The song received a large amount of airplay on BBC Radio 1's Evening Session show. The show's host, DJ Steve Lamacq, described the song as the “best of the decade” and “the most perfect pop song ever”.[citation needed] The song was used in a commercial for Guinness.
“The First Big Weekend” is, for the most part, a monologue spoken by Aidan Moffat while bandmate Malcolm Middleton plays guitar and a drum machine accompanies. The lyrics revolve around the events of a weekend in Glasgow and Falkirk, including going out to clubs and bars, watching international football and The Simpsons and trying to pick up girls. Towards the end of the song Middleton sings the lines "Went out for the weekend, it lasted forever/got high with our friends, it's officially summer"; these are the only sung words in the song.
Fans have worked out that the titular weekend must have started on Thursday 13 June 1996 and the game where "England had won 2-0" refers to the England v Scotland match at Euro 1996. [2]
The song was placed at #187 on Pitchfork’s “Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s” list in 2010. [3]
A rework of the song was released in 2016 to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The rework was produced by Miaoux Miaoux.
Track listing
Songs and lyrics by Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton.
Chemikal Underground is an independent record label set up in 1994 at Glasgow, Scotland by rock band The Delgados. It was set up to release their first single, "Monica Webster" / "Brand New Car" and went on to break many new Scottish bands in the nineties.
Arab Strap are a Scottish indie rock band whose core members are Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton. The band were signed to independent record label Chemikal Underground, split in 2006 and reformed in 2016. The band signed to Rock Action Records in 2020.
The Boy with the Arab Strap is the third studio album by Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian, released in 1998 through Jeepster Records.
Malcolm Bruce Middleton (born 31 December 1973) is a Scottish musician and member of indie band Arab Strap. He has also released seven solo studio albums and three albums performing under the pseudonym Human Don't Be Angry.
Mogwai Young Team is the debut studio album by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. Produced by Paul Savage and Andy Miller, the album was released on 21 October 1997 through the Chemikal Underground record label.
Philophobia is the second studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap. It was released on 20 April 1998 on Chemikal Underground.
The Week Never Starts Round Here is the debut studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap. It was released on 25 November 1996 on Chemikal Underground. The album was reissued in 2010, with a bonus CD which includes the band's first session for John Peel, from March 1997 with guest appearances from Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch and Chris Geddes, and their first ever live gig, at King Tut's in Glasgow in October 1996, as recorded live for Peel's show.
"R U Still in 2 It" is a song by Scottish post-rock band Mogwai from their 1997 debut studio album, Young Team.
The Last Romance is the sixth studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap, released on 17 October 2005 on Chemikal Underground.
Monday at the Hug & Pint is the fifth studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap. It was released in Europe on 21 April 2003 by Chemikal Underground and in the United States a day later by Matador Records. The album features appearances from Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes and Barry Burns of Mogwai, among others.
Elephant Shoe is the third studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap, released on 13 September 1999 by Go! Beat.
The Red Thread is the fourth studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap, released on 26 February 2001 by Chemikal Underground.
Mad for Sadness is a live album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap, released on 3 May 1999 by Go! Beat.
Aidan John Moffat is a Scottish vocalist and musician, and member of the band Arab Strap.
5:14 Fluoxytine Seagull Alcohol John Nicotine is the debut solo album by Scottish singer-songwriter Malcolm Middleton, released on 26 September 2002 on Chemikal Underground.
Into The Woods is the second studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter, Malcolm Middleton, released on 13 June 2005 on Chemikal Underground.
A Brighter Beat is the third studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter, Malcolm Middleton, released on 25 February 2007 on Full Time Hobby. The album is the first Middleton solo release since Arab Strap's split in 2006.
"There Is No Ending" is a song by Scottish post-folk indie band Arab Strap. It was first released on Arab Strap's 2006 album, The Last Romance, and later as a 7" single limited to 1000 copies, both released in 2006 on Chemikal Underground.
State Hospital is an EP by Scottish indie rock band Frightened Rabbit, released on 24 September 2012 on Atlantic Records. Produced by both Leo Abrahams and the band itself, the EP includes the single, "State Hospital", alongside four tracks written and recorded in contention for the band's fourth studio album, Pedestrian Verse.
As Days Get Dark is the seventh studio album by Scottish indie rock band Arab Strap, released on 15 March 2021 on Rock Action.
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