On the Dance Floor". Los Angeles Times. Everett True from Melody Maker commented, "This is so f***ing smooth. You know the original, I'm sure Suzanne's unaccompanied tale of everyday morning life in the big city in the wake of a break-up, incisively, poignantly observed. Magical. Now imagine it set to an unobtrusive, mellow backbeat which slips down even easier. F***ing superb! What is it about today? Single of the week. No shit."{{cite magazine|first=Everett|last=True|magazine=Melody Maker|title=Singles|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52151580463/|date=July 21, 1990|access-date=February 24, 2023|author-link=Everett True}}

A reviewer of Music & Media found that "the lonely vocal part is perfectly complemented by the Steely Dan type horns and the grinding hip-hop beat. A fine version."{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1990/MM-1990-08-11.pdf|title=Previews: Singles|magazine=Music & Media|volume=7|issue=32|page=12|date=August 11, 1990|access-date=February 22, 2018}} Music Week ranked the song number-one in their Top 10 list, "Pick of the Year – Dance".{{cite magazine|title= Dance |magazine= Music Week |date= December 22, 1990 |page= 11 |access-date= November 2, 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1990/MW-1990-12-22.pdf}} Diane Tameecha from The Network Forty felt the connection of Vega's "sensuously soft voice and the unlikely rhythm (for her music, anyway) is startlingly vibrant, and its jazziness is an instant ear-catcher."{{cite magazine|first=Diane|last=Tameecha|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Archive-Network-40/90/Network-40-1990-08-31.pdf|title=Crossover: Alternative|magazine=The Network Forty|date=August 31, 1990|page=44|access-date=February 22, 2018}} Mandi James from NME named it Single of the Week, writing, "A strange record, if only for the fact Suzanne Vega has previously failed to move me in any way, except to get up and leave the room. Dropped against a sensual, tactile beat those irritatingly vacant girly vocals are miraculously transformed into a hypnotic, bitter sweet ballad. The crushing folking bore has been given a new lease of life and should be eternally grateful to plastic surgeons DNA. The nearest thing to perfection I've heard all week."{{cite magazine|first=Mandi|last=James|magazine=NME|title=Singles|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/nothingelseon/52155134147/|date=July 21, 1990|access-date=February 24, 2023}} Smash Hits's reviewer said remixes like this one "end up sounding far better than the originals and the result is rather refreshing."{{cite magazine|title= Down the Rave-up! |magazine= Smash Hits |date= July 25, 1990 |page= 55 |access-date= October 19, 2020 |url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/smashhits90s/41005966992/in/album-72157667146258238/}} Alec Foege from Spin remarked that "Tom's Diner" was an international hit "only after DNA did a dance remix".{{cite magazine|first=Alec|last=Foege|title=Spins|magazine=Spin|date=October 1992|page=115|accessdate=January 25, 2023|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wJumg6TLv8EC}}

In 2004, Q magazine featured the DNA remix of the song in their list of "The 1010 Songs You Must Own".{{Cite web |title=Rocklist.net...Q 1010 Songs You Must Own... |url=https://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/q1010songs.htm |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=www.rocklistmusic.co.uk |archive-date=April 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421235919/https://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/q1010songs.htm |url-status=usurped }}

A music video was produced to promote the song, directed by Gareth Roberts.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDrNA8hs2BQ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119003152/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDrNA8hs2BQ&gl=US&hl=en|archive-date=November 19, 2020|url-status=dead|title=DNA feat Suzanne Vega Tom´s Diner Taste this VIVA VHS|via=YouTube|access-date=August 23, 2020}} It does not feature Vega.

