My Dinosaur Life | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 19, 2010 | |||
Recorded | Various
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Genre | ||||
Length | 39:56 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Mark Hoppus | |||
Motion City Soundtrack chronology | ||||
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Singles from My Dinosaur Life | ||||
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My Dinosaur Life is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by Mark Hoppus, the album was released on January 19, 2010 by Columbia Records. After many years on independent label Epitaph Records, Motion City Soundtrack signed to major label Columbia in 2006, prior to the release of their third album, Even If It Kills Me (2007). Blink-182 bassist Mark Hoppus returned to produce the album; he had previously worked with the band on their 2005 breakthrough Commit This to Memory .
The album was largely recorded at Opra Music Studios in North Hollywood, California. The album's themes largely center on growing older; its lyricism, written by Pierre, concerns such subjects as relationships, drug abuse, and procrastination. Musically, the album retains the band's sound with less of an emphasis on the Moog synthesizer. Drummer Tony Thaxton broke his arm prior to recording, which led the band to use a drum machine on early recordings.
Their only major-label release, My Dinosaur Life was well received by music critics. The album represented their highest peak position in the U.S., charting at number fifteen on the Billboard 200. In support of the album, the group toured worldwide, making appearances in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan.
After releasing three records on the independent Epitaph label, Motion City Soundtrack signed a multiple-album deal with Columbia Records in late 2006, months before releasing their previous album Even If It Kills Me . Following the move, the guitarist Joshua Cain said, "It just felt right to make the move when there was the right interest there." With the new signing, the band's promotional team aimed to develop a balance between the benefits of a new major label and their previous grass-roots approach. [2]
The album was produced by the Blink-182 frontman Mark Hoppus, who also worked with the band for their second album, Commit This to Memory. Hoppus said that the band wanted to follow in the tracks of Commit This to Memory, but to push things further. [3] He said the album would incorporate a heavier, more experimental side of the group. "There's an edge on this record that I'm really excited about getting into," he said, "But it still has all the catchiness of everything that I personally love about Motion City Soundtrack. As a fan, it's really exciting to get to work with them again and help them flesh out this new vision of themselves." [3] Pierre later recalled that the atmosphere in the studio was more loose than their first time working with Hoppus. [4]
The band announced that they were to begin recording sessions with Hoppus in April 2009. [5] Due to drummer Tony Thaxton's broken arm, the band were forced to rearrange the sequence in which they recorded. The drums were replaced by electronic beats and drum machines until Thaxton was able to play properly in the last week of recording. [6] It was confirmed that recording had been completed on June 28, 2009. [7]
The band picked the title My Dinosaur Life after a quote Pierre kept repeating—they felt it a nice representation of the album's themes, which include growing old and feeling out of place. [8] The album title was derived from frontman Justin Pierre misquoting a line ("My dragon life") from the 2008 film American Teen . [6] The album's music is inspired by post-hardcore music; Pierre cited Archers of Loaf, Fugazi, and Dinosaur Jr. as inspirations for the album's sound. [4] "Worker Bee" was chosen to open the album due to its short, energetic, "to-the-point" tone. Pierre created the song on his own at home, later bringing the completed music to the band. [9] "A Life Less Ordinary (Need A Little Help)" came about early in the writing process. Pierre wrote the song quickly as the group had an opportunity to record it with producer John Fields, though they would eventually re-record it with Hoppus. Pierre took the title from the film A Life Less Ordinary, though it has "nothing to do with that film"; he interpreted it as wishing for a more rigid, "normal" life as opposed to self-destructive behavior. [10]
"Her Words Destroyed My Planet" was one of the last songs recorded for the album; the band regarded it a signature track from the album, in the vein of past singles "Everything Is Alright". Pierre deemed it the most "honest" song he had written to that point. [11] "Disappear" was a favorite of the band for its darker, more aggressive quality. [12] "Delirium" came together in the first writing session. Bassist Matthew Taylor felt its lyrics regarded someone getting treatment for addiction and "taking initiative" to get past their burdens. [13] "History Lesson" was likened to a rowdy, "Irish drinking song" by the band; they felt it evocative of a protagonist looking back fondly on his more youthful, "wilder days." It is the only song on the album produced by Ed Ackerson, who recorded a "re-worked" version of it with the band after sessions for the album were complete. [14]
