Even If It Kills Me
Encyclopedia
Even if It Kills Me is the third studio album
by American
pop punk
band Motion City Soundtrack
, released on September 18, 2007. The album was a follow up to their 2005 album, Commit This to Memory
and was co-produced by Adam Schlesinger
of Fountains of Wayne
and Eli Janney
of Girls Against Boys
, with part of the record also being produced by Ric Ocasek
of The Cars
. It peaked at number one on the Independent Albums
charts and at number 16 on the Billboard 200
chart, selling around 33,000 albums in its first week.
. The first, "Broken Heart
", was released three months prior to the album as a digital download
on June 26, 2007. "This Is for Real" was released as the second single on August 7, 2007 in the US and on September 3 in the UK. It was released digitally, on CD and on limited edition 7" vinyl, and included three different b-sides; "Not Asking You to Leave", an acoustic version of "Broken Heart" (featuring Korin Louise Cox of The Hard Lessons
) and a cover of the Lifter Puller
song "Plymouth Rock". The band shot a video for "This Is for Real" in Southern California in August 2007, which premiered on mtvU.com on September 10. The third single "It Had to Be You" was released in early 2008, with a stop motion
music video accompanying it.
Guest vocals on the album include Max Bemis
of Say Anything
, Rachel Minton
of Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer and Shawn Harris of The Matches
.
, indicating generally favorable reviews from six critics. Spin
endorsed the album, saying "Motion City have deftly filled that space between emotional adolescence and responsible adulthood with this set of near-perfect pop." The New York Times
reviewer Kelefa Sanneh commended the record, "Together they made an album that sounds like one long sugar rush, and so long as the rush lasts, it sounds pretty great." He praised singer Justin Pierre; who he says "never sounds better than when he’s rushing from an overwritten verse into a perfectly simple refrain." Allmusic's Andrew Leahey also praised Pierre, saying he "is the star of this album". Leahey said the departure of Blink-182
from the fray could have prompted Motion City Soundtrack to become "the genre's new torchbearers". He went on to state that the band's "dedication to the pop genre... with roots in something harder" is a trait that could also be attributed to The Cars
, of which one of the album's producers Ric Ocasek, was the frontman. He declared the band's choice to use three producers avoided "that nebulous point on Memory
and I Am the Movie
where the albums' final tracks begin to suffer from being so similar to their predecessors... There's no lull here, just fast-paced fun". However, entangled with the positivity, Leahey did observe the album's tendency to "consciously aim for commercial acceptance, but rarely at the expense of the quirks and literate lyrics that first endeared Motion City Soundtrack to its fans."
Alternative Press gave the album 3/5 and was dismayed by it being too much of the same, saying "Much of the disc is business as usual." Andy Greenwald of Blender
rated the album 3/5 also, "Every generation needs a Weezer... and Motion City Soundtrack is the Weezer of emo." He was indifferent when it came to scrutinising Pierre, saying he "is a savvy melodic songwriter and, refreshingly, he’s completely incapable of taking himself seriously," noting an unusual lyric from the "bouncy standout 'It Had to Be You.'" Popmatters
reviewer Colin McGuire alluded numerous times to the simplicity the band exhibits that makes them appealing; "it’s their honestly simple lyrics that make Minneapolis’s most interesting five-piece so attractive," and "It’s no secret that it’s MCS’s inconsolably simplistic wit that has made them cult heroes." He rated the album 6/10; summing up in saying the "album has proven its loyalty to the sound that gained Motion City Soundtrack it’s legion of fans—colorful pop-punk led by a guy with tremendous hair singing about his heart being broken."
Additional musicians
Production
Design
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band Motion City Soundtrack
Motion City Soundtrack
Motion City Soundtrack is an American rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota, formed in 1997. The band consists of founding members Justin Pierre and Joshua Cain , along with keyboardist and moog synthesist Jesse Johnson, bassist and backing vocalist Matthew Taylor, and drummer, percussionist and...
, released on September 18, 2007. The album was a follow up to their 2005 album, Commit This to Memory
Commit This to Memory
-Re-issue:The band released a deluxe edition of the album in mid-2006. The new version featured a bonus track originally featured on the Japanese edition and a bonus DVD featuring previously unreleased material, including a Documentary directed by and a live performance from the 7th Street Entry...
and was co-produced by Adam Schlesinger
Adam Schlesinger
Adam Schlesinger is an American songwriter, composer and record producer. He has been nominated for Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy , and Golden Globe Awards. He is also a winner of the ASCAP Pop Music Award....
of Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne
Fountains of Wayne is an American power pop band that formed in New York City in 1996. The band consists of members Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter and Brian Young.-Early years:...
and Eli Janney
Eli Janney
Eli Janney is an American record producer and engineer born in Washington, D.C.. Janney also plays bass and keyboards, as well as singing backing vocals in indie rock/post-hardcore band Girls Against Boys.-Biography:...
of Girls Against Boys
Girls Against Boys
Girls Against Boys are an indie rock/post-hardcore band, originally forming in Washington, D.C. in 1988 and currently based in New York City.-Career:...
