Body of Song
Encyclopedia
Body of Song is the sixth solo album from punk
/indie
/alternative rock
veteran Bob Mould
(ex-Hüsker Dü
/Sugar). It is his first studio album under his own name since 2002's controversial Modulate.
playing bass and engineering, and Mould's 1998 tour band drummer Matt Hammon, at Barbe's Chase Park Transduction studio. After recording the initial version of the album, Mould decided to put the project aside temporarily.
After settling into a new home in Washington, DC and furthering his interest in club music by forming the monthly Blowoff event with friend and dance music artist Richard Morel
, Mould began writing new guitar-based material in 2004, often trying out new songs on audiences when giving solo vocal-and-guitar performances in clubs all over the United States. After reviving four of the recordings from the 2002 album sessions, Mould began writing and recording material in his home studio setup in his DC home, then went into DC's venerated Inner Ear Studio in March 2005 with Fugazi drummer/Garland Of Hours
multi-instrumentalist Brendan Canty
and Inner Ear's owner/engineer Don Zientara
(who worked on most of the Dischord Records
catalog, including Fugazi and Minor Threat
) and cut several new songs. Canty's occasional Fugazi collaborator and Garland Of Hours bandmate Amy Domingues was tapped to contribute cello to two songs on the album.
Body of Song contained much of the electronic influence of its predecessor Modulate, but Mould's trademark guitar work, which had been buried in the former album's mix, was brought back to the forefront. Mould's club music explorations also influenced two of Body of Songs tracks, "(Shine Your) Light Love Hope" and "I Am Vision, I Am Sound", and featured Mould treating his voice with a vocoder
-style digital effect (similar to what had been used on Cher
's voice on her song "Believe
").
Mould released Body of Song through a label other than directly through his own Granary Music
imprint for the first time since leaving Rykodisc
after the release of The Last Dog and Pony Show
, signing a deal with Chapel Hill, NC-based independent label Yep Roc Records
to distribute the album.
Body of Song began garnering much positive press attention in the weeks leading up to the release. An advance digital single release on iTunes of the song "Paralyzed" became an immediate hit, and a specially packaged limited edition version sold out most of its pressing through direct advance orders (shipped to customers two weeks prior to the street date) from Yep Roc's web site (the remaining stock was saved for brick-and-mortar retail sale).
In conjunction with the release of the album, Mould formed his first live touring band since 1998, with Canty on drums, Morel on keyboards and vocals, and Jason Narducy (Rockets Over Sweden, ex-Verbow
) on bass, ending a "semi-retirement" from full-band performance.
From the bonus disc (only available on the deluxe edition)
All songs written by Bob Mould and (c)(p)2005 Granary Music (BMI
).
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
/indie
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
/alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
veteran Bob Mould
Bob Mould
Robert Arthur "Bob" Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.-Early life:...
(ex-Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
/Sugar). It is his first studio album under his own name since 2002's controversial Modulate.
Album history
Originally meant to be a semi-acoustic record as part of an informal trilogy that included Modulate and the electronic dance album Long Playing Grooves (recorded under the pseudonym Loudbomb), the project was initially recorded in Athens, GA with former Sugar bassist David BarbeDavid Barbe
David Barbe is an American musician and producer/engineer from Athens, Georgia and director of the Music Business Certificate Program at the University of Georgia. He is chief of Chase Park Transduction studio in Athens...
playing bass and engineering, and Mould's 1998 tour band drummer Matt Hammon, at Barbe's Chase Park Transduction studio. After recording the initial version of the album, Mould decided to put the project aside temporarily.
After settling into a new home in Washington, DC and furthering his interest in club music by forming the monthly Blowoff event with friend and dance music artist Richard Morel
Richard Morel
Richard Morel is an American singer-songwriter, DJ, remixer and record producer from the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. He has worked extensively with Washington D.C.-based duo Deep Dish, co-writing, co-producing, performing and singing on many of their tracks, most notably on their albums Junk...
, Mould began writing new guitar-based material in 2004, often trying out new songs on audiences when giving solo vocal-and-guitar performances in clubs all over the United States. After reviving four of the recordings from the 2002 album sessions, Mould began writing and recording material in his home studio setup in his DC home, then went into DC's venerated Inner Ear Studio in March 2005 with Fugazi drummer/Garland Of Hours
Garland Of Hours
Garland of Hours is a musical group based in Washington DC, and led by cellist/pianist Amy Domingues.-Band history:After playing bass in punk rock bands in university, Domingues moved to Arlington, VA where she became one half of the instrumental duo Telegraph Melts along with guitarist Bob Massey...
multi-instrumentalist Brendan Canty
Brendan Canty
Brendan Canty is an American musician, composer, producer and film maker, best known as the drummer for the band Fugazi....
and Inner Ear's owner/engineer Don Zientara
Don Zientara
Don Zientara is an American record producer and musician. He owns and runs Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, located just outside of Washington D.C., and is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Minor Threat and various other Dischord Records artists.-Production...
(who worked on most of the Dischord Records
Dischord Records
Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in the independent punk music of the D.C.-area music scene. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release Minor Disturbance by The Teen Idles...
catalog, including Fugazi and Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
) and cut several new songs. Canty's occasional Fugazi collaborator and Garland Of Hours bandmate Amy Domingues was tapped to contribute cello to two songs on the album.
