Me. Me. Me.
| Me. Me. Me. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Recorded | May 1995 | |||
| Studio | Criteria Studios | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Label | 4AD/Teenbeat Records[1] | |||
| Producer | Guy Fixsen | |||
| Air Miami chronology | ||||
| ||||
Me. Me. Me. (also stylized as me. me. me.) is the only album by the American indie rock band Air Miami, released in 1995.[2] It was recorded after the breakup of Unrest, the former band of guitarist Mark Robinson and bassist Bridget Cross.[3]
Production
Recorded during two weeks in May 1995 at Criteria Studios, in Miami, the album was produced by Guy Fixsen; Gabriel Stout played drums.[4][5][6] It was the band's intention to produce an album of short songs.[6] "Afternoon Train" is a re-recording of the final Unrest single.[7]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| The Austin Chronicle |  [9] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [10] |
| Spin | 8/10[11] |
| The Tampa Tribune | [12] |
The Washington Post wrote that Robinson and Cross "trade lead vocals on 13 short songs that combine bubblegum tunefulness ('Neely'), with lounge-ballad melancholy ('Seabird'), evanescent soundscapes ('Reprise') and occasional space-rock bleeps."[5] Trouser Press thought that "the bubblegum aftertaste left by segments of Me. Me. Me. is a bit too strong when Robinson indulges his propensity for creating inconsequential chantalongs like 'World Cup Fever', but he offsets that with reams of bracing, Fire Engines-styled guitar and a guileless new wave sensibility (see 'Dolphin Expressway') that should sway all but the most diehard Anglophobe."[13] The Austin Chronicle deemed the album "a heady mix of danceable trivialities and serious longing."[9] The Tampa Tribune concluded that "Air Miami soars through a universe of pop styles with a surfeit of panache and a minimum of bombast ... Pure pleasure—clean, clever, surprising."[12]
Spin called Robinson "one of the few men in indieland who can hold a vocal melody," and wrote that "the guitar work here is as nimble as Dean Wareham's."[11] The Post and Courier determined that "Robinson's avant pop/punk songs are fun, and serve as great set-ups for Cross' more oblique offerings."[14] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch labeled the album "alternately fun and pretentious, like most 4AD stuff," writing that "faced with the choice of copping either atmospheric Velvets-style arrangements or Wire-esque sprinters, Air Miami did the all-American thing and riffed off both."[15]
AllMusic wrote that "unsurprisingly, early drum machines provide percussion as well, a sonic signifier that also fits nicely more often than not ... Me, Me, Me is a simpler musical pleasure than most."[8] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide opined that Me. Me. Me. "doesn't have the giddiness of the Unrest work, but it is sweet to listen to."[10]
Legacy
Time Out considered the album cover to be one of the 40 best of the 1990s.[16] "Seabird" was covered by Maria Somerville for the 2021 4AD compilation Bills & Aches & Blues.[17]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Hate Milk" | |
| 2. | "World Cup Fever" | |
| 3. | "Seabird" | |
| 4. | "Special Angel" | |
| 5. | "Afternoon Train" | |
| 6. | "Dolphin Expressway" | |
| 7. | "Sweet as a Candy Bar" | |
| 8. | "You Sweet Little Heartbreaker" | |
| 9. | "Neely" | |
| 10. | "Bubble Shield" | |
| 11. | "The Event Horizon" | |
| 12. | "Definitely Beachy" | |
| 13. | "Reprise" |
References
- ^ Daley, David (May 31, 1996). "me. me. me". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
- ^ "Air Miami Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ "An Expected Poke in the Ribs from Air Miami". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. pp. 83–84.
- ^ a b "AIR MIAMI'S FLIGHTS OF FANCY". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ a b Yockel, Michael (September 14, 1995). "Nightclub Jitters - Something in the Air". Miami New Times. Columns.
- ^ "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network, Inc. October 10, 1995. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Me, Me, Me - Air Miami | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10 – via www.allmusic.com.
- ^ a b "Music Reviews". www.austinchronicle.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 15.
- ^ a b Huston, Johnny (Nov 1995). "Spins". Spin. 11 (8): 120–121.
- ^ a b Ross, Curtis (December 29, 1995). "AIR MIAMI, Me. Me. Me". The Tampa Tribune. FRIDAY EXTRA!. p. 21.
- ^ "Unrest". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ Allread, Walter (9 Nov 1995). "Unrest never sleeps; Air Miami takes off". The Post and Courier. p. D19.
- ^ Hampel, Paul (22 Nov 1995). "me. me. me". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Get Out. p. 9.
- ^ "The best album covers of the 90s". Time Out. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (March 10, 2021). "4AD Preps Covers Compilation Featuring the Breeders, Future Islands, Big Thief". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