"Stand Too Close" was an autobiographical take on Pierre's relationship history. They considered it unconventional in its lack of a traditional chorus; likewise, drummer Tony Thaxton employed different instruments in its percussion, such as triangles and concert bass drums. [15] "@!#?@!" was largely Pierre's creation; the rest of the band were initially unreceptive to it. He wrote it as a type of tongue-in-cheek "nerd's anthem". The title is a reference to the video game Q*bert and the main character's comic swear speech bubble. [16] The band considered "Hysteria" a more eccentric song; it was nearly cut from the album's final track listing. [17] "Skin and Bones" concerns questioning one's place in life and existence. It was a favorite of Pierre's, who regarded it as both depressing and beautiful. Hoppus joked after he recorded his vocal track that the band "writes some pretty uplifting songs." [18] The album's final song, "The Weakends", is dark in tone but ends on a hopeful note. Pierre dubbed it a "procrastination anthem." [19]
Whilst on tour with Blink-182, Motion City Soundtrack did an interview for MTV with Hoppus, in which it was revealed that the band's fourth album would be titled My Dinosaur Life. [20]
Throughout November 2009, Pierre undertook a promotional tour called On the Dino Trail. Along with the band's tour manager and a friend, Pierre made appearances and played acoustic shows throughout the US Midwest and East Coast. The tour's itinerary was planned with fans' help through Twitter, with it all being chronicled online at MyDinosaurLife.com. The guitarist Joshua Cain commented that he felt their use of Twitter had helped to reconnect the band with fans. "I feel like in the last few years, that stuff's gotten harder to do... [Twitter has] really re-engaged us as a band to be able to communicate with everybody." [2] The band played three sold-out Chicago shows in mid-December, each of which featured one of the band's previous records in full. They then arranged a touring schedule which would include supporting Weezer on several dates in December and January, as well as beginning a headlining tour in late January covering the United States. Following the album's release, they recommenced touring; in the first three months the band travelled to Australia for the national Soundwave festival, as well as to Japan and the United Kingdom. [2]
On November 3, 2009, My Dinosaur Life was announced to have a release date of January 19, 2010. [21] Pre-orders for the album went on sale through the band's official website on November 13, 2009. The pre-orders came in three varieties: digital, standard and deluxe edition. The physical form of the deluxe edition has five bonus tracks, a hard-bound book with six 7-inch picture discs, a signed Pulp Fiction —style lyric booklet and album artwork for each song by Joe Ledbetter. The digital deluxe edition includes the bonus tracks and the artwork in PDF form. [2] [22]
In October 2009, the band released the first song from the album, "Disappear", as a free download on their website, [23] with a music video online for the song on November 19, 2009. [2] [24] "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" was first publicly released in November 2009 on Spin's website for streaming; the song was one of the site's most popular streams in 2009. [25] Becoming the album's first single, "Her Words" was serviced to modern rock radio in December 2009, before having a music video released on January 11, 2010. [2] [26] A third song, "A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)", was also released on Spin before the album. [25]
In January 2010, the band undertook a series of song by song video testimonials for each of the album's tracks. The clips were released on numerous music websites including AbsolutePunk, Spin , Buzznet, Purevolume, Alternative Press , Punknews.org, Alloy.com, The Minneapolis Star Tribune , The A.V. Club , Ultimate Guitar Archive, Buzzgrinder.com and Twitvid. [27] The album was uploaded for streaming on the band's MySpace on January 12, 2010. [26]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [28] |
Alternative Press | [29] |
The A.V. Club | (B+) [30] |
Entertainment Weekly | (A-) [31] |
Idobi | [32] |
Lincoln Journal Star | (B-) [33] |
Punknews.org | [34] |
Slant | [35] |
Spin | [36] |
The Washington Post | (favorable) [37] |
My Dinosaur Life was a critical success. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received a score of 79 from thirteen reviews. [38]
