Little by Little...

Little by Little...
Studio album by Harvey Danger
Released	September 13, 2005 July 25, 2006 (re-release)
Recorded	2004, 2005
Studio	Robert Lang Studios, Soundhouse Recording
Genre	Indie rock, pop punk, rock, alternative rock
Length	63:16
Label	Phonographic, Kill Rock Stars (2006 re-release)
Producer	John Goodmanson, Steve Fisk
Harvey Danger chronology
Sometimes You Have to Work on Christmas (Sometimes) (2004) Little by Little... (2005) Little Round Mirrors (2006)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
The A.V. Club	positive
Consequence of Sound
Melodic
Paste	positive
Pitchfork	6.9/10
PopMatters
Stylus Magazine	C−
Tiny Mix Tapes

Little by Little... is the third and final full-length album by Harvey Danger. It was the band's first and only record without drummer Evan Sult.

Release

The album was released on the band's own Phonographic Records on September 13, 2005. The CD version featured a second disc of B-sides and outtakes in deluxe packaging. In an effort to "embrace the indisputable fact of music in the 21st century", the band made the album available as a free download via BitTorrent and on the band's website. They pointed out that "it’s important that people understand the free download concept isn’t a frivolous act. It’s a key part of our promotional campaign, along with radio and press promotion, live shows, and videos. It’s a bet that the resources of the Internet can make possible a new way for musicians to find their audience – and forge a meaningful artistic career built on support from cooperative, not adversarial, relationships."

On April 19, 2006, the band announced on their MySpace blog that the album had been picked up by Olympia-based label Kill Rock Stars for nationwide release on July 25, 2006. The re-release's track listing, song order, and album art is different from the Phonographic Records release. The band did some limited touring to accompany the release.

Album and song titles

The album title is taken from a quote by Melvyn Douglas's character Homer Bannon in the 1963 film Hud: "Little by little, the look of the country changes because of the men we admire."

The title of the song "Cream and Bastards Rise" is a quote by Paul Newman's character in Harper (1966). "Happiness Writes White" is a maxim first put forth by French writer Henry de Montherlant.

"The Piano Lesson" features someone attempting to play Beethoven's "Für Elise" before switching to Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer."

"Wine, Women and Song" is the first line of "Villanelle of the Poet's Road" by Ernest Christopher Dowson.

Track listing

All songs written by Aaron Huffman / Jeff J. Lin / Sean Nelson.

Phonograph release

Disc one

1. "Wine, Women, and Song" – 3:15
2. "Cream and Bastards Rise" – 3:17
3. "Moral Centralia" – 4:27
4. "Little Round Mirrors" – 5:15
5. "Happiness Writes White" – 3:09
6. "Incommunicado" – 2:16
7. "Cool James" – 3:26
8. "What You Live By" – 3:04
9. "War Buddies" – 4:25
10. "Diminishing Returns" – 5:13

Disc two

1. "I Missed It" – 4:29
2. "Picture, Picture" – 3:32
3. "Cream and Bastards Rise" (writing snippet) – 0:57
4. "Elvis, I Don't Love You Anymore" – 3:02
5. "Cold Snap" – 4:29
6. "Little Round Mirrors" (writing snippet) – 1:47
7. "Moral Centralia" (demo) – 5:25
8. "Cream and Bastards Reprise" – 4:25
9. "The Piano Lesson" (hidden track) – 0:32

Kill Rock Stars release

Disc one

1. "Wine, Women, and Song" – 3:15
2. "Cream and Bastards Rise" – 3:17
3. "Moral Centralia" – 4:27
4. "Little Round Mirrors" – 5:15
5. "Happiness Writes White" – 3:09
6. "War Buddies" – 4:25
7. "Picture, Picture" – 3:32
8. "Cool James" – 3:26
9. "What You Live By" – 3:04
10. "Diminishing Returns" – 5:13

Disc two

1. "I Missed It" – 4:29
2. "Elvis, I Don't Love You Anymore" – 3:02
3. "Incommunicado" – 2:16
4. "Cream and Bastards Rise" (writing snippet) – 0:57
5. "Cold Snap" – 4:29
6. "Little Round Mirrors" (writing snippet) – 1:47
7. "Moral Centralia" (demo) – 5:25
8. "Cream and Bastards Reprise" – 4:25
9. "The Piano Lesson" (hidden track) – 0:32

Personnel

Musicians

Harvey Danger:

• Aaron Huffman – Bass, guitar, design
• Jeff J. Lin – Guitar, piano, string and horn arrangements
• Sean Nelson – vocals

Additional musicians:

• Michael Welke – drums
• Rachel Bowman – Backing vocals
• Jacob Hoffman – Backing vocals, French horn
• John Roderick – Guitar
• Evan Sult – drums
• Greg Powers – Trombone
• Steve Creswell – Viola
• Phil Peterson – Cello

Production

• John Goodmanson – Production, engineering, mixing
• Steve Fisk – Production, engineering, mixing, ARP
• Justin Armstrong – Assistant engineering
• Scotty Crane – Assistant engineering
• Greg Calbi – Mastering
• Ed Brooks – Mastering
• YTJE – Artwork
• Ryan Schierling – Photography
• Erik Speckman – Encoding and IT

External links

• Harvey Danger's official site, including a Studio diary