Anthem for a New Tomorrow | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 8, 1993 [1] | |||
Recorded | February (tracks 9 and 10) and May 11–12, 1993 at Sonic Iguana Studios, Lafayette, IN | |||
Genre | Punk rock, pop punk | |||
Length | 33:38 | |||
Label | Lookout!, Asian Man | |||
Producer | Andy Ernst, Mass Giorgini, Ben Weasel | |||
Screeching Weasel chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Anthem for a New Tomorrow is the sixth studio album by the American punk rock band Screeching Weasel. It was released in 1993 through Lookout! Records. According to Contemporary Musician, Anthem for a New Tomorrow is "widely regarded as one of the band's best efforts". [3]
Anthem for a New Tomorrow was recorded after the Screeching Weasel returned from their 1993 U.S. tour, which was their last. The liner notes of the album read "Hey! You've heard them, now go SEE them!" The title is taken from the song "Second Floor East" from their previous album, Wiggle . Mass Giorgini recorded the album at his Sonic Iguana Studio. All songs on the album were taken from this session except "Every Night" and "Totally", which the band felt were better represented by demo recordings they'd done months earlier at Flat Iron Studios with Andy Ernst. The two songs were also recorded during the sessions at Sonic Iguana and released on the compilation Thank You Very Little and included as bonus tracks on the remixed and remastered 30th anniversary edition along with alternate vocal takes of "Panic" and "Thrift Store Girl".
After their last album, the band lost bassist Johnny Personality. Rather than find a replacement, guitarist Danny Vapid switched to bass and Ben Weasel took over second guitar. This later came to be known as the band's "classic" lineup. In contrast with the albums and EPs that preceded Anthem for a New Tomorrow, the vast majority of the writing was done by Ben Weasel alone. Only one song, "Trance," out of 18 was co-written with bassist Danny Vapid. Vapid later remarked that "to suggest anything else would've ruined the mix." The album has been described by the band as a concept album, dealing with issues of alienation, paranoia, and isolation in modern society. In the liner notes of the Asian Man released version of the album, Weasel and Vapid both say the sound of the album was heavily influenced by Wire's Pink Flag. Weasel has said that he wanted the album to sound "like a panic attack." [4]
The album was remastered and re-released by Asian Man Records in 2005.
All tracks are written by Ben Weasel, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "I'm Gonna Strangle You" | 1:04 |
2. | "Falling Apart" | 2:00 |
3. | "Leather Jacket" | 1:05 |
4. | "Rubber Room" | 0:30 |
5. | "Talk to Me Summer" | 1:55 |
6. | "Inside Out" | 2:04 |
7. | "Peter Brady" | 2:10 |
8. | "I, Robot" | 2:50 |
9. | "Every Night" | 3:45 |
10. | "Totally" | 1:44 |
11. | "Three Sides" | 0:45 |
12. | "I Don't Wanna Be Friends" | 1:55 |
13. | "Cancer in My Body" | 0:53 |
14. | "Thrift Store Girl" | 1:09 |
15. | "Panic" | 0:12 |
16. | "Trance" (Ben Weasel/Dan Vapid) | 2:17 |
17. | "Claire Monet" | 3:39 |
18. | "A New Tomorrow" | 3:41 |
In 2022, Dustin Kensrue of the modern rock band Thrice listed Anthem for a New Tomorrow as one of the top albums which influenced him as a musician. [5] Kensrue describes the album as having "a lighthearted, weird playfulness at times...very serious political ramifications sometimes, and...just a sort of honesty and raw quality" that makes it distinctive from other music. [5] Bass guitarist Mark Rubano of Taking Back Sunday also named Anthem for a New Tomorrow as one of the top two albums he listened to as a teen. [6]
Screeching Weasel is an American punk rock band consisting of Ben Weasel (vocals), Mike Kennerty (guitar), Mike Hunchback (guitar), Zach "Poutine" Brandner (bass) and Pierre Marche (drums). Screeching Weasel is originally from the Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead. Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have reformed several times with lineup changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant member, though Jughead was present in every incarnation of the band until 2009. Other prominent members include guitarist/bassist Dan Vapid and drummer Dan Panic, who have each appeared on six of the band's studio albums, and Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt who appeared on one.