Scott Heisel of Alternative Press was effusive, writing "Motion City Soundtrack have made the best album of their career [...] the album is aggressive, dense and complex, yet still retains a strong sense of melody and never takes itself too seriously." [29] Entertainment Weekly writer Andy Greenwald praised the album's "soaring choruses," dubbing it a "winning fourth album." [31] Mikael Wood, in a pre-release review for Spin , felt the record "strikes a radio-ready balance between mayhem and melody." [36] The Washington Post 's Allison Stewart called the album "scruffy, peppy, [and] hopelessly likable" that evokes "punk-pop's halcyon." [37] The A.V. Club critic Kyle Ryan felt it "another in a series of impeccably constructed pop albums" by the group, noting, "There isn’t a dud among the album’s 12 tracks, and more than a few have a catchiness that borders on oppressive." [30] A reviewer for Revolver felt "the real standouts on the band's fourth full-length are the grittier, unexpected moments." [39]
Lincoln Journal Star journalist L. Kent Wolgamott stated that "My Dinosaur Life is full of complaints and clever cultural observations, insecurities and determination to move forward, a heap of modern confusion that is bound together by the catchy if repetitive music". [33] A reviewer- Billboard opined that "Motion City Soundtrack's smart-aleck tendencies combine nicely with a harder sound on "My Dinosaur Life," pushing the band back to its roots with enough twist to propel it in a new direction." [40] Matthew Cole of Slant Magazine felt the album best in small doses, praising what he felt were highlights and commenting, "With any luck, the band’s big-studio backing will find those winning tunes a home on the radio, as power-pop this well crafted surely deserves a little Top 40 success." [35] PopMatters' Jennifer Cooke considered the album's darkness is what "keeps Motion City Soundtrack interesting and worthy of more serious consideration than other bands of its ilk." [41]
Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
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Kerrang! | United Kingdom | 51 Greatest Pop Punk Albums Ever [42] | 2015 | 18 |
* denotes an unordered list
The album was referenced on the Impractical Jokers episode "Wrapper's Delight" (S5, Ep21).
All lyrics written by Justin Pierre; all music composed by Motion City Soundtrack.
Credits adapted from the My Dinosaur Life liner notes. [43]
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Chart (2010) | Peak position |
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Australian Albums (ARIA) [44] | 50 |
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard) [45] | 3 |
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard) [46] | 3 |
US Billboard 200 [47] | 15 |
Mark Allan Hoppus is an American musician and record producer. He is the co-lead vocalist, co-founder, and bassist for the rock band Blink-182 and the only member to appear on every album.
I Am the Movie is the debut studio album by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack, released on June 24, 2003, through Epitaph Records. The band had recorded several EPs prior to recording a full-length album, and their first attempts at doing so were unsuccessful.
Commit This to Memory is the second studio album by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by Mark Hoppus, the album was released on June 7, 2005, in the United States by Epitaph Records. The Minnesota-based rock act formed in 1997, developing their emotionally-charged, pop-punk sound over the interim years. Their debut LP, I Am the Movie, saw release on independent label Epitaph in 2003. It was followed with a heavy touring schedule, including stints on the Warped Tour and as the opening act for multi-platinum group Blink-182. Blink bassist Hoppus took a liking to the quintet, offering to produce their next studio effort.
Motion City Soundtrack is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. The band's line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre, lead guitarist Joshua Cain, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthew Taylor, and drummer Tony Thaxton. Over the course of their career, the group has toured heavily and released six studio albums, the majority on independent label Epitaph Records. The band's sound, usually described as pop-punk and/or emo, makes notable use of the Moog synthesizer. Pierre mainly handles the band's lyrics, which often touch on themes of anxiety, alienation, relationships, and self-destructive behavior.
Justin Courtney Pierre is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist originally from Mahtomedi, Minnesota. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack. He has also produced short films.
+44 was an American rock supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2005. The group consisted of vocalist and bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Travis Barker of Blink-182, lead guitarist Shane Gallagher of The Nervous Return, and rhythm guitarist Craig Fairbaugh of Mercy Killers. Hoppus and Barker created +44 shortly after the initial 2005 breakup of blink-182 and before it was later reformed. The band's name refers to the international dialing code of the United Kingdom, the country where the duo first discussed the project. Early recordings were largely electronic in nature, and featured vocals by Carol Heller, formerly of the all-girl punk quartet Get the Girl.
