Stutter (Elastica song)

Last updated
"Stutter"
Stutter.jpg
Single by Elastica
from the album Elastica
B-side "Pussycat"
ReleasedNovember 1, 1993 (UK)
September 20, 1994 (US)
RecordedJune 1993
Genre
Length2:21
Label Deceptive
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Elastica
Elastica singles chronology
"Stutter"
(1993)		"Line Up"
(1994)
Audio sample

"Stutter" is the debut single by the Britpop group Elastica and was written by lead singer Justine Frischmann. It was originally released as a single in the UK in November 1993 and in the US in September 1994. [3] The song was later included on the band's 1995 self-titled debut album. The single, which received positive reviews from critics, charted in the US and Canada.

Contents

Background

"Stutter" was written by Elastica's lead singer, Justine Frischmann. [4] The song is a little over two minutes long and contains just two verses and two choruses because Frischmann thought that any more would be unnecessary. [5] The lyrics are about "the occasional problem of drunken male impotence." [6]

Release

"Stutter" was first released in November 1993 for the independent Deceptive label. It was released initially as a 7" only and sold out within one day. [7] Although it was a limited edition of only 1,500 pressings, the single generated enormous media exposure for the band: based solely on the strength of it, Elastica was voted Best New Band in the year's-end Readers Poll in Melody Maker . [8] To avoid overexposure, the song was deliberately not worked into North American radio until later in 1995, after which it charted in both the US and Canada. [4] [9] [10]

"Stutter" was included as the 14th track on Elastica's 1995 self-titled debut album, and it was also included on the 2002 20th Century Masters collection, Best of Brit Pop. [11] [5]

Critical reception

The song received positive reviews from music critics. [12] Spin wrote that "[The single] Stutter delivers four brilliant pop songs". [13] In a review of the band’s self-titled album, Douglas Wolk of CMJ New Music Monthly wrote: "Elastica's best moments are all on its own, especially the astonishing single 'Stutter'". [14]

Writing for Billboard , Larry Flick included "Stutter" in his Critic's Choice list, writing: "It may be a stretch, but this indie quartet is best described as a better-natured Hole. Both acts feature sassy fronting females, impatient melodies, and gritty guitar riffs. The energetic tone here, however, is uplifting-not brooding. Equally interesting is the flip side, 'Pussycat'." [15] In 2012, NME ranked the song at number 53 in its list of the "100 Best Tracks of the Nineties". [16]

Chart performance

The single peaked at No. 80 in the UK in November 1993. [17] In the US, "Stutter" stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for nine weeks, peaking at No. 67 on August 26, 1995. It also went to No. 10 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart on August 12. [4] In Canada, the song peaked at No. 4 on the Alternative chart on August 14. [10]

Music video

The song's music video, which was directed by David Mould, was filmed in San Francisco, California and aired regularly on MTV in 1995. [5] [18] It features the band members playfully meandering from Grant Avenue in Chinatown to the Broadway stretch of strip clubs and other adult businesses.

Track list

UK 7"

  1. "Stutter"
  2. "Pussycat"

US CD single [19]

  1. "Stutter"
  2. "Rockunroll" (Peel Session)
  3. "2:1" (Evening Session)
  4. "Annie" (Peel Session)

Charts

Chart (1993)Peak
position
UK Singles Chart [17] 80
Chart (1995)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [4] 67
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [20] 10
Canadian Alternative Rock [10] 4

Related Research Articles

Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the UK's own shoegaze music scene. The movement brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the backbone of a larger British popular cultural movement, Cool Britannia, which evoked the Swinging Sixties and the British guitar pop of that decade.

<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, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. 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".

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

Suede are an English rock band formed in London in 1989 by singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Justine Frischmann, and bass player Mat Osman. Drawing inspiration from glam rock and post-punk, Suede were dubbed "The Best New Band in Britain" by Melody Maker in 1992, and attracted much attention from the British music press. The following year their debut album Suede went to the top of the UK Albums Chart, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in almost ten years. It won the Mercury Music Prize and helped foster 'Britpop' as a musical movement, though the band distanced themselves from the term.

<i>Blur</i> (Blur album) 1997 studio album by Blur

Blur is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 10 February 1997 by Food Records. Blur had previously been broadly critical of American popular culture and their previous albums had become associated with the Britpop movement, particularly Parklife, which had helped them become one of Britain's leading pop acts. After their previous album, The Great Escape, the band faced media backlash and relationships between the members became strained.

<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.

Sleeper are an English rock band formed in London in 1992. The group had eight UK Top 40 hit singles and three UK Top 10 albums during the 1990s. Their music was also featured in the soundtrack of the pop cultural hit movie Trainspotting. The band split up in 1998, but reunited in 2017.

<i>Elastica</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Elastica

Elastica is the debut studio album by English alternative rock band Elastica. It was released on 14 March, 1995 through Deceptive Records in the UK and DCG/Geffen Records internationally. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. This is the only album to feature the original line-up, and guitarist Donna Matthews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justine Frischmann</span> English musician

Justine Elinor Frischmann is an English artist and retired musician. She was the lead singer of the Britpop band Elastica after forming Suede, before retiring from the music industry and pursuing a career as a painter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connection (Elastica song)</span> 1994 single by Elastica

"Connection" is a song by Britpop group Elastica. It was originally released on 10 October 1994 as a single and included on their self-titled debut album in 1995. The song debuted and peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and became one of the few Britpop songs to gain popularity in North America, reaching number 53 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number two on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and number nine on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tender (song)</span> 1999 single by Blur

"Tender" is a song by English rock band Blur from their sixth studio album, 13 (1999). Written by the four band members about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's breakup with musician turned painter Justine Frischmann, the song became Blur's eleventh top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number two on 28 February 1999. It also reached the top 20 in Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common People</span> 1995 single by Pulp

"Common People" is a song by English alternative rock band Pulp, released in May 1995 as the lead single from their fifth studio album Different Class. It reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming a defining track of the Britpop movement as well as Pulp's signature song. In 2014, BBC Radio 6 Music listeners voted it their favourite Britpop song in an online poll. In a 2015 Rolling Stone readers' poll it was voted the greatest Britpop song.

