StillNo1

Last updated
StillNo1
Slut - Still No. 1.jpg
Studio album by Slut
Released Flag of Germany.svg January 25, 2008
Recorded 2007, Berlin
Genre Alternative rock
Indie rock
Length44:20
Label Virgin Germany
Slut chronology
Songs aus Die Dreigroschenoper
(2006)Songs aus Die Dreigroschenoper2006
StillNo1
(2008)

StillNo1 is the seventh album by German indie rock band Slut. It was released on January 25, 2008.

Indie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US and Britpop bands in the UK broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, some indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.

Slut (band) German band

Slut is a German indie rock band from Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The band's lyrics are written and sung in English.

Contents

Production

The band recorded the album in Berlin in 2007. [1] It was their first "real" studio album after recording and releasing a number of songs from Bertolt Brecht's and Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera in 2006. The band described recording those songs as essential for the existence of StillNo1 as they incorporated many things they learned during their time performing at theaters. [2]

Bertolt Brecht German poet, playwright, theatre director

Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht, known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet.

Kurt Weill German composer

Kurt Julian Weill was a German Jewish composer, active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht. With Brecht, he developed productions such as his best-known work The Threepenny Opera, which included the ballad "Mack the Knife". Weill held the ideal of writing music that served a socially useful purpose. He also wrote several works for the concert hall. He became a United States citizen on August 27, 1943.

<i>The Threepenny Opera</i> 1928 musical play by Bertolt Brecht; provides a socialist critique of capitalism; adapted from John Gays 18th-century ballad opera The Beggars Opera with music by Kurt Weill and insertion ballads by François Villon and Rudyard Kipling

The Threepenny Opera is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, The Beggar's Opera, and four ballads by François Villon, with music by Kurt Weill. Although there is debate as to how much, if any, Hauptmann might have contributed to the text, Brecht is usually listed as sole author.

Cover art

The cover of the album is a version of a painting by Berlin artist Sigurd Wendland. [3] The band planned to find a cover art by visiting art galleries in Berlin Mitte while recording the album but found nothing there that they liked. They discovered Wendland's art by browsing through an arts catalogue afterwards and decided that Wendland's art fits their music style. [2] Wendland was supportive of the band and even asked them whether they would play at his vernissage at Lisbon. [2]

Mitte Borough of Berlin in Germany

Mitte is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding.

Vernissage

A vernissage is a term used for a preview of an art exhibition, which may be private, before the formal opening. If the vernissage is not open to the public, but only for invited guests, it is often called a private view.

Lisbon Capital city in Lisbon metropolitan area, Portugal

Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 505,526 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Its urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits with a population of around 2.8 million people, being the 11th-most populous urban area in the European Union. About 3 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. It is mainland Europe's westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean and the River Tagus. The westernmost areas of its metro area form the westernmost point of Continental Europe, which is known as Cabo da Roca, located in the Sintra Mountains.

Lead singer Chris Neuburger described it as great way to depict the music on StillNo1.

Some young people look at you, they seem to want something from you - but you have no idea, what it is.

Chris Neuburger, [3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Plattentest(9/10) [4]
World of Music(favorable) [5]

German music review site "Plattentest" gave it 9 out of 10 points and praised the album's departure from the loud, screaming songs on the band's previous 2004 studio album All We Need Is Silence . [6] The review also highlighted positively that the band diversified their usage of musical instruments, departing from their style of using mainly guitar sound which they established on Lookbook (2000) and compares the sound of the album to a variety of different artists, amongst them Radiohead, Depeche Mode, The Divine Comedy, Sigur Rós and The Beatles. [6]

Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke, brothers Jonny Greenwood and Colin Greenwood (bass), Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway. They have worked with producer Nigel Godrich and cover artist Stanley Donwood since 1994.

Depeche Mode English band

Depeche Mode are an English electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The group currently consists as a trio of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, and Andy Fletcher (keyboards).

The Divine Comedy (band) band from Northern Ireland

The Divine Comedy are a chamber pop band from Northern Ireland formed in 1989 and fronted by Neil Hannon. Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation except drums. To date, eleven studio albums have been released under the Divine Comedy name. The group achieved their greatest commercial success in the years 1996–99, during which they had nine singles that made the UK Top 40, including the top ten hit "National Express".

German music magazine "World of Music" also praised the album and named it their "CD of the month" in February 2008. [7]

Track list

All music composed by Slut.

No.TitleLength
1."Sum It Up"2:19
2."Come On"3:39
3."StillNo1"4:06
4."If I Had a Heart"3:55
5."Wednesday"3:28
6."Ariel"4:45
7."Odds and Ends"4:16
8."Better Living"4:01
9."Failed On You"5:33
10."Tomorrow Will Be Mine"4:01
11."Say Yes To Everything"6:17
12."Work Hard and Be Nice to People" (Saturn Special edition bonus track)4:20
13."Wednesday (feat. Dillon)" (Saturn Special edition bonus track)3:37
14."Time To Go Home" (Saturn Special edition bonus track)1:45

Lyrics

Unlike in previous albums, StillNo1 contains lyrics that are addressing a variety of political and sociological topics. Lead singer Chris Neuburger said in an interview that while the band previously had such thoughts, it was the first time they put them into musical form. [3] He went on to say that the music and titles were designed to "trick" the listener into expecting lyrics that fit the music in a romantic way but instead often contain elements of criticism of the current political and sociological system. [3]

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References

  1. Linder, Volker (16 April 2008). "Die stillen Jahre sind jetzt bald vorüber" (in German). Augsburger Allgemeine. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Witzke, Anja (24 April 2008). "Auf der Suche nach besonderen Orten" (in German). Donaukurier. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Schwarz, Markus (24 January 2008). "Die Platte ist uns irgendwie passiert" (in German). Donaukurier. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  4. Plattentest review
  5. World of Music review
  6. 1 2 Ding, Oliver. "Bilderbuchvorstellungen" (in German). plattentest.de. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  7. "Könige des Understatements" (in German). World of Music. February 2008.