, with part of the record also being produced by Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek
Ric Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....
of 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...
. It peaked at number one on the Independent Albums
Independent Albums
The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...
charts and at number 16 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling around 33,000 albums in its first week.
Singles and promotion
Three songs from Even if It Kills Me were released as singlesSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
. The first, "Broken Heart
Broken Heart (Motion City Soundtrack song)
"Broken Heart" is the first single from Motion City Soundtrack's 2007 album Even If It Kills Me. It was released on June 26, 2007 through most digital outlets. It was also released physically and exclusively in Japan on July 18, 2007...
", was released three months prior to the album as a digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
on June 26, 2007. "This Is for Real" was released as the second single on August 7, 2007 in the US and on September 3 in the UK. It was released digitally, on CD and on limited edition 7" vinyl, and included three different b-sides; "Not Asking You to Leave", an acoustic version of "Broken Heart" (featuring Korin Louise Cox of The Hard Lessons
The Hard Lessons
The Hard Lessons are a rock band from Detroit, Michigan, known for their high-energy live appearances and innovative sound. The band has toured extensively in the United States and Europe...
) and a cover of the Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller
Lifter Puller, or LFTR PLLR, was an American indie rock band from the Twin Cities and the Boston area between 1994 and 2000. Their music is considered innovative, with its angular riffs and a synth-infused sound that predated the 80's revival fads of the early 2000s...
song "Plymouth Rock". The band shot a video for "This Is for Real" in Southern California in August 2007, which premiered on mtvU.com on September 10. The third single "It Had to Be You" was released in early 2008, with a stop motion
Stop motion
Stop motion is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence...
music video accompanying it.
Guest vocals on the album include Max Bemis
Max Bemis
Max Bemis is the lead singer and primary lyricist of the band Say Anything. He is also co singer along side Chris Conley of the supergroup Two Tongues, which features members from Say Anything and Saves the Day.-The Early Years:...
of Say Anything
Say Anything (band)
Say Anything is an American indie-punk band from Los Angeles, California, fronted by Max Bemis. The band was formed in 2000 with Bemis and four of his friends. Within two years, they self-released two EPs, Junior Varsity and In Your Dreams, and the full-length Baseball: An Album by Sayanything.In...
, Rachel Minton
Rachel Minton
Rachel Minton is lead vocalist and keyboardist for the Independent music/pop rock/power pop band Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer....
of Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer and Shawn Harris of The Matches
The Matches
The Matches are a United States-based band formed in 1997 in Oakland, California. It currently is composed of vocalist and rhythm guitarist Shawn Harris, lead guitarist and backup vocalist Jonathan Devoto, bassist and backup vocalist Dylan Rowe, and drummer Matt Whalen...
.
Reception
Even if It Kills Me received a metascore of 68 on aggregrator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, indicating generally favorable reviews from six critics. Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
endorsed the album, saying "Motion City have deftly filled that space between emotional adolescence and responsible adulthood with this set of near-perfect pop." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer Kelefa Sanneh commended the record, "Together they made an album that sounds like one long sugar rush, and so long as the rush lasts, it sounds pretty great." He praised singer Justin Pierre; who he says "never sounds better than when he’s rushing from an overwritten verse into a perfectly simple refrain." Allmusic's Andrew Leahey also praised Pierre, saying he "is the star of this album". Leahey said the departure of Blink-182
Blink-182
Blink-182 is an American rock band consisting of vocalist and bass guitarist Mark Hoppus, vocalist and guitarist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. They have sold over 27 million albums worldwide since forming in Poway, California in 1992...
from the fray could have prompted Motion City Soundtrack to become "the genre's new torchbearers". He went on to state that the band's "dedication to the pop genre... with roots in something harder" is a trait that could also be attributed to 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...
, of which one of the album's producers Ric Ocasek, was the frontman. He declared the band's choice to use three producers avoided "that nebulous point on Memory
Commit This to Memory
-Re-issue:The band released a deluxe edition of the album in mid-2006. The new version featured a bonus track originally featured on the Japanese edition and a bonus DVD featuring previously unreleased material, including a Documentary directed by and a live performance from the 7th Street Entry...
and I Am the Movie
I Am the Movie
I Am the Movie is the first full-length album of American power pop band Motion City Soundtrack. It was released independently in 2002, and was remastered and re-released with four new tracks by Epitaph Records in June 2003.-Unsigned release:...
where the albums' final tracks begin to suffer from being so similar to their predecessors... There's no lull here, just fast-paced fun". However, entangled with the positivity, Leahey did observe the album's tendency to "consciously aim for commercial acceptance, but rarely at the expense of the quirks and literate lyrics that first endeared Motion City Soundtrack to its fans."
