In Defense of the Genre explained

In Defense of The Genre
Type:album
Artist:Say Anything
Cover:In Defense of the Genre.jpg
Released:October 23, 2007
Recorded:2007
Studio:Electric Lady, New York; Seagrass, California
Genre:
Length:89:21
Label:J
Producer:Brad Wood
Prev Title:...Is a Real Boy
Prev Year:2004
Next Title:Say Anything
Next Year:2009

In Defense of The Genre is the third studio album by American rock band Say Anything. The album artwork was provided by Jeff Smith, an artist primarily known for his work on the Bone comic series.

Background and production

Writing and plans for In Defense of the Genre began in March 2006 during Say Anything's extensive touring and promotion for the reissue of their previous effort, …Is a Real Boy. In October and November 2006, they embarked on a headlining US tour, with support from MewithoutYou and Piebald, which led into a short UK tour with New Found Glory that lasted until December 2006.[1] [2] Recording was held at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, and at Seagrass Studios in Valley Village, California, with producer and engineer Brad Wood, between January and March 2007.[3] Wood was assisted by Noah Goldstein at Electric Lady; additional recordings were made by Andy Jackson and Ross Petersen. Wood mixed the recordings, before the album was mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge in New York City, with assistance from Joe LaPorta, in March 2007.[4] Despite this, the band were still recording into June 2007, by which point they were only two thirds of the way finished.[5]

Composition

Before the album was released, Bemis said it would deal with the "struggles with mental health offset by finding love for the first time".[6] Max Bemis described in an interview that the record is more focused on "observations of other people", unlike ...Is a Real Boys lyrical content revolving solely on Bemis and his problems.[7] The record "picks up in my life where [''...Is a Real Boy''] left off because it is very autobiographical, even more so than the last record. Musically, it's different, more mature and somewhat more cohesive and poppy, but darker in a whole different way."[8]

The album features 23 individual guest vocalists and musicians, including Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, Pete Yorn, Anna Waronker, Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday, Aaron Gillespie of Underoath and The Almost, Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio, and Hayley Williams of Paramore. Additional instrumentation was handled by DJ Swamp and Casey Prestwood, who contributed on turntable and pedal steel guitar, respectively.[9] The December issue of Alternative Press reported that Jesse Lacey of Brand New chose not to collaborate. In December 2007, Absolutepunk.net made a three-part video series showing an in-depth look at the recording of In Defense of the Genre.[10] [11] [12]

Release

In April and May 2007, Say Anything went on a co-headlining US tour with Saves the Day; the Almost, John Ralston, the Dear Hunter, and Manchester Orchestra supported on various dates.[13] During the trek, the band appeared at The Bamboozle festival.[14] In June, they appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly.[15] On September 11, 2007, In Defense of the Genre was announced for release the following month.[16] On September 18, 2007, the album's track listing and artwork were posted online.[17] Until the album's release, "Skinny, Mean Man", "Shiksa", "People Like You Are Why People Like Me Exist", "Spores", and "Baby Girl, I'm a Blur" were posted on the band's Myspace and PureVolume profiles.[18]

In Defense of the Genre was released on October 23 through J Records as a double disc album.[19] In October and November, the group co-headlined the Myspace Music Tour with Hellogoodbye. They were supported by Polysics[20] and Young Love.[21] "Baby Girl, I'm a Blur" was released to radio on November 6.[22] They ended the year with a tour of the United Kingdom in November and December 2007 with Hellogoodbye, Sherwood, and .[23] [24]

On January 29, 2008, the band performed on Last Call with Carson Daly.[25] In February 2008, the band supported Thrice on their headlining tour of Canada and a few Midwest US shows.[26] [27] In March and April 2008, the band went on a headlining tour of the US with Manchester Orchestra, Biffy Clyro and Weatherbox as supporting acts.[28] On April 10, a music video was released for "Shiksa (Girlfriend)".[29] Between June and August, the band performed on the 2008 edition of Warped Tour.[30] In February and March 2009, the band toured Australia as part of the Soundwave festival.[31]

Reception

In Defense of the Genre was well received by most critics, averaging a 79% on Metacritic.[32] Entertainment Weekly gave the album an A-, noting that the album's "sonic twists almost always work". Alternative Press gave the album a 4.5/5 and stated that Max Bemis created an album musicians "more than twice his age could only hope to create." Blender, in a 4/5 review, called it a "mess" but an "exhilarating one."[33] [34] [35]

In more mixed reviews, PopMatters noted that the wide variety of styles was a "gift and curse at the same time". Rolling Stone said "When Bemis is on... his songs are tuneful and invigorating."[36] [37] [38]

It debuted at number 27 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week.[39]

Track listing

All music by Max Bemis, Jacob Linder and Alexander Kent. All lyrics by Bemis.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[40] Say Anything

