Some Stupid with a Flare Gun explained

Some Stupid with a Flare Gun
Type:Studio
Artist:Ass Ponys
Cover:File:AssPonys_Flare.jpg
Genre:Country rock, indie rock
Label:Checkered Past Records
Producer:Brad Jones
Prev Title:The Known Universe
Prev Year:1996
Next Title:Lohio
Next Year:2001

Some Stupid With a Flare Gun is the fifth studio album by Cincinnati-based indie rock band Ass Ponys. It was released on April 11, 2000, on the Chicago-based indie label Checkered Past Records, and was produced by Brad Jones.[1] The album's title is taken from a line in the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water."[2] The album won "CD of the Year" in 2001 at the Cammy Awards.[3]

Critical reception

Some Stupid with a Flare Gun received mainly positive reviews from critics, one of whom (Robert Christgau), after giving the album an A−, later ranked it #40 on his 2000 end-of-the-year Dean's List for the Pazz & Jop.[4] Another favorable review was written by Fred Mills, who wrote that Chuck Cleaver, the band's lead singer and songwriter, "gives equal weight to life’s little joys and disappointments, employing nuance and economy to great effect." He also praised what he called the band's "unerring sense of melody," calling them "as accessible as they come".[5] David Starkey of PopMatters gave the album an 8 out of 10 rating, calling it "solid" and noting that Cleaver mostly "focuses on the lives of the down-and-out" in his songs.

Track listing

  1. Pretty As You Please – 4:29
  2. Astronaut – 4:23
  3. Fighter Pilot – 3:12
  4. Love Tractor – 3:36
  5. Your Amazing Life – 2:56
  6. Sidewinder – 4:39
  7. Swallow You Down – 3:55
  8. X-tra Nipple – 3:53
  9. Magnus – 4:16
  10. Casper's Coming Home – 3:35
  11. Kitten – 5:06
  12. Between The Trees – 6:06

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Still kicking butt . 12 January 2001 . 21 July 2014 . DeRogatis, Jim.
  2. Web site: Leave It To Cleaver . https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052017/http://www.mtv.com/news/1121399/leave-it-to-cleaver/ . dead . December 22, 2017 . . 23 June 2000 . 30 June 2014 . Myers, Mitch.
  3. Web site: Hard-working musicians humbled, honored by local recognition . . 12 March 2001 . 30 June 2014 . Knippenberg, Jim.
  4. Web site: Pazz & Jop 2000: Dean's List . Christgau . Robert . Village Voice . 1 February 2001 . 13 February 2017.
  5. Web site: Some Stupid With A Flare Gun Review . No Depression . July–August 2000 . 16 October 2014 . Mills, Fred.