• CD maxi

1. "Tom's Diner" {{small|(7-inch A)}} – 3:47
2. "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega – 2:39
3. "Tom's Diner" {{small|(a cappella)}} by Suzanne Vega – 2:08
4. "Tom's Diner" {{small|(12-inch A)}} – 5:20

• 7-inch single

1. "Tom's Diner" – 3:47
2. "Tom's Diner" {{small|(a cappella)}} by Suzanne Vega – 2:08

• 12-inch maxi

1. "Tom's Diner" {{small|(remix)}} – 6:03 (this version, containing piano with a solo part, has not yet been released digitally or on CD)
2. "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega
3. "Tom's Diner" {{small|(a cappella)}} by Suzanne Vega

• Cassette single

1. "Tom's Diner" 7-inch version by Suzanne Vega (side 1)
2. "Tom's Diner" 12-inch version by Suzanne Vega (side 2)

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for DNA remix of "Tom's Diner"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=single|artist=DNA/Suzanne Vega|title=Tom's Diner|award=Gold|relyear=1990|certyear=1990|salesamount=400,000|salesref={{cite web|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1991/MM-1991-01-26.pdf|publisher=Music & Media|title=Gold Diner|page=8|date=January 26, 1991|accessdate=May 27, 2023}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=DNA ft Suzanne Vega|title=Tom's Diner|award=Silver|relyear=1990|certyear=1990|id=7653-1620-1|access-date=August 29, 2020|refname="bpi"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=D.N.A. feat. Suzanne Vega|title=Tom's Diner|award=Gold|relyear=1990|certyear=1990|access-date=August 29, 2020}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Tom's Diner

| cover = Tom's_Diner_single_cover_Giorgio_Moroder_ft_Britney_Spears.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Giorgio Moroder featuring Britney Spears

| album = Déjà Vu

| released = {{Start date|2015|10|09}}

| recorded = 2014

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = * Disco

• pop
• EDM

| length = 3:32

| label = RCA

| producer = * Raney Shockne

• Jeeve
• Patrick Jordan-Patrikios
• Emily Wright

| chronology = Giorgio Moroder

| prev_title = Déjà Vu

| prev_year = 2015

| next_title = Good for Me

| next_year = 2016

| misc = {{Extra chronology

| artist = Britney Spears

| type = single

| prev_title = Pretty Girls

| prev_year = 2015

| title = Tom's Diner

| year = 2015

| next_title = Make Me

| next_year = 2016

}}

{{External music video|header=Lyric video|{{YouTube|6_x7gTQOEs4|"Tom's Diner"}}}}

}}

For the release of his fourteenth studio album Déjà Vu on June 12, 2015, record producer Giorgio Moroder included a remake of the song, featuring American singer Britney Spears on his album as the eighth track.{{cite magazine|last=Blistein |first=Jon |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hear-giorgio-moroder-and-sias-bubbly-dance-pop-track-deja-vu-20150417 |title=Giorgio Moroder Preps 'Deja Vu,' Britney Spears Covers 'Tom's Diner' |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=April 17, 2015 |access-date=June 3, 2016}} It was later released as the album's fourth and final single on October 9, 2015, with two new remixes included, marking the second release from Spears in 2015, following "Pretty Girls", and additionally her first featured appearance since "S&M (Remix)" in 2011.{{cite web |title=Tom's Diner Giorgio Moroder feat. Britney Spears |url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0161R4JP2 |access-date=October 11, 2015 |website=Amazon.com}}

Despite being a non-single track at that time, it became Moroder's best-selling digital song to date, debuting and peaking at number 38 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart, and number fourteen on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart, during the week of July 4, 2015.{{cite magazine|author=Gordon Murray|date=June 26, 2015|title=Giorgio Moroder Returns to Dance Charts After 38 Years|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6612674/giorgio-moroder-returns-dance-charts|magazine=Billboard|access-date=June 3, 2016}}{{cite magazine|title=Giorgio Moroder - Chart history|url=http://www.billboard.com/artist/302866/giorgio-moroder/chart?f=1234|magazine=Billboard|access-date=June 3, 2016}}

1. "Tom's Diner" – 3:32
2. "Tom's Diner" (Leu Leu Land Remix) – 2:58
3. "Tom's Diner" (Hibell Remix) – 3:17