Additional musicians

Production and design

Touring musicians

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Found Glory / Say Anything. Punknews.org. Reinecker, Meg. June 28, 2006. January 29, 2022.
  2. Web site: Say Anything / mewithoutYou / Piebald. Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. July 28, 2006. January 30, 2022.
  3. Web site: Say Anything head into the studio this month. Punknews.org. Reinecker, Meg. January 5, 2007. February 7, 2022.
  4. Web site: Say Anything Finish new Album. https://archive.today/20120716072144/http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=263729. AbsolutePunk. Tate, Jason. March 9, 2007. July 16, 2012. February 7, 2022.
  5. Web site: Say Anything post recording update. Punknews.org. Reinecker, Meg. June 15, 2007. February 15, 2022.
  6. Web site: Say Anything discuss next single, future tour, new album. Punknews.org. Reinecker, Meg. January 17, 2007. February 7, 2022.
  7. Web site: Say Anything Eyes Early 2007 For New CD. Billboard.
  8. Web site: Interview: Say Anything (Max Bemis) - 06.19.07. AbsolutePunk.net.
  9. Web site: Rock Veterans Guest On New Say Anything Album. Billboard.
  10. Web site: ABSOLUTExclusive: Say Anything Video Series (Part 1 Of 3). AbsolutePunk.net.
  11. Web site: ABSOLUTExclusive: Say Anything Video Series (Part 2 Of 3). AbsolutePunk.net.
  12. Web site: ABSOLUTExclusive: Say Anything Video Series (Part 3 Of 3). AbsolutePunk.net.
  13. Web site: Saves the Day / Say Anything. Punknews.org. Reinecker, Meg. February 1, 2007. February 10, 2022.
  14. Web site: More additions to Bamboozle. Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. February 2, 2007. February 10, 2022.
  15. Web site: Bands on TV: Week of 06/04/07. Punknews.org. Reinecker, Meg. June 4, 2007. February 15, 2022.
  16. Web site: Say Anything announce album details. Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. September 11, 2007. May 31, 2022.
  17. Web site: Say Anything's 'In Defense' to include My Chemical Romance, Alkaline Trio, Saves The Day guests. Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. September 18, 2007. May 31, 2022.
  18. Song streams:
  19. Web site: Say Anything to Release Full-Length this October. AbsolutePunk.net.
  20. Web site: Hellogoodbye and Say Anything to co-headline MySpace tour. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. August 29, 2007. March 18, 2017.
  21. Web site: Young Love added to MySpace tour; date-by-date breakdown. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. September 11, 2007. March 19, 2017.
  22. Web site: AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly. AllAccess. October 30, 2007. July 2, 2016.
  23. Web site: Say Anything (USA, UK). Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. October 9, 2007. June 4, 2022.
  24. Web site: Say Anything / Hellogoodbye / Sherwood / Go Audio (UK). Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. October 24, 2007. June 5, 2022.
  25. Web site: Bands on TV: Week of 01 / 28 / 08. Punknews.org. Reinecker, Meg. January 28, 2008. June 7, 2022.
  26. Web site: Thrice / Say Anything / Attack In Black (Canada). Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. December 12, 2007. June 6, 2022.
  27. Web site: Thrice / Say Anything / Attack in Black. Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. January 28, 2008. June 7, 2022.
  28. Web site: Say Anything / Manchester Orchestra / Weatherbox. Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. January 14, 2008. June 6, 2022.
  29. Web site: Say Anything: 'Shiksa'. Punknews.org. Paul, Aubin. April 10, 2008. June 14, 2022.
  30. Web site: Venues for Warped Tour 2008 revealed. Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. March 12, 2008. July 9, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170728165537/http://www.altpress.com/index.php/news/entry/archive_3594. July 28, 2017. dead. mdy-all.
  31. Web site: Soundwave Line-up 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20170730130629/http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/soundwave-line-up-2009/795762. dead. July 30, 2017. FasterLouder. Junkee Media. Hutton, Sarah. September 23, 2008. July 13, 2017.
  32. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/sayanything/indefenseofthegenre?q=say%20anything Say Anything: In Defense Of The Genre (2007): Reviews
  33. Music Review: In Defense of the Genre, by Say Anything . Entertainment Weekly . October 19, 2007 . October 19, 2007 . October 21, 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20071021023617/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20153077,00.html . dead .
  34. Dec 2007 p. 189 Say Anything: In Defense Of The Genre (2007): Reviews
  35. http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=4855 Say Anything: In Defense Of The Genre (2007): Reviews
  36. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/50266/say-anything-in-defense-of-the-genre/ Say Anything: In Defense Of The Genre (2007): Reviews
  37. https://web.archive.org/web/20071018051414/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/16878455/review/16928231/in_defense_of_the_genre Say Anything: In Defense Of The Genre (2007): Reviews
  38. Say Anything: In Defense Of The Genre (2007): Reviews
  39. Web site: Underwood Leads Three Country Debuts Onto Chart. Katie Hasty.
  40. In Defense of the Genre. Say Anything. 2007. booklet. Hassle/J/Doghouse Records. HOFF047CD.

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