Justin Steven Welch is an English musician, best known as the drummer in Elastica, Suede, and later the drummer in Lush.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elastica</span> British rock band

Elastica were an English rock band formed in London in 1992 by ex-Suede members Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch. The band was stylistically influenced by punk rock, post-punk and new wave music. The band's members changed several times, with Frischmann and Welch being the only members who remained in Elastica from its formation to its dissolution.

Donna Lorraine Matthews is a Welsh musician who was the lead guitarist of the Britpop band Elastica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girls & Boys (Blur song)</span> 1994 single by Blur

"Girls & Boys" is a song by British rock band Blur, released in March 1994 as the lead single from the group's third album, Parklife (1994). Charting at number five on the UK Singles Chart, "Girls & Boys" was Blur's first top 5 hit and their most successful single until "Country House" reached number one the following year. The single surpassed their previous commercial peak "There's No Other Way" by three spots on the UK Singles Chart, and saw the group achieve greater worldwide success. In the US, the track reached number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming the band's second single to hit the chart after "There's No Other Way". It also reached number four on the Billboard Modern Rock songs chart.

<i>The Menace</i> (album) 2000 studio album by Elastica

The Menace is the second and final studio album by English rock band Elastica, released in the UK via Deceptive Records on April 3, 2000, and internationally on August 22, 2000 through Atlantic Records.

<i>The Radio One Sessions</i> (Elastica album) 2001 compilation album by Elastica

The Radio One Sessions is a compilation of BBC Radio One sessions recorded by Britpop group Elastica. The album is notable for the appearance of several songs not included on any other Elastica release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suede discography</span> Discography of the English alternative rock band

The discography of the English alternative rock band Suede consists of nine studio albums, four compilation albums, five video albums and over twenty singles. Suede were formed in 1989 by singer Brett Anderson, bassist Mat Osman and guitarist Justine Frischmann. Guitarist Bernard Butler later joined after the group responded to an ad in the Melody Maker. The group played as a four-piece with a drum machine until drummer Simon Gilbert joined. Frischmann left before the group released any material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waking Up (song)</span> 1995 single by Elastica

"Waking Up" is a song by the Britpop group Elastica. It was released as a single in February 1995 and reached #13 on the UK Singles Chart. It preceded the release of their self-titled debut album, which came out the following month.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Car Song (Elastica song)</span> 1996 single by Elastica

"Car Song" is a song by the Britpop group Elastica. It was originally released in 1995 on the band's self-titled debut album. It was released as a single in North America and Australia in January 1996 but was never issued in the UK.

References

  1. 1 2 Stiernberg, Bonnie (11 June 2014). "The 50 Best Britpop Songs". Paste . Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Elastica | Biography & History". AllMusic . Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  3. ↑ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1995-05-20). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc.{{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Stutter - Elastica". billboard.com. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Bennett, Andy and Stratton, Jon. Britpop and the English Music Tradition (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2010), pp. 60-61.
  6. ↑ Harris, John (2004). Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. p. 95. ISBN   978-0306813672.
  7. ↑ Buckley, Peter, ed. (2003). The Rough Guide to Rock. London, England: Rough Guides. p. 332. ISBN   978-1843531050.
  8. ↑ True, Everett (8 October 1994). "Elastica: From Hype To Eternity" . Melody Maker . Retrieved 17 March 2019– via Rock's Backpages.
  9. ↑ Borzillo, Carrie (20 May 1995). "Elastica's DGC Set Connects With Fans". Billboard . Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries. p. 42.
  10. 1 2 3 "Results". collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  11. ↑ "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: Best of Brit Pop - Various Artists". Allmusic . Los Angeles, California: Rovi Corporation . Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  12. ↑ Strong, Martin Charles (2003). The Great Indie Discography. New York City: Grove Atlantic. ISBN   978-1841953359.
  13. ↑ "Picks". Spin . San Francisco, California: SpinMedia. April 1995. p. 146.
  14. ↑ Malk, Douglas (April 1995). "Best New Music". CMJ New Music Monthly . New York City: CMJ Holdings Corp. p. 13.
  15. ↑ Flick, Larry (24 September 1994). "Single Reviews" (PDF). Billboard . Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries . Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  16. ↑ Breihan, Tom (16 May 2012). "NME's 100 Best Tracks of the Nineties". NME . London, England: TI Media . Retrieved 31 December 2016.
  17. 1 2 "13 November 1993 (from ukmix.org The 76-100 pos. UK-Charts-Thread, page 9)". Imgur.com. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  18. ↑ Walters, Barry (24 August 1995). "Elastica is Bent on U.S. Success". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Gannett Company . Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  19. ↑ "Stutter/Rockunroll - Elastica". allmusic.com. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  20. ↑ "Elastica Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.