Something to Write Home About

For the Craig Morgan song, see Craig Morgan (album).
Something to Write Home About
Studio album by The Get Up Kids
Released September 21, 1999
Recorded June - July 1999
Mad Hatter Studios
Silverlake, California
Genre Emo,[1] indie rock, pop punk[1]
Length 45:26
Label Vagrant
Producer The Get Up Kids; Co-producers Chad Blinman & Alex Brahl
The Get Up Kids chronology
Red Letter Day EP
(1999)		 Something to Write Home About
(1999)		 Split with The Anniversary
(1999)
Singles from Something to Write Home About
  1. "Ten Minutes"
    Released: February 1999
  2. "Action & Action"
    Released: March 24, 2000

Something to Write Home About is the second full-length studio album by American rock band The Get Up Kids, released on September 21, 1999. The album was produced by The Get Up Kids themselves, with co-producers Chad Blinman and Alex Brahl. Blinman also recorded and mixed the album, with Brahl assisting with additional engineering. The album was a financial success, peaking at #31 on Billboards Heatseekers 200 albums chart in North America, and gathered a great amount of critical acclaim. Something to Write Home About is the first Get Up Kids album to include James Dewees playing keyboards.

After The Get Up Kids' previous album, Four Minute Mile brought major label offers, the band decided to stick with an indie label and sign with Vagrant Records for their next album after a short and unproductive time with Mojo Records. Something to Write Home About brought the band an increasing fan base, as their sound became slightly more radio-oriented, with more melodic choruses and hooks. The album was included in Rock Sound's 101 Modern Classics list at number 97.[2]

Recording

At the time the band signed onto Vagrant Records, the label was still primarily a much smaller independent label. Before the album went into production, the label's co-owner John Cohen had to borrow money from his parents, who mortgaged their house in order to fund the production of the album.[3] At least one of the songs were inspired by the band's tumultuous split with Doghouse Records.

The album was recorded over the course of two months in June and July 1999, with Chad Blinman at the Mad Hatter Recording Studios in Silverlake, California. The band produced the record themselves, with co-producers Chad Blinman - who mixed the album - and Alex Brahl, who did additional engineering on the album and would later go onto co-found Curb Appeal Records with The Get Up Kids guitarist Jim Suptic and Almon Duffy.

Promotion

Two singles were released to promote this album. The first, Ten Minutes was released through the Sub Pop Singles Club on 7" Vinyl in February 1999.[4] The second, Action & Action was released on March 24, 2000 in Europe on Epitaph Records.[5]

The band toured for three years after the release of the album, up until they went into the studio on their next album On a Wire. This included supporting Green Day on their Warning tour, a 2000 tour with Koufax and The Anniversary sponsored by Napster,[6] as well as an opening spot on the 2001 Yahoo! Outloud tour with Ozma and Weezer. After the tour ended, the band was physically and mentally fatigued, and looked to write a significantly different album, reflected in the darker and more mature tone of On a Wire.[7]

During that time, in order to capitalize on the success of Something to Write Home About, as well as to keep fans interested until the next album came out, Vagrant Records released Eudora, a B-Sides and Rarities collection in 2001.[3]

Re-release

In August 2008, rumors began to spread that the band will be releasing a special edition of the album in 2009 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of its release, including a DVD chronicling the band's history.[8] Initially the rumors were fan reports from the farewell Reggie and the Full Effect tour, when former Get Up Kids keyboardist James Dewees claimed that the band would re-release the album in addition to touring in the spring of 2009. Speculation was fueled further when, in an interview with Mishmash Magazine, Dewees confirmed that he was working on the reunion of "an old band from the 90's and early 2000's".[9]

The re-release was confirmed by a post on the official music blog of The Kansas City Star that confirmed rumors that the band would be performing a reunion tour in 2009.[10] The tour will be in honor of the tenth anniversary of Something to Write Home About, which remains the band's most successful album to date.[11] The article also included quotes from Matt Pryor, who said that Vagrant Records will be re-releasing the album in a special 10th-anniversary edition, including a DVD and photo book.[12] In January 2009, Doghouse Records re-issued the album on black and purple vinyl.