Alternative Press gave the album 3/5 and was dismayed by it being too much of the same, saying "Much of the disc is business as usual." Andy Greenwald of Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
rated the album 3/5 also, "Every generation needs a Weezer... and Motion City Soundtrack is the Weezer of emo." He was indifferent when it came to scrutinising Pierre, saying he "is a savvy melodic songwriter and, refreshingly, he’s completely incapable of taking himself seriously," noting an unusual lyric from the "bouncy standout 'It Had to Be You.'" Popmatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
reviewer Colin McGuire alluded numerous times to the simplicity the band exhibits that makes them appealing; "it’s their honestly simple lyrics that make Minneapolis’s most interesting five-piece so attractive," and "It’s no secret that it’s MCS’s inconsolably simplistic wit that has made them cult heroes." He rated the album 6/10; summing up in saying the "album has proven its loyalty to the sound that gained Motion City Soundtrack it’s legion of fans—colorful pop-punk led by a guy with tremendous hair singing about his heart being broken."
Track listing
- Tracks 1, 3, 6, 9, 10-12 produced by Adam SchlesingerAdam SchlesingerAdam Schlesinger is an American songwriter, composer and record producer. He has been nominated for Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy , and Golden Globe Awards. He is also a winner of the ASCAP Pop Music Award....
& Eli JanneyEli JanneyEli Janney is an American record producer and engineer born in Washington, D.C.. Janney also plays bass and keyboards, as well as singing backing vocals in indie rock/post-hardcore band Girls Against Boys.-Biography:...
. - Tracks 2, 4, 5, 8 and 13 produced by Ric OcasekRic OcasekRic Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....
. - Some copies of the album incorrectly read "Fell In Love Without You" as "Fell In Love With You".
Personnel
Band- Justin PierreJustin PierreJustin Courtney Pierre is a singer, songwriter and guitarist originally from Mahtomedi, Minnesota, United States. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack, and is known for his interests and pursuits in film making and production of music.-Early...
— Lead vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Joshua CainJoshua CainJoshua Allen Cain is a guitarist and record producer from Saint Paul, Minnesota. He is the co-founder and lead guitarist of American pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack...
— Guitar, vocals - Jesse Johnson — MoogMoog Concertmate MG-1- Background :The Realistic Concertmate MG-1 is an analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music in 1981. Though built by Moog, it was sold by Radio Shack from 1982 to 1983 under their "Realistic" brand name and it was produced without some standard Moog features, such as pitch and modulation...
, keyboardElectronic keyboardAn electronic keyboard is an electronic or digital keyboard instrument.The major components of a typical modern electronic keyboard are:... - Matt Taylor — BassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, piano, vocals - Tony Thaxton — DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Additional musicians
- Max BemisMax BemisMax Bemis is the lead singer and primary lyricist of the band Say Anything. He is also co singer along side Chris Conley of the supergroup Two Tongues, which features members from Say Anything and Saves the Day.-The Early Years:...
— Vocals - Shawn Harris — Vocals
- Ric OcasekRic OcasekRic Ocasek is an American musician and music producer. He is best known as lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band, The Cars....
— Keyboards, producer - Rachel MintonRachel MintonRachel Minton is lead vocalist and keyboardist for the Independent music/pop rock/power pop band Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer....
— Vocals - Adam SchlesingerAdam SchlesingerAdam Schlesinger is an American songwriter, composer and record producer. He has been nominated for Oscar, Tony, Emmy, Grammy , and Golden Globe Awards. He is also a winner of the ASCAP Pop Music Award....
— Piano, producer
Production
- Arjun Agerwala — Engineer
- Tom Baker — Mastering
- Rudyard Lee Cullers — Engineer
- Femio Hernández — Assistant engineer
- John Holbrook — Engineer
- Eli Janney — Arranger, producer
- Tom Lord-AlgeTom Lord-AlgeTom Lord-Alge is a four-time Grammy Award–winning record producer and mixer. He is the youngest of Vivian Lord's five children, Mark Lord-Alge, Lisa Lord-Alge, Chris Lord-Alge, Jeff Lord-Alge and Tom Lord-Alge...
— Mixing - Geoff Sanoff — Engineer
- Michael Trepagnier — Assistant engineer
- Chris Shaw — Engineer, mixing
Design
- Nick Pritchard — Art direction, design
- Bryan Sheffield — Photography
- James Thornton — Photography
Chart performance
| Year | Chart | Provider(s) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... |
16 |
| Independent Albums Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
1 |
External links
- Motion City Soundtrack
- Even if It Kills Me at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- EvenIfItKillsMe.tv — Even if It Kills Me webisodes.