The Sophtware Slump
| The Sophtware Slump | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Grandaddy | ||||
| Released | 29 May 2000 | |||
| Genre | Indie rock, space rock | |||
| Length | 46:47 | |||
| Label | V2 | |||
| Producer | Jason Lytle | |||
| Grandaddy chronology | ||||
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The Sophtware Slump is the second studio album by American indie rock band Grandaddy. It was released on 29 May 2000. It is seen by some as a concept album about problems concerning modern technology in society. The album received strong reviews from most critics.[1] Being their second album, the title is a reference to a sophomore slump, a term given to an artist's second album which is seen to fail to live up to the first album. The album was reissued in 2011 with a second disc of bonus material containing B-sides, EP tracks, outtakes, and demos.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Recording
The album was written and recorded by frontman Jason Lytle alone in a remote farmhouse. He described, "I just remember everything out there was dusty. Humidity and dust."[3] Lytle described he made the recordings "in my boxer shorts, bent over keyboards with sweat dripping off my forehead, frustrated, hungover, and trying to call my coke dealer".[3] It was mixed by former Pavement drummer Gary Young.
[edit] Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
| Drowned in Sound |  [5] |
| Mojo |  [1] |
| NME |  [6] |
| Pitchfork | 8.5/10[7] |
| Q | [1] |
| Robert Christgau | A-[8] |
| Stylus Magazine | A-[9] |
The indie music magazine Under the Radar ranked The Sophtware Slump fifteenth in its list "The Best of the Decade Albums (2000-2009)".[10] Steve Taylor, in his book The A to X of Alternative Music, viewed The Sophtware Slump as "clean, lush and less understated" than the band's previous work, describing "The Crystal Lake" as "a perfectly executed pop song".[11] The CMJ New Music Monthly noted Jason Lytle's "new infatuation with technology, expertly juxtaposed with his almost spiritual connection to the West's wide-open spaces and bird-filled skies", and stated that "Lytle expresses sympathy for the lost souls and machines of the high-tech dot-com landscape throughout the album".[12] The New York Times called the album "a heart-achingly beautiful requiem for a culture in which progress and technology have led to alienation and disposability".[13] Allmusic called it "Grandaddy's most impressive work yet".[4] The Daily Telegraph said the album was one of the highlights of 2000, describing it as "a work of rare and precious qualities. A collection of emotional, richly melodic songs that deal with modern man's uneasy relationship with technology".[14]
[edit] Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot" | 8:52 |
| 2. | "Hewlett's Daughter" | 3:06 |
| 3. | "Jed the Humanoid" | 4:18 |
| 4. | "The Crystal Lake" | 5:00 |
| 5. | "Chartsengrafs" | 2:51 |
| 6. | "Underneath the Weeping Willow" | 2:40 |
| 7. | "Broken Household Appliance National Forest" | 4:34 |
| 8. | "Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)" | 3:25 |
| 9. | "E. Knievel Interlude (The Perils of Keeping It Real)" | 1:57 |
| 10. | "Miner at the Dial-a-View" | 5:21 |
| 11. | "So You'll Aim Toward the Sky" | 4:43 |
[edit] Sales and charts
By February 2001 the album had sold 20,000 copies in the US and almost 80,000 worldwide.[12] By 2006 it had sold 107,000 copies.[15] It reached No. 36 on the UK Albums Chart in its first week of release, re-entering the chart in 2001, peaking at number 63.[16]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c "The Sophtware Slump - Grandaddy". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/the-sophtware-slump/critic-reviews. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Jon Stickler (28 June 2011). "Grandaddy Announce Deluxe Edition of 'The Software Slump'". stereoboard.com. http://www.stereoboard.com/content/view/166317/9. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ a b Laura Barton (19 May 2006). "'Stuff doesn't happen unless I'm alone'". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2006/may/19/popandrock. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ a b Heather Phares. "The Sophtware Slump". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r470075. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ James Skinner (22 August 2011). "Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump: Deluxe Edition". Drowned in Sound. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16428/reviews/4143295. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ "The Sophtware Slump". NME. 12 September 2005. http://www.nme.com/reviews/grandaddy/2202. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Ryan Schreiber (6 June 2000). "Grandaddy: The Sophtware Slump". Pitchfork. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/3545-the-sophtware-slump/. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Robert Christgau. "Grandaddy". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Grandaddy. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Dan Cooper (1 September 2003). "Sophtware Slump - Review". Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/grandaddy/sophtware-slump.htm. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Under the Radar (No. 29/Holiday 2009).
- ^ Steve Taylor. The A to X of Alternative Music. Continuum. pp. 119-120. ISBN 0-8264-7396-2.
- ^ a b Richard A. Martin (February 2011). "Hidden Agenda: Grandaddy's Fake Plastic Trees Can't Obscure How Good They Are". CMJ New Music Monthly: 38. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=xyoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA38&dq=grandaddy+lytle&hl=en&ei=T-48TrOzFcGk8QPd2oiMAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=grandaddy%20lytle&f=false. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Neil Strauss (17 December 2000). "MUSIC: The Year in Pop and Jazz: the Critics' Choices; Rapes of Persecution, Songs of Alienation". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/17/arts/music-year-pop-jazz-critics-choices-raps-persecution-songs-alienation.html. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Neil McCormick (1 February 2001). "Bearded and Proud". Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4721392/Bearded-and-proud.html. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ Kevin Bronson (5 June 2006). "Grandaddy leader finally changes his tune on band". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: p. 5E. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uZYxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WUUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6580,3669096&dq=grandaddy+lytle&hl=en. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- ^ "Grandaddy". Chart Stats. http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=9290. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
[edit] External links
- The Sophtware Slump at Allmusic
- The Sophtware Slump at Discogs (list of releases)
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