On June 10, 2009, along with announcing their European tour and the first leg of their American tour, the band also announced that the 10th anniversary edition of the album would be released on September 8, 2009.[13]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Drowned in Sound9/10[15]
NME7/10[16]
Pitchfork Media2/10[17]
PopMatters(favorable)[18]

NME listed the album as one of "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time".[19]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by The Get Up Kids. 

Something to Write Home About
No. Title Length
1. "Holiday"   3:29
2. "Action & Action"   4:05
3. "Valentine"   4:19
4. "Red Letter Day"   2:56
5. "Out of Reach"   3:46
6. "Ten Minutes"   3:12
7. "The Company Dime"   4:06
8. "My Apology"   3:24
9. "I'm a Loner Dottie, a Rebel"   3:08
10. "Long Goodnight"   4:48
11. "Close to Home"   3:50
12. "I'll Catch You"   4:22

UK Version Bonus Tracks

No. Title Length
1. "Forgive and Forget"   3:24
2. "Central Standard Time"   3:22

Personnel

Band

Production

  • Alex Brahl - Producer, assistant engineer
  • Chad Blinman - Producer, mixing, recording
  • Dale Lawton - Assistant
  • Ramon Breton - Mastering
  • Rich Egan - Management

Design

  • Travis Millard - Artwork
  • Sam Spencer - Design, layout

DVD footage

  • Michael Dubin - Archive footage, photos
  • Adam Rothelin - Producer, director, editor

Chart performance

Chart (1999) Peak position
US Billboard Top Heatseekers 31[20]

References

General
Specific
  1. 1 2 "The Get Up Kids Really Were Worth Writing Home About". Phoenix New Times. September 24, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Rock Sound’s 101 Modern Classics: 101 - 75". Rock Sound Magazine. June 27, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Kelley, Trevor, Say Goodnight, Mean Goodbye: The Oral History of The Get Up Kids, Alternative Press Issue #204
  4. ↑ Browne, Heather (2006-08-25), Sub Pop Singles Club: A Retrospective, I Am Fuel, You are Friends, retrieved 07-12-2009 Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  5. ↑ The Get Up Kids Band History, Epitaph Records, retrieved 07-12-2009 Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. ↑ Harlow, Luke (2000-09-02), Rob Pope of The Get Up Kids, Decapolis, retrieved 2009-06-02
  7. ↑ Gintowt, Richard (2005-03-25), Stay Gold, Ponyboys, Lawrence.com, retrieved 07-12-2009 Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  8. ↑ Tate, Jason (2008-08-28), Fans Report In: Reggie and the Full Effect / Get Up Kids, Absolute Punk, retrieved 2008-12-04
  9. ↑ Kruger, Adam, Reggie and the Full Effect - Interview, MishMash Magazine, archived from the original on December 26, 2008, retrieved 2008-12-04
  10. ↑ Get Up Kids Reunion Announced For This Sunday, The Pitch, 2008-11-13, retrieved 2008-11-14
  11. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (2008-11-14), News Ticker: The Beatles, Get Up Kids, New York Dolls, Rolling Stone, archived from the original on December 27, 2008, retrieved 2008-11-15
  12. ↑ Get Up Kids Reunion: Sunday Night, Back to Rockville, 2008-11-14, retrieved 2008-11-13
  13. ↑ Slater, Luke (06-10-2009), The Get Up Kids announce European tour extravaganza!, Drowned in Sound, retrieved 07-12-2009 Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  14. ↑ Zac Johnson. "Something to Write Home About - The Get Up Kids". AllMusic. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  15. ↑ James Skinner. "Review / The Get Up Kids: Something To Write Home About (Tenth Anniversary Edition)". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  16. ↑ "Something To Write Home About". NME. Inspire. September 12, 2005. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  17. ↑ Brent DiCrescenzo. "The Get Up Kids - Something to Write Home About". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  18. ↑ Dave Meehan. "The Get Up Kids: Something to Write Home About". PopMatters. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  19. ↑ "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time". NME.com. January 14, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  20. ↑ Something to Write Home About Charts & Awards, AllMusic, retrieved 07-12-2009 Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
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