Body of Song contained much of the electronic influence of its predecessor Modulate, but Mould's trademark guitar work, which had been buried in the former album's mix, was brought back to the forefront. Mould's club music explorations also influenced two of Body of Songs tracks, "(Shine Your) Light Love Hope" and "I Am Vision, I Am Sound", and featured Mould treating his voice with a vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
-style digital effect (similar to what had been used on Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
's voice on her song "Believe
Believe (Cher song)
"Believe" is a song by American recording artist Cher. It was released on November 24, 1998 as the lead single from her twenty-third studio album of the same name. It was written by Brian Higgins, Stuart McLennen, Paul Barry, Steven Torch, Matthew Gray, and Timothy Powell and produced by Mark...
").
Mould released Body of Song through a label other than directly through his own Granary Music
Granary Music
Granary Music is the independent record label and publishing company operated by Alternative/punk/indie icon Bob Mould, formerly of Hüsker Dü and Sugar....
imprint for the first time since leaving Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
after the release of The Last Dog and Pony Show
The Last Dog and Pony Show
The Last Dog and Pony Show was the fourth solo album by former Hüsker Dü and Sugar vocalist Bob Mould. He wrote all 12 tracks on the album. The title refers to the fact that Mould planned to cease touring with a full electric band after supporting the album...
, signing a deal with Chapel Hill, NC-based independent label Yep Roc Records
Yep Roc Records
Yep Roc Records is an independent International record label based in Haw River, North Carolina and owned by Redeye Distribution . The label has put out albums by artists like The Go-Betweens, The Fleshtones, Gang of Four, The Reverend Horton Heat, and The Minus 5, as well as the work of important...
to distribute the album.
Body of Song began garnering much positive press attention in the weeks leading up to the release. An advance digital single release on iTunes of the song "Paralyzed" became an immediate hit, and a specially packaged limited edition version sold out most of its pressing through direct advance orders (shipped to customers two weeks prior to the street date) from Yep Roc's web site (the remaining stock was saved for brick-and-mortar retail sale).
In conjunction with the release of the album, Mould formed his first live touring band since 1998, with Canty on drums, Morel on keyboards and vocals, and Jason Narducy (Rockets Over Sweden, ex-Verbow
Verbow
Verbow was an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago and active between the mid-1990s and early 2000s. The band's sound was distinguished by emotionally-direct songwriting and their unconventional use of cello.-Early period: Jason & Alison:...
) on bass, ending a "semi-retirement" from full-band performance.
Track listing
- ""Circles"" – 3:56
- "(Shine Your) Light Love Hope" – 3:58
- "Paralyzed" – 3:54
- "I Am Vision, I Am Sound" – 3:49
- "Underneath Days" – 4:33
- "Always Tomorrow" – 3:59
- "Days of Rain" – 5:05
- "Best Thing" – 2:51
- "High Fidelity" – 3:48
- "Missing You" – 2:50
- "Gauze of Friendship" – 5:30
- "Beating Heart the Prize" – 6:31
From the bonus disc (only available on the deluxe edition)
- "Castor and Pollux" – 5:25
- "Surveyors and Cranes" – 3:16
- "Love Escalator" – 5:03
- "Lowdown Ground" – 3:13
- "My Old Friend" – 4:06
- "Nihil" – 4:31
- "(Shine Your) Light Love Hope" (Morel's Pink Noise Mix) – 7:19
- "(Shine Your) Light Love Hope" (Morel's Pink Noise Dub) – 7:34
- "Paralyzed" (LoudBomb Club Mix) – 8:00
All songs written by Bob Mould and (c)(p)2005 Granary Music (BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
).
Musical personnel
- Bob MouldBob MouldRobert Arthur "Bob" Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.-Early life:...
- guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards, loops - Brendan CantyBrendan CantyBrendan Canty is an American musician, composer, producer and film maker, best known as the drummer for the band Fugazi....
- drums (tracks 2-8, 12) - Matt Hammon - drums (tracks 1, 9-11)
- David BarbeDavid BarbeDavid Barbe is an American musician and producer/engineer from Athens, Georgia and director of the Music Business Certificate Program at the University of Georgia. He is chief of Chase Park Transduction studio in Athens...
- bass (tracks 9, 11) - Amy Domingues - cello (tracks 7, 11)
Recording personnel
- Bob MouldBob MouldRobert Arthur "Bob" Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.-Early life:...
- producer, mixer, engineer (Granary NYC and DC), songwriter, composer - Don ZientaraDon ZientaraDon Zientara is an American record producer and musician. He owns and runs Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia, located just outside of Washington D.C., and is most widely known for his production work with Fugazi, Minor Threat and various other Dischord Records artists.-Production...
- engineer (Inner Ear) - David BarbeDavid BarbeDavid Barbe is an American musician and producer/engineer from Athens, Georgia and director of the Music Business Certificate Program at the University of Georgia. He is chief of Chase Park Transduction studio in Athens...
- engineer (Chase Park) - Frank Marchand - engineer (Waterford Digital)
- Steve Fallone - masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
(Sterling Sound, New York City)