My Brain Hurts is the third studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. The album was originally released on CD, vinyl and cassette in September 1991 through Lookout Records. It was the group's first album on Lookout as well as the only release with bassist Dave Naked and the first with drummer Dan Panic, the latter of which would go on to appear on several of the band's albums. The album marked a very distinct stylistic shift for the group, fully moving toward a Ramones-inspired sound and completely abandoning their previous hardcore punk influences as a condition made by vocalist Ben Weasel when reforming the band after a brief break-up.
Wiggle is the fifth studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Initially planned for release in November 1992, the album was finally released on CD, vinyl and cassette on January 15, 1993, through Lookout Records. Due to a "cymbal hissing" in the original vinyl version, the album was remixed and re-released soon afterwards.
"Radio Blast" is a song by Chicago-based pop punk band Screeching Weasel. The band lineup for this single is the same as on their 1993 album, Wiggle. 2000 copies were initially pressed on Underdog Records. A later repress came out on burgundy colored vinyl and had a sticker on the sleeve that proclaimed it "not part of the limited edition". Both pressings are now out of print, but the two songs from this release can be found on the B-sides and rarities collection, Kill the Musicians. The A-side is a vicious attack on the state of rock radio. Side B is the sad story of a girl who cannot find love and ends up committing suicide. "The Girl Next Door" was covered by Blink-182, which was first released on a 1998 reissue of their first demo album, Buddha.
Formula 27 is the ninth E.P. by Screeching Weasel. It was released as a companion to Bark Like a Dog, the band's first album after their second breakup. All four songs were recorded during the sessions for the album with the same lineup. This E.P. would be the last new material that the "classic" Screeching Weasel lineup of Weasel/Jughead/Vapid/Panic would release. All the songs deal with issues involving personal relationships and all but the first relate to relationship problems. The E.P. was released shortly after Bark Like A Dog on Vermiform Records. It is now out of print, but the songs are available as bonus tracks on the album Beat Is on the Brat.
Beat is on the Brat is a CD compilation of out of print and vinyl-only material from Screeching Weasel. The majority of the CD contains their cover of the first album by The Ramones in its entirety. The band was approached to cover the album at a party for the completion of their fourth album, Wiggle. Having just lost bassist Johnny Personality, the band was unsure of its future, and they claim that the recording of these covers helped revitalize them.
Punkhouse is the first EP by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. The EP was originally released on 7-inch vinyl with a limited pressing of 500 copies on July 7, 1989 through Limited Potential Records. It was the band's only non-compilation release to feature drummer Brian Vermin and the first to feature Dan Vapid, who would be featured on many later Screeching Weasel albums. Musically, the songs on Punkhouse are in a similar vein to the band's previous album Boogadaboogadaboogada!, albeit with a rougher sound.
How to Make Enemies and Irritate People is the seventh studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band Screeching Weasel. Planned as the group's final album, it was released in August 1994 on CD, vinyl, and cassette through Lookout Records. Shortly before recording the album, bassist/backing vocalist Dan Vapid left the band and, as a result, Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt was recruited to play on the album.
Dan Schafer, better known by his stage name Dan Vapid, is a punk rock musician from Chicago, Illinois, United States. He is best known for his participation in Screeching Weasel, The Riverdales, The Methadones, and various other punk rock/pop punk bands. His current band is Dan Vapid and the Cheats.
Kill the Musicians is a compilation album released in 1995 which was meant to serve as a "cleaning up" of loose ends after Screeching Weasel's breakup in 1994. The compilation collects demos, B-sides, vinyl-only EPs, and other various odds and ends the band had accumulated in their career from 1989 to 1994. It came on the heels of 1994's How to Make Enemies and Irritate People, which itself was a collection of the final songs the band had written prior to splitting up. The band would soon reform in 1996 and remain together again until 2000, when they disbanded again. This collection was out of print for a short period until it was remastered and re-released by Asian Man Records in 2005. The original album contained an in-depth essay written by Ben Weasel covering the history of the band. This was later omitted from the re-issue. In 2010, Recess Records had intentions to release a double LP vinyl reissue, however production was aborted and only a small amount of test pressings exist.
Thank You Very Little is a compilation by Screeching Weasel. It contains b-sides, rarities, and a live show. The title was taken from a line in the movie Caddyshack. Most of the second disc is taken from a show in Philadelphia from the band's 1993 tour.
