Talkie Walkie

Talkie Walkie
Studio album by Air
Released	January 21, 2004 (Japan) January 26, 2004 (UK) January 27, 2004 (France) February 17, 2004 (US)
Genre	Electronica Downtempo
Length	43:27
Label	Toshiba-EMI (Japan) VJCP 68622 Virgin (UK) CDV 2980 (CD) V 2980 (LP) Astralwerks, Source (US) ASW 96632
Producer	Air, Nigel Godrich
Air chronology
10 000 Hz Legend (2001) Talkie Walkie (2004) Pocket Symphony (2007)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com
Allmusic
Entertainment Weekly	(A-)
The Guardian
New York Times	(favorable)
NME	(8/10)
Pitchfork Media	(8.3/10)
PopMatters	(favorable)
Rolling Stone

Talkie Walkie is the fourth full-length album by Air, released on January 27, 2004. The album was possibly named after the song "Le Talkie Walkie" by Serge Gainsbourg, a known influence of the duo. The track "Alone in Kyoto" was featured on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Lost in Translation and the track "Run" was used in the Veronica Mars episode Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner, as well as the French film Lila Says. This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions. "Talkie-walkie" is French for walkie-talkie.

Reception

Talkie Walkie received highly favorable reviews from critics. It was praised for its unique feel without retreading what they did on Moon Safari, Rolling Stone magazine commenting that it was a "...significant return to form" [1]. NME reviewer Piers Martin commented, "It is light and fluffy, of course, but tender and romantic, synthetic and soulful, too. It sounds, effortlessly, new and different, fresh and focused, clean and Zen, no doubt the outcome of Godin and Dunckel’s decision to play and programme all the instruments and perform all the vocals on the record themselves in Paris without any external assistance...". Praise was given to the subtle touch producer Nigel Godrich and string arranger Michel Colombier presumably brought to the album at its final stage [2], and the more personal and tighter song writing.

The music review online magazine Pitchfork Media placed Talkie Walkie at number 191 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s., and they named it the 20th best album of 2004. [3]

Track listing

All tracks were written by Air.

1. "Venus" – 4:04
2. "Cherry Blossom Girl" – 3:39
3. "Run" – 4:12
4. "Universal Traveler" – 4:22
5. "Mike Mills" (named after music video director Mike Mills) – 4:26
6. "Surfing on a Rocket" – 3:43
7. "Another Day" – 3:20
8. "Alpha Beta Gaga" – 4:39
9. "Biological" – 6:04
10. "Alone in Kyoto" – 4:51

Singles and EPs

• "Cherry Blossom Girl", single released February 16, 2004
• "Surfing on a Rocket", single released by Virgin on April 19, 2004
  • 12" (VST1871)
    1. "Surfing on a Rocket" (album version)
    2. "Surfing on a Rocket" (Juan Maclean remix)
    3. "Surfing on a Rocket" (Joakim remix)
    4. "Surfing on a Rocket" (Zongamin remix)
    5. "Surfing on a Rocket" (Nomo Heroes remix)
• "Alpha Beta Gaga", single released by Virgin on August 9, 2004
  • CD (VSCDX1880)
    1. "Alpha Beta Gaga" (edit)
    2. "Alpha Beta Gaga" featuring Rhymefest (Mark Ronson remix edit)
    3. "Alpha Beta Gaga" (Mark Ronson dub)
    4. "Alpha Beta Gaga" (Jackson remix)
    5. "Cherry Blossom Girl" (Radio mix)
  • 12" (VST1880)
    1. "Alpha Beta Gaga" (edit)
    2. "Alpha Beta Gaga" (Jackson remix)
    3. "Alpha Beta Gaga" featuring Rhymefest (Mark Ronson remix edit)
    4. "Alpha Beta Gaga" (Mark Ronson dub)
• Surfing on a Rocket, EP released by Astralwerks on October 19, 2004

See also

• 2004 in music

External links

• Talkie Walkie at Acclaimed Music
• Talkie Walkie at Discogs
• Talkie Walkie at Metacritic