Puneet Varma (Editor)

In Defense of the Genre

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Released
  
October 23, 2007

In Defense of the Genre (2007)
  
Say Anything (2009)

Release date
  
23 October 2007

Label
  
J Records

Length
  
89:21

Artist
  
Say Anything

Producer
  
Brad Wood

In Defense of the Genre httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenff2In

Recorded
  
March 2006 – September 2007 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City and Seagrass Studios in California

Genres
  
Punk rock, Pop punk, Emo, Alternative rock, Indie rock, Post-hardcore

Similar
  
Say Anything albums, Pop punk albums

Say anything skinny mean man


In Defense of The Genre is the third full-length studio album by American pop-punk band Say Anything, released on October 23, 2007 through J Records as a double disc album. It debuted at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 25,000 copies in its first week. The first single, "Baby Girl, I'm a Blur", was released October 2, 2007 on iTunes. The album artwork was provided by Jeff Smith, an artist primarily known for his work on the Bone comic series.

Contents

On September 19, 2007, fans could pre-order an autographed copy of the album with an optional Say Anything T-shirt. An extra booklet was packaged with the CDs, autographed by Max Bemis, Alex Kent, and Jeff Turner.

Skinny mean man say anything


Background

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. The band started rehearsing and piecing together the album through pre-production the next year in January 2007, until the record was finally completed half a year later in September. Max Bemis described in an interview that the record is more focused on "observations of other people", unlike ...Is a Real Boy's lyrical content revolving solely on Bemis and his problems. 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."

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, whom contributed on turntable and pedal steel guitar, respectively. The December issue of Alternative Press reported that Jesse Lacey of Brand New chose not to collaborate. In December 2007, Absolutepunk.net did a 3-part video series showing an in depth look at the recording of In Defense of the Genre.

Reception

In Defense of the Genre was well received by most critics, averaging a 79% on Metacritic. 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."

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."

Track listing

All lyrics written by Max Bemis; all music composed by Max Bemis, Coby Linder and Alex Kent.

Album personnel

  • Max Bemis – vocals, guitar, keyboards, mandolin
  • Coby Linder – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Alex Kent – bass
  • Brad Wood – producer, engineer, mixer
  • Emily Lazar – mastering engineer
  • Tour personnel

  • Jake Turner – backing vocals, guitar
  • Jeff Turner – backing vocals, guitar
  • Parker Case – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Songs

    1Skinny - Mean Man3:33
    2No Soul3:37
    3That Is Why4:14

    References

    In Defense of the Genre Wikipedia