{{Infobox song

| name = Tom's Diner

| cover = Annenmaykantereit - Toms Diner.jpeg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = AnnenMayKantereit and Giant Rooks

| album =

| released = {{Start date|2019|06|28}}

| recorded = 2019

| studio =

| genre = Blues rock{{cite magazine|first= Kevin |last= Rutherford |title= AnnenMayKantereit & Giant Rooks Bring 'Tom's Diner' Back to the Hot 100 |magazine= Billboard |url= https://www.billboard.com/pro/annenmaykantereit-giant-rooks-toms-diner-hot-100-return/|date= March 30, 2022|accessdate= April 30, 2022}}

| length = 4:29

| label = UMG

| producer = Fabian Langer

| chronology =

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

| misc = {{External music video|header=Lyric video|{{YouTube|5r3B7yz6J68|"Tom's Diner"}}}}

}}

German groups AnnenMayKantereit and Giant Rooks covered the song in 2019. The cover went viral on TikTok in March 2022, reaching more than 120 million views on TikTok and 330 million streams on Spotify as of November 2024.{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2022/03/17/here-are-some-songs-tiktok-is-currently-obsessed-with-and-where-youve-heard-them-before.html|title=Here are some songs TikTok is currently obsessed with — and where you've heard them before|publisher=Toronto Star|date=March 17, 2022|access-date=March 22, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Tom's Diner" by AnnenMayKantereit and Giant Rooks}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Brazil|artist=AnnenMayKantereit|title=Tom's Diner|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2019|certyear=2023|access-date=12 December 2023}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Annenmaykantereit & Giant Rooks|title=Tom's Diner|award=Platinum|type=single|relyear=2019|certyear=2023|access-date=December 20, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=AnnenMayKantereit & Giant Rooks|title=Tom's Diner|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2019|certyear=2023|access-date=July 13, 2023|refname="BVMI"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Poland|artist=AnnenMayKantereit & Giant Rooks|title=Tom's Diner|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2019|certyear=2024|access-date=January 24, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Annenmaykantereit/Giant Rooks|title=Tom's Diner|award=Silver|type=single|relyear=2019|certyear=2024|access-date=December 3, 2024|id=7653-6998-1}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=AnnenMayKantereit & Giant Rooks|title=Tom's Diner|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2019|certyear=2022|access-date=September 22, 2022|refname="RIAA"}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

The song spawned a number of hip hop, dance, and rock remixes and remakes from artists such as Peter Behrens (drummer from Trio) and Bingo Hand Job, a whimsical one-time collaboration between Billy Bragg and R.E.M. It was also sampled in songs by Public Enemy, Nikki D, 2Pac, Twin Hype, Yo Gotti and Lil' Kim, among other hip hop acts.

In 1991, Vega, noting the huge number of remakes of the song, released Tom's Album, a compilation of different versions of the song, spanning a variety of musical genres, including a parody by Mark Jonathan Davis{{cite web|url=http://www.markjonathandavis.com/ |title=About |publisher=Mark Jonathan Davis |access-date=June 3, 2016}} that worked in references to I Dream of Jeannie called "Jeannie's Diner", which Nick at Nite would use to promote its airings of the show. The album also featured another DNA remix of one of her songs, "Rusted Pipe". On the album's sleeve, Vega wrote: "A small song about eating breakfast became a song about accidental pregnancy (Daddy's Little Girl – Nikki D.) and the recent war in the Gulf (Waiting at the Border). One version incorporates forgotten bits of pop culture (Jeannie's Diner). All of them surprised me; a couple made me wince. I include them anyway."{{Citation| title=Tom's Album| year=1991 | publisher=A&M Records |author=Vega, Suzanne | type=LP record sleeve notes | id= 395 363-1 }}

