Agony & Irony
Encyclopedia
Agony & Irony is the sixth studio album by Alkaline Trio
, released on July 1, 2008 on Epic Records
. Regarding this album, vocalist and guitarist Matt Skiba
stated that the band set out to record an "anthemic hard rock record."
A year prior to the album's release, "In Vein", was performed live at Warped Tour
2007, streamed on the band's official fan club on April 3 and was uploaded to the band's MySpace
site for 24 hours the following day.
On April 22 an EP with the same title was released on iTunes
. The EP featured two tracks which had already been heard by fans and a new song entitled 'Into The Night'.
The album's first single, "Help Me
", was released to radio stations on April 28, 2008. The second single has been confirmed to be "I Found Away". and a video was set to be shot in the fall of 2008. In March 2009, the band launched a contest for fans to remix "I Found Away" that will be included on an upcoming digital release titled Remix EP.
Norwegian
experimental
band Ulver
contributed strings, programming and vocals on "Lost & Rendered" and "In My Stomach."
cites that:
, Def Leppard
and a lot of the 80’s MTV music that I grew up with. So that was a big influence in the writing process, bands like The Cars
".
Alkaline Trio
Alkaline Trio is an American punk rock band that formed in McHenry, Illinois, in 1996. The band's line-up consists of Matt Skiba , Dan Andriano , and Derek Grant...
, released on July 1, 2008 on Epic Records
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
. Regarding this album, vocalist and guitarist Matt Skiba
Matt Skiba
Matthew Thomas Skiba is the lead singer and guitarist of Alkaline Trio.-Early life and family:...
stated that the band set out to record an "anthemic hard rock record."
A year prior to the album's release, "In Vein", was performed live at Warped Tour
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues such as parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected. The BMX/skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans, among others, has sponsored the tour every year since 1995, and it is...
2007, streamed on the band's official fan club on April 3 and was uploaded to the band's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
site for 24 hours the following day.
On April 22 an EP with the same title was released on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
. The EP featured two tracks which had already been heard by fans and a new song entitled 'Into The Night'.
The album's first single, "Help Me
Help Me (Alkaline Trio song)
"Help Me" is a song by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released as the first single from their 2008 album Agony & Irony. It became the highest-charting single of the band's career, reaching #14 on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks chart...
", was released to radio stations on April 28, 2008. The second single has been confirmed to be "I Found Away". and a video was set to be shot in the fall of 2008. In March 2009, the band launched a contest for fans to remix "I Found Away" that will be included on an upcoming digital release titled Remix EP.
Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
experimental
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
band Ulver
Ulver
Ulver is a musical group from Norway. Since their first, folklore-influenced black metal release entitled Bergtatt – Et eeventyr i 5 capitler , Ulver’s musical style has been fluid and increasingly eclectic, blending genres such as rock, electronica, symphonic and chamber traditions, noise and...
contributed strings, programming and vocals on "Lost & Rendered" and "In My Stomach."
Title
In an interview promoting the album, Matt SkibaMatt Skiba
Matthew Thomas Skiba is the lead singer and guitarist of Alkaline Trio.-Early life and family:...
cites that:
there’s a theme of duality on the record, it’s sort of a spin on ‘ebony and ivory’ which of course represents black and white. The songs on the new album sort of represent a struggle between good and evil, light and dark, and despair and hope. We felt Agony and Irony was appropriate, I mean we fancy ourselves as being pretty clever, and we felt a play on words was also fitting for the new record. It's also a lyric from 'Flagpole SittaFlagpole Sitta"Flagpole Sitta" is a song by American rock band Harvey Danger from their 1997 debut album, Where Have All the Merrymakers Gone?. It was released as a single in April 1998. The song gained popularity after Sean Nelson gave a copy of the album to a KNDD DJ. Shortly after this, it was picked up by...
' by Harvey Danger, so we thought we earn double points for that.
Influences
Regarding the record's sound and influences, Skiba states that he was "listening to a lot of Pat BenatarPat Benatar
Pat Benatar is an American singer and four-time Grammy winner. She had considerable commercial success particularly in the United States...
, Def Leppard
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
and a lot of the 80’s MTV music that I grew up with. So that was a big influence in the writing process, bands like The Cars
The Cars
The Cars are an American rock band that emerged from the early New Wave music scene in the late 1970s. The band consisted of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, lead singer and bassist Benjamin Orr, guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes and drummer David Robinson...
".
Track listing
All Tracks by Alkaline Trio- "Calling All Skeletons" – 3:19
- "Help MeHelp Me (Alkaline Trio song)"Help Me" is a song by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released as the first single from their 2008 album Agony & Irony. It became the highest-charting single of the band's career, reaching #14 on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks chart...
" – 3:44 - "In Vein" – 3:57
- "Over and Out" – 3:14
- "I Found Away" – 4:01
- "Do You Wanna Know?" – 3:36
- "Live Young, Die Fast" – 4:14
- "Love Love, Kiss KissLove Love, Kiss Kiss"Love Love, Kiss Kiss" is a song by the Chicago-based punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released as the second single from their 2008 album Agony & Irony. The single was released exclusively as a digital download through online retailers, using an acoustic version of the song rather than the electric...
" – 3:25 - "Lost and Rendered" – 3:23
- "Ruin It" – 3:36
- "Into the Night" – 3:23
Bonus Tracks
- "In My Stomach" – 3:53 (iTunesITunesiTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
Bonus Track) - "Love Love, Kiss Kiss (Acoustic)" – 3:08 (Australian Bonus Track)
- "Fire Down Below" – 3:43 (Japanese Bonus Track)
Deluxe Edition Bonus Disc
- "Burned Is the House" – 4:26
- "Maybe I'll Catch Fire (Acoustic)" – 3:04
- "Live Young, Die Fast (Acoustic)" – 3:19
- "Into the Night (Acoustic)" – 3:12
- "Over and Out (Acoustic)" – 2:47
- "Lost and Rendered (Acoustic)" – 3:13