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OOOH! (Out of Our Heads)

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OOOH! (Out of Our Heads)
Studio album by
the Mekons
Released2002
LabelQuarterstick
The Mekons chronology
Journey to the End of the Night
(2000) 		OOOH! (Out of Our Heads)
(2002) 		Punk Rock
(2004)

OOOH! (Out of Our Heads) is an album by the British band the Mekons, released in 2002.[1][2] It was inspired by a collaborative visual arts project sponsored by East Street Arts.[3] The album marked the band's 25th anniversary.[4] "Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem" was released as a single.[5] The Mekons supported the album with a North American tour.[6]

Production

[edit]

Although often labeled a 9/11 album, OOOH!'s songs were written by the spring of 2001 and recorded in Chicago.[7][8] Frontman Jon Langford thought that many of the songs were about the constructive features of religion.[9] Langford and Tom Greenhalgh were the only original bandmembers to participate in the recording sessions.[10] The album cover art was based on the deuterocanonical Book of Judith.[11] "Lone Pilgrim" is a version of the folk standard.[12] "Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem" mentions William Morris, Tony Benn, William Blake, and the Diggers, among others.[7] Edith Frost and Kelly Hogan provided backing vocals on "Take His Name in Vain", which was inspired by gospel music.[11][13] "Stonehead" is about regicide.[14]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
Robert ChristgauA[16]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[17]
The News & Observer[13]
Pitchfork8.0/10[18]

Robert Christgau wrote that "their best album in a decade doesn't exactly come up and give you a kiss... It's slow, sour, dark, grim--obsessed with treachery, conflagration, and death"; he listed the album as the best of 2002 in his ballot for the Pazz & Jop poll.[16][19] Pitchfork called the album "a return to textbook Mekons—from gracefully shambling country to deep-beating tribal rhythms, by way of good, clean rock 'n roll."[18] The Tallahassee Democrat deemed it "yet another exuberant, drunken foray into the briar patch of country music."[20] Salon opined that, "instead of plundering trends, like well-preserved chameleons David Bowie and Madonna, they stay relevant by setting songs in the actual world."[10]

The Washington Post determined that OOOH! "consolidates the band's best-loved styles into a boisterous sort of Brit-folk/country-rock," writing that "most of these downbeat yet defiant songs could have been inspired by either the state of the world or the condition of singer-guitarists Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh's souls."[21] The Boston Globe considered the Mekons "rock 'n' roll's most enduring band-as-family," labeling the album "country and rock, agitprop and comfort food."[22] The Independent said that "Langford's vocals are equal parts ragged gospel, drunk country and spiteful punk."[23]

The Chicago Tribune, The Globe and Mail, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette were among the many periodicals that included OOOH! with the best albums of 2002.[24][25][26]

AllMusic wrote that "this is a Mekons recording that pulls out all the stops and brings their deeply rooted psychobilly country base to the fore while engaging their punk roots with abandon."[15]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Thee Olde Trip to Jerusalem" 
2."Dancing in the Head" 
3."This Way Through the Fire" 
4."Hate Is the New Love" 
5."Take His Name in Vain" 
6."Only You and Your Ghost Will Know" 
7."Lone Pilgrim" 
8."Winter" 
9."One X One" 
10."Bob Hope & Charity" 
11."Stonehead" 

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Marcus, Greil (Sep 2002). "The Mekons: 25 years, dozens of band members and an obsession with severed heads". Interview. Vol. 32, no. 8. p. 116.
  2. ^ Alani, Anaheed (Oct 2002). "Oooh!". Playboy. Vol. 49, no. 10. p. 34.
  3. ^ Hickling, Alfred (3 July 2001). "Visual arts: The squawking heads". The Guardian. p. 2.13.
  4. ^ Gamboa, Glenn (13 Sep 2002). "Big Gigs". Newsday. p. B30.
  5. ^ Kuipers, Dean (5 Sep 2002). "Mekons to Blend Wit and Anarchy at the Troubadour". Los Angeles Times. p. F14.
  6. ^ Kot, Greg (6 Sep 2002). "Long Lived Rock". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.1.
  7. ^ a b Collum, Danny Duncan (May–Jun 2003). "Marching toward Jerusalem". Sojourners. Vol. 32, no. 3. p. 50.
  8. ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 2003. p. 662.
  9. ^ Strickman, Andrew (September 3, 2002). "Mekons Turn Twenty-Five: British post-punk legends still growing". Music News. Rolling Stone.
  10. ^ a b Vitzthum, Virginia (October 9, 2002). "No Pistols, no Who, no Rolling Stones". Salon. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  11. ^ a b Terrell, Steve (30 Aug 2002). "The gospel according to St. Mekon". The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. P50.
  12. ^ Gilbertson, Jon M. (Sep 20, 2002). "Oooh! (Out of Our Heads)". Goldmine. Vol. 28, no. 19. p. 28.
  13. ^ a b Hooley, Danny (Sep 15, 2002). "Toe-tapping world weariness". The News & Observer. p. 2G.
  14. ^ Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed. Taylor & Francis. 2005. p. 150.
  15. ^ a b "OOOH! (Out of Our Heads) Review by Thom Jurek". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  16. ^ a b "The Mekons". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  17. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  18. ^ a b Dahlen, Chris (August 21, 2002). "OOOH! (Out of Our Heads) Mekons". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Pazz & Jop 2002: Dean's List". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  20. ^ Schardl, Kati (13 Sep 2002). "The Mekons Are Still Honky-Tonk Heroes". Tallahassee Democrat. p. D15.
  21. ^ Jenkins, Mark (20 Sep 2002). "The Mekons 'OOOH!'". The Washington Post. p. WW8.
  22. ^ Sullivan, Jim (8 Dec 2002). "This Year's Best CDs...". The Boston Globe. p. N10.
  23. ^ Perry, Tim (14 Dec 2002). "Pop". Features. The Independent. p. 35.
  24. ^ Kot, Greg (15 Dec 2002). "Under pressure from all sides, the music business plays it conservative". Chicago Tribune. p. 7.1.
  25. ^ Wilson, Carl (19 Dec 2002). "In like, but not in love, with the music of 2002". The Globe and Mail. p. R5.
  26. ^ Norman, Tony (3 Jan 2003). "In 2002, It Was Music to My Ears". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. B1.
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