Love Songs for the Retarded is the second studio album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in 1993 by Lookout! Records. It was the first of five studio albums the band would record for Lookout!, and their first by the lineup of singer and guitarist "Joe Queer" King, bassist Chris "B-Face" Barnard, and drummer Hugh O'Neill. It was also their first collaboration with Screeching Weasel frontman Ben Weasel, who produced the album and co-wrote two of its songs, and the first of three Queers albums recorded at Sonic Iguana Studio in Lafayette, Indiana with audio engineer Mass Giorgini, who would continue to work with the band on and off for the next 14 years as a producer and engineer. Love Songs for the Retarded became the Queers' highest-selling album, with sales surpassing 100,000 copies.
Beat Off is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in 1994 by Lookout! Records. Recorded during a time when the Queers' usual drummer, Hugh O'Neill, was on a forced leave of absence from the band to deal with heroin addiction, it featured Screeching Weasel drummer Dan Panic and guitarist Dan Vapid added to the lineup. It was the third and final Queers album produced by Screeching Weasel singer Ben Weasel, who insisted on a no-frills punk sound for the album and removed Vapid's tracks from the final mix without his knowledge.
Surf Goddess is an EP by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in February 1995 by Lookout! Records. It marked the return of longtime drummer Hugh O'Neill to the band, after a forced leave of absence to deal with heroin addiction. Former Screeching Weasel member Dan Vapid, who had been a member of the Queers in 1994, played on the EP as a guest guitarist. Surf Goddess was the result of band leader Joe King and Lookout! head Larry Livermore being dissatisfied with the production techniques on the band's prior album, 1994's Beat Off, which producer Ben Weasel had insisted on keeping basic. King and Livermore wanted to incorporate overdubbing and other effects which Livermore felt were essential to the Queers' sound. In addition to the title track, which was co-written by Weasel, and the Queers original "Quit Talkin'", the EP includes cover versions of Tommy James and the Shondells's "Mirage" and the Undertones' "Get Over You".
Weasel Mania is a compilation album by the Chicago punk rock band Screeching Weasel. It was released on Fat Wreck Chords in 2005. The album title is an homage to the Ramones album Ramones Mania.
Pervo-Devo is the second E.P. by punk rock band Screeching Weasel. It consists of songs that were recorded for My Brain Hurts but were left off the album. The E.P. was originally included with the final issue of "Teen Punks in Heat", a sex-themed 'zine penned by Ben Weasel. There were two pressing of the record. Between the two pressings, the record label changed its name from "Shred of Dignity" to "Outpunk". All of the songs resurfaced on the band's B-sides album Kill the Musicians, though the spoken intro to "I Wanna Be A Homosexual" by Bruce LaBruce appears only on this 7".
Screeching Weasel/Pink Lincolns Split is a split EP featuring US punk bands Screeching Weasel and the Pink Lincolns. The song "Going Home" previously appeared on the CD version of Screeching Weasel's album Wiggle, while "Stab Stab Stab" later appeared on the bands B-sides compilation Kill the Musicians. "Runnin' Down" is a cover of a song by the Gargoyles.
Happy, Horny, Gay and Sassy is a live E.P. released by Screeching Weasel in 1992 on 7-inch vinyl. All songs were recorded live in the WFMU Studios by Dave Parasite on January 2, 1992, and broadcast live over WFMU Radio in East Orange, New Jersey. This limited edition pressing of 300 copies was a re-release of the E.P. Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions adding a second single-sided record with 3 additional songs recorded at the same session. This is the only officially released Screeching Weasel recording which has not been made available on CD as part of a compilation. It is also the band's only release to feature Gub on bass guitar.
Suck This is the second live album by the American punk rock band the Queers, released in 1995 by independent record label Clearview Records. It was recorded live in the studio at the Jam Room in Columbia, South Carolina and released as a single-sided picture disc, and reissued on compact disc in 1998. It was the band's only live album recorded during the period when Screeching Weasel members Dan Vapid and Dan Panic were also in the Queers.
Between 1993 and 2000, a series of Ramones covers albums were released by Selfless Records, an independent record label based in Garland, Texas specializing in punk rock, on which bands influenced by seminal punk group the Ramones performed cover versions of entire Ramones albums. Under the Selfless label, Screeching Weasel, the Queers, and the Vindictives respectively covered the first three Ramones albums: Ramones (1976), Rocket to Russia (1977), and Leave Home (1977). Selfless then became Clearview Records and continued the series, with Boris the Sprinkler, the Parasites, the Mr. T Experience, the Beatnik Termites, and the McRackins respectively covering End of the Century (1980), It's Alive (1979), Road to Ruin (1978), Pleasant Dreams (1981), and Too Tough to Die (1984).