Food for Thought/Take It Back

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Food for Thought/Take It Back
GrayMatter FoodForThought-TakeItBackCD cover.jpeg
Compilation album by Gray Matter
Released 1990
Recorded November 1984
August 1985
Studio Inner Ear
Genre
Length52:55
Language English
Label Dischord
Producer Ian MacKaye

Food for Thought/Take It Back is a compilation album by American post-hardcore band Gray Matter.

A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If from several performers, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology.

Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been applied to a broad constellation of groups. Post-hardcore began in the 1980s with bands like Hüsker Dü, Black Flag, and Minutemen. The genre expanded in the 1980s and 1990s with releases by bands from cities that had established hardcore scenes, such as Fugazi from Washington, D.C. as well as groups such as Big Black and Jawbox that stuck closer to post-hardcore's noise rock roots. In the 2000s, post-hardcore achieved mainstream success with the popularity of bands like My Chemical Romance, AFI, Hawthorne Heights, The Used, At the Drive-In and Senses Fail. In the 2010s, post-hardcore bands like Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce the Veil achieved success and bands like Title Fight and La Dispute experienced underground popularity.

Musical ensemble group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name

A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instruments, such as the jazz quartet or the orchestra. Some music ensembles consist solely of singers, such as choirs and doo wop groups. In both popular music and classical music, there are ensembles in which both instrumentalists and singers perform, such as the rock band or the Baroque chamber group for basso continuo and one or more singers. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles. Some ensembles blend the sounds of a variety of instrument families, such as the orchestra, which uses a string section, brass instruments, woodwinds and percussion instruments, or the concert band, which uses brass, woodwinds and percussion.

Contents

Overview

Food for Thought/Take It Back consists of Gray Matter's remastered material that combines, in its entirety, the 1985 Food for Thought studio album [nb 1] [1] [2] and the six-song 1986 Take It Back EP; [nb 2] plus three bonus tracks: two previously unreleased demo recordings, and the first version of "Walk the Line", originally featured on Alive & Kicking, a various artists 7-inch EP compiled in 1985 by WGNS Recordings. [nb 3]

Album collection of recorded music, words, sounds

An album is a collection of audio recordings issued as a collection on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium. Albums of recorded music were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78-rpm records collected in a bound book resembling a photograph album; this format evolved after 1948 into single vinyl LP records played at ​33 1⁄3 rpm. Vinyl LPs are still issued, though album sales in the 21st-century have mostly focused on CD and MP3 formats. The audio cassette was a format used alongside vinyl from the 1970s into the first decade of the 2000s.

Extended play musical recording longer than a single, but shorter than a full album

An extended play record, often referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single, but is usually unqualified as an album or LP. Contemporary EPs generally contain a minimum of three tracks and maximum of six tracks, and are considered "less expensive and time-consuming" for an artist to produce than an album. An EP originally referred to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play (SP) and LP, but it is now applied to mid-length CDs and downloads as well.

Demo (music) song or group of songs recorded for limited circulation or reference use rather than for general public release

A demo is a song or group of songs recorded for limited circulation or reference use rather than for general public release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas in a fixed format, such as cassette tape, compact disc, or digital audio files, and to thereby pass along those ideas to record labels, record producers, or to other artists.

Production

Food for Thought was recorded at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia in November 1984, while Take It Back was recorded in August 1985, also at Inner Ear. The bonus tracks were recorded at WGNS Studios, also located in Arlington.

Inner Ear Studios a recording studio founded in Arlington, Virginia

Inner Ear Studios is a recording studio founded in Arlington, Virginia by musician and recording engineer Don Zientara. The studio was started by Zientara in his own home before moving into its own building. At first, Zientara recorded harp music and Celtic folk tunes, but in the 1980s, Zientara began to record punk music, with Teen Idles being one of the first bands he recorded.

Arlington County, Virginia County in the United States

Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia, often referred to simply as Arlington or Arlington, Virginia. In 2016, the county's population was estimated at 230,050, making it the sixth-largest county in Virginia, or the fourth-largest city if it were incorporated as such. It is the 5th highest-income county in the U.S. by median family income and has the highest concentration of singles in the region.

WGNS Recordings releases music recorded by WGNS Studios.

Release

Food for Thought/Take It Back was released by Dischord Records in 1990, on CD [nb 4] and cassette tape. [nb 5]

Dischord Records record label

Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles. With other independent American labels such as Twin/Tone, Touch and Go Records, and SST Records, Dischord helped to spearhead the nationwide network of underground bands that formed the 1980s indie-rock scene. These labels presided over the shift from the hardcore punk that then dominated the American underground scene to the more diverse styles of alternative rock that were emerging.

Compact disc Optical disc for storage and playback of digital audio

Compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony and released in 1982. The format was originally developed to store and play only sound recordings (CD-DA) but was later adapted for storage of data (CD-ROM). Several other formats were further derived from these, including write-once audio and data storage (CD-R), rewritable media (CD-RW), Video Compact Disc (VCD), Super Video Compact Disc (SVCD), Photo CD, PictureCD, CD-i, and Enhanced Music CD. The first commercially available audio CD player, the Sony CDP-101, was released October 1982 in Japan.

Track listing

All tracks written by Gray Matter, except where noted.

Gray Matter was a post-hardcore band from Washington, D.C., who played in the 1980s and 1990s. They disbanded in 1986, but reformed in 1990.

Food for Thought
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Retrospect" 2:08
2."Oscars Eye" 2:52
3."Fill a Void" 2:02
4."Give Me a Clue" 3:15
5."Gray Matter" 1:15
6."Caffeine Blues" 3:36
7."Crisis and Compromise" 2:04
8."Flash in Time" 1:45
9."Phobias" 1:31
10."I Am the Walrus" John Lennon, Paul McCartney 6:19
Take It Back EP
No.TitleLength
11."Chutes and Ladders"2:26
12."Burn No Bridges"2:39
13."Walk the Line"2:37
14."Take It Back"3:17
15."4 A.M."2:17
16."Head"7:23
Bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
17."Phobias" (demo version)1:39
18."The Spy" (demo version)0:59
19."Walk the Line" (original version)2:51
Total length:52:55

Personnel

Gray Matter

In general, the term credit in the artistic or intellectual sense refers to an acknowledgement of those who contributed to a work, whether through ideas or in a more direct sense.

The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer either leads the vocal ensemble, or sets against the ensemble as the dominant sound. In vocal group performances, notably in soul and gospel music, and early rock and roll, the lead singer takes the main vocal part, with a chorus provided by other band members as backing vocalists.

Guitarist person who plays the guitar

A guitarist is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar by singing or playing the harmonica.

Additional performers

Production

Notes

  1. ↑ Dischord #DIS 48
  2. ↑ Dischord #DIS 21
  3. ↑ WGNS #DM-5023
  4. ↑ Dischord #DIS 49
  5. ↑ Dischord #DIS 48C

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References

  1. ↑ Gray Matter, Food for Thought. Dischord Records . Retrieved July 3. 2015.
  2. ↑ Gray Matter, Food for Thought. AllMusic . Retrieved July 3, 2015.
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