Please Describe Yourself
Encyclopedia
Please Describe Yourself is the debut studio album by the British alternative rock
band Dogs Die in Hot Cars
. It was first released on 12 July 2004 in the United Kingdom on V2 Records
. After releasing several limited-edition singles
and the extended play
Man Bites Man
, the band released the album to critical praise.
The album reached number 44 on the UK Albums Chart
, and was preceded by the singles "Godhopping
" and "I Love You 'Cause I Have To
" and "Lounger".
pupils Craig Macintosh (lead vocals, guitar), Gary Smith (vocals, guitar), Lee Worrall (bass) and Laurence Davey (drums) met whilst attending Madras College
in St Andrews
, Scotland. The band practiced in Davey's basement, gradually graduating from Nirvana
cover versions to original songs. After practicing in Wormit
, Fife, the band relocated to Glasgow
, adding Ruth Quigley (keyboard, vocals) as the final member. The band released their first single "I Love You ’Cause I Have To" on label Radiate, along with "Celebrity Sanctum" and "Somewhat Off The Way." The three-track release peaked at number 79 on the UK Singles Chart
. Described as "mix of ska rhythms and new wave pop hooks" by Allmusic, "I Love You 'Cause I Have To" gained enough critical and commercial success to gain a recording contract with V2 Records
, and an EP titled Man Bites Man
was released by the band in 2004, including the album track "Pastimes