Happiness in Magazines

Last updated

Happiness in Magazines
Happiness In Magazines.jpg
Studio album by
Released17 May 2004 (2004-05-17)
Genre
Length45:01
LanguageEnglish
Label Transcopic, Parlophone
Producer Stephen Street
Graham Coxon chronology
The Kiss of Morning
(2002)
Happiness in Magazines
(2004)
Love Travels at Illegal Speeds
(2006)
Singles from Happiness in Magazines
  1. "Freakin' Out"
    Released: 8 March 2004
  2. "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery"
    Released: 3 May 2004
  3. "Spectacular"
    Released: 28 July 2004
  4. "Freakin' Out / All Over Me"
    Released: 25 October 2004

Happiness in Magazines is the fifth solo album by Graham Coxon. It was produced by Stephen Street who also produced Blur's first five albums and is Coxon's most commercially successful album to date. Happiness in Magazines reached 19 in the UK Albums chart and was certified Gold.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 77/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Pitchfork (7.5/10) [3]
PopMatters (7/10) [4]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Tiny Mix Tapes Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Uncut Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]

Happiness in Magazines was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 23 reviews. [1]

Track listing

All songs written by Graham Coxon.

  1. "Spectacular" – 2:48
  2. "No Good Time" – 3:21
  3. "Girl Done Gone" – 3:57
  4. "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery" – 4:53
  5. "All Over Me" – 4:16
  6. "Freakin' Out" – 3:42
  7. "People of the Earth" – 3:04
  8. "Hopeless Friend" – 3:22
  9. "Are You Ready?" – 4:42
  10. "Bottom Bunk" – 3:16
  11. "Don't Be a Stranger" – 3:29
  12. "Ribbons and Leaves" – 4:11
Bonus tracks

Personnel

Technical

Singles

Four singles have been released from Happiness in Magazines.

Release details

The album has been released in various countries.

CountryDateLabelFormatCatalog
Australia 7 May 2004 Capitol CD 5777472
United Kingdom 17 May 2004 Transcopic, Parlophone LP 5775191
CD5775192
Japan 26 May 2004 Toshiba-EMI CDTOCP 66292
US 25 January 2005 Astralwerks CDASW 60387

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blur (band)</span> English rock band

Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".

<i>Parklife</i> 1994 studio album by Blur

Parklife is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994 on Food Records. After moderate sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "End of a Century", "Parklife" and "To the End".

<i>Modern Life Is Rubbish</i> 1993 studio album by Blur

Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album Leisure (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour. After the group returned from an unsuccessful tour of the United States, poorly received live performances and the rising popularity of rival band Suede further diminished Blur's status in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Coxon</span> English musician and singer

Graham Leslie Coxon is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Coxon is featured on all of Blur's studio discography. He has also led a solo career since 1998, producing and playing all instrumentation on his solo albums. As well as being a musician, Coxon is a visual artist: he designed the cover art for all his solo albums as well as Blur's 13 (1999).

Stephen Brian Street is an English music producer best known for his work with the Smiths, the Cranberries and Blur. Street collaborated with Morrissey on his debut album Viva Hate following the split of the Smiths.

<i>13</i> (Blur album) 1999 studio album by Blur

13 is the sixth studio album by English alternative rock band Blur, released on 15 March 1999. Continuing the stylistic shift away from the Britpop sound of the band's early career, 13 explores experimental, psychedelic and electronic music.

<i>The Kiss of Morning</i> 2002 studio album by Graham Coxon

The Kiss of Morning is the fourth solo album by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, released on 21 October 2002 in the UK, being the first of Coxon's albums since his initial departure from Blur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freakin' Out</span> 2004 single by Graham Coxon

"Freakin' Out" is a song by Graham Coxon and was released as the lead single from his fifth solo album Happiness in Magazines in 2004. It was released as a very limited 7" and charted at number 37 in the UK Singles Chart. "Freakin' Out" was later re-released as a double A-side with "All Over Me". For many years, it has been used as the theme song in the opening titles of G-Spot, an entertainment/ents programme broadcast by Glasgow University Student Television.

"Bittersweet Bundle of Misery" is a song by Graham Coxon and was released as the second single from his fifth solo album Happiness in Magazines in 2004. It peaked at #22 on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spectacular (Graham Coxon song)</span> 2004 single by Graham Coxon

"Spectacular" is the opening track to the album Happiness in Magazines by British singer-songwriter Graham Coxon. It was released as the third single from that album in 2004 and peaked at number 32 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Freakin' Out" and "All Over Me" are songs by Graham Coxon that appeared on his 2004 album Happiness in Magazines. They were released as the final single from the album as a double A-side in October 2004. The single peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart.

<i>Love Travels at Illegal Speeds</i> 2006 studio album by Graham Coxon

Love Travels At Illegal Speeds is the sixth solo album by Graham Coxon. It was released 13 March 2006 in the United Kingdom, the day after Coxon's 37th birthday. The album was produced by Stephen Street who also produced Coxon's previous album, Happiness in Magazines.

<i>Misery Is a Butterfly</i> 2004 studio album by Blonde Redhead

Misery Is a Butterfly is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Blonde Redhead. The album was released on March 15, 2004, by 4AD. Much of the visual and lyrical imagery of the album is reflective of an accident in which lead singer Kazu Makino was trampled by a horse.

"I Can't Look at Your Skin" / "What's He Got?" is a limited edition double A-sided single by Graham Coxon, released 17 July 2006. Both songs are featured on Graham Coxon's 2006 album, Love Travels at Illegal Speeds and serve as the third single from the album.

<i>Burnt to Bitz: At the Astoria</i> 2006 live album by Graham Coxon

Burnt to Bitz: At the Astoria is a live album by Graham Coxon. The two-disc album is a complete recording of Coxon's gig at the London Astoria on the 25 October 2006.

<i>Live at the Zodiac</i> 2005 EP by Graham Coxon

Live at the Zodiac is the name of Graham Coxon's first concert DVD and a live EP. It was recorded at the Oxford Zodiac on 3 June 2004 during his first full length UK tour after parting with Blur in 2003.

<i>22 Dreams</i> 2008 studio album by Paul Weller

22 Dreams is the ninth solo studio album by Paul Weller. It was released on 2 June 2008.

<i>A+E</i> (album) 2012 studio album by Graham Coxon

A+E is the eighth studio album by British singer-songwriter Graham Coxon, released on 2 April 2012 through Parlophone. The album was made as a "reaction" against Coxon's prior album, The Spinning Top, which consisted of psychedelic folk songs. A+E, on the other hand, consists of pop rock songs. Coxon, who is also the guitarist of Blur, recorded 21 songs during the album's two-month-long recording process with producer Ben Hillier. The 11 songs that did not make it onto A+E were divided into a separate album that was supposed to be released in late 2012, but Coxon was never announced it as of 2023. The album received positive reviews from critics, although some criticized its songs for being too long. Despite its critical success, it was Coxon's least successful album on the UK Albums Chart since The Kiss of Morning, peaking at number 39 and staying on the chart for only one week.

<i>The Magic Whip</i> 2015 studio album by Blur

The Magic Whip is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London, and released by Parlophone on 27 April 2015 and Warner Bros. Records on 28 April 2015. It was the band's first studio album in 12 years since Think Tank (2003), marking the longest gap between studio albums in Blur's career, and the first in 16 years since 13 (1999) to have featured the original line-up. The album also marks the return of the band's longtime producer Stephen Street following Blur (1997).

<i>Gunslinger</i> (album) 2016 studio album by Garth Brooks

Gunslinger is the tenth studio album by American country music artist Garth Brooks, released on November 25, 2016 by Pearl Records. The album's lead single, "Baby, Let's Lay Down and Dance", was released on October 13, 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 "Critic Reviews for Happiness in Magazines". Metacritic . Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. Happiness in Magazines at AllMusic
  3. Pitchfork Media review
  4. PopMatters review
  5. Q review
  6. Rolling Stone review
  7. Tiny Mix Tapes review Archived 17 July 2012 at archive.today
  8. Uncut review Archived 1 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0195313734.