Joshua Allen Cain, is a guitarist and record producer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the co-founder and lead guitarist of American pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack. Cain is also a music producer with multiple past projects; comprising an EP for Epitaph-signed band Sing It Loud and two songs from Metro Station's debut album.
Even if It Kills Me is the third studio album by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by Ric Ocasek, Adam Schlesinger, and Eli Janney, the album was released on September 18, 2007, in the United States by Epitaph Records. Motion City Soundtrack, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, made a breakthrough with their second album, Commit This to Memory, garnering praise and independent buzz upon its 2005 release. Following the release, the band toured relentlessly over the next two years, during which time frontman Justin Pierre struggled with alcohol and substance abuse. These addictions were infused into the writing process of Even If Kills Me, which was recorded in early 2007 Stratosphere Studios in Chelsea and the legendary Electric Lady Studios in Greenwich Village.
The following is the discography of Motion City Soundtrack, an American rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. The band's line-up consisted of vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre, lead guitarist Joshua Cain, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthew Taylor, and drummer Tony Thaxton. Over the course of their nearly twenty-year career, the group toured heavily and released six studio albums, the majority on independent label Epitaph Records. The band's sound, at times described as pop punk or emo, made notable use of the Moog synthesizer.
Sing It Loud was an American pop rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Go is the fifth studio album by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by Ed Ackerson and the band themselves, the album was released on June 12, 2012, in the United States by Epitaph Records and the band's own label, The Boombox Generation. Previously, the group had released their major-label debut, My Dinosaur Life (2010) on Columbia; the band parted ways with the label due to the record's lackluster commercial response. Following this, the band returned to their home of Minneapolis, Minnesota, with producer and longtime friend Ackerson. The band entered a local studio and recorded their next effort on their own time and finances. The band recorded Go without a label, and put it upon themselves to pay for mixing and mastering and have conversations with distributors later.
Farewell Continental is an American rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 2008. The group is the side project of Motion City Soundtrack frontman, Justin Pierre. The group also features keyboardist and vocalist Kari Gray, guitarist Thomas Rehbein, bassist Jim Adolphson and Josh McKay. They have released two EPs and a full-length LP through Paper + Plastick Records.
"Everything Is Alright" is a song by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack, released in 2005 as the lead single from the group's second studio album, Commit This to Memory (2005). The song concerns neurotic, obsessive problems and social anxiety, and was written by frontman Justin Pierre. The song also contains backing vocals from Fall Out Boy frontman Patrick Stump. It was featured on both the soundtrack to MLB 06: The Show and the 2005 Bad News Bears remake.
"Her Words Destroyed My Planet" is a song by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack, released on December 1, 2009, as the second single from the group's fourth studio album, My Dinosaur Life (2010). The song's music video was released on January 7, 2010.
"Disappear" is a song by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack, released on October 19, 2009 as the lead single from the group's fourth studio album, My Dinosaur Life (2010). The song's music video was released on November 19, 2009.
"True Romance" is a song by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack, released on April 13, 2012 as the lead single from the group's fifth studio album, Go (2012). The song's music video was released on June 12, 2012.
This is the production discography by Mark Hoppus, an American musician and record producer. It includes a list of various guest appearances, songs produced, co-produced, written and remixed by year, artist, album and title. This does not include his work with his main projects, including Blink-182, +44, and Simple Creatures.
Panic Stations is the sixth studio album by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack. Produced by John Agnello, the album was released on September 18, 2015, by Epitaph Records. Following an extended touring cycle in which the group performed several past albums in full, Motion City Soundtrack lost one of its longest-serving members: drummer Tony Thaxton, who resigned from the group in 2013. The band continued to tour with new drummer Claudio Rivera over the ensuing year while writing new material for a sixth album.
In the Drink is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Justin Courtney Pierre. Produced by Joshua Cain, the album was released on October 12, 2018 in the United States by Epitaph Records. Pierre was previously known as the frontman of indie rock group Motion City Soundtrack, which formed in 1997 and released six albums, also mainly on Epitaph. After the band went on a break in 2016 and re-emerged in 2019, Pierre settled into family life and began developing In the Drink. It was recorded with his former bandmate Joshua Cain.
"L.G. Fuad" is a song by American rock band Motion City Soundtrack, released in 2006 as the third and final single from the group's second studio album, Commit This to Memory (2005).
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