In 2015, sound artist and composer Ryan Maguire{{cite web|url=http://ryanmaguiremusic.com |title=Ryan Maguire | Sound, Music, Technology, Community |publisher=Ryanmaguiremusic.com |access-date=June 3, 2016}} released the track "moDernisT"{{cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/107845118 |title=moDernisT_v1 on Vimeo |publisher=Vimeo.com |date=October 2, 2014 |access-date=June 3, 2016}} (an anagram of "Tom's Diner") as a part of his project "The Ghost in the MP3".{{cite web|url=http://theghostinthemp3.com |title=The Ghost in the MP3 |publisher=The Ghost in the MP3 |access-date=June 3, 2016}} "moDernisT" is composed exclusively of the sounds deleted during MP3 compression from the song "Tom's Diner", known as the mother of the MP3.{{cite web|last=Wilkinson |first=Dan |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/yntht-there-are-ghosts-in-your-mp3s/|title=Meet the Musical Clairvoyant Who Finds Ghosts In Your MP3s |publisher=Noisey.vice.com |date=March 18, 2015 |access-date=June 3, 2016}} A detailed account of the techniques used to isolate the sounds deleted during MP3 compression, along with the conceptual motivation for the project, was published in the 2014 Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference.{{cite web|url=http://speech.di.uoa.gr/ICMC-SMC-2014/images/VOL_1/0243.pdf|title=The Ghost in the MP3|author=Ryan Maguire|website=Speech.di.uoa.gr|access-date=March 14, 2022}}

In 2020, English producer Robbie Doherty remixed the song with artist Keees, titling it "Pour the Milk", launching it to No. 44 on the UK Singles Chart.{{Cite web|title=ROBBIE DOHERTY & KEEES {{!}} full Official Chart History {{!}} Official Charts Company|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/57286/robbie-doherty-and-keees/|access-date=December 23, 2020|website=Officialcharts.com}}

As of 2023, there are over 50 versions of "Tom's Diner".{{Cite web|title=All Tom's Diners playlist|url=https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3vPXYgmFtaEfRt4w9O7uKu|website=Spotify.com|access-date=November 22, 2023}}

American rock band Fall Out Boy used an interpolation of "Tom's Diner" in their song "Centuries".{{cite web |date=September 8, 2014 |title=Fall Out Boy Discusses New Song "Centuries," Forthcoming Album With Kat Corbett |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nKoyPcp80o&t=71 |access-date= |website=YouTube |publisher=KROQ-FM}}{{Cite web |title=Hear Fall Out Boy's 'Centuries': New Song Samples Suzanne Vega's 'Tom's Diner' |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/6244059/fall-out-boy-centuries-suzanne-vega-sample|website=Billboard.com|access-date=June 27, 2016}}

In 2024, American rapper Cupcakke interpolated the song in her track "Dora" on her album Dauntless Manifesto.{{Citation |last= |title=Cupcakke — Dora Lyrics |work=Genius |url=https://genius.com/Cupcakke-dora-lyrics |access-date=2024-07-17 |publisher=}} In the same year, Puerto Rican singer Myke Towers and American producer Benny Blanco used the song as a melodic base in their song "Degenere".{{Cite web |last=Bargueño |first=Miguel Ángel |date=November 28, 2024 |title=Morat por un lado y Myke Towers con Benny Blanco por otro copan las candidaturas a la lista esta semana |url=https://los40.com/2024/11/28/morat-por-un-lado-y-myke-towers-con-benny-blanco-por-otro-copan-las-candidaturas-a-la-lista-esta-semana/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119111919/https://los40.com/2024/11/28/morat-por-un-lado-y-myke-towers-con-benny-blanco-por-otro-copan-las-candidaturas-a-la-lista-esta-semana/ |archive-date=January 19, 2025 |access-date=January 22, 2025 |publisher=Los 40 |language=es-ES}}

In 2025, K-pop girl group IVE interpolated the song in their title track "Attitude".{{Cite web|title=[공식] "행운은 늘 내편"…아이브, '애티튜드' MV 티저공개-장원영 작사 참여|url=https://www.chosun.com/entertainments/music/2025/02/02/OOHMMR73IXJH327CFXTEUMW2VE/|website=chosun.com|access-date=February 2, 2025}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://archive.nytimes.com/opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/toms-essay/ 'Tom's Essay' - Suzanne Vega explains how the song came to be]
• [http://www.djbooth.net/index/tracks/review/young-son-tha-diner/ Mike Dreams - Tha Diner]
• [http://www.musicaloud.com/2010/05/14/a-song-a-day-toms-diner-by-suzanne-wega/ Writeup containing Vega's a cappella version in the prelude to which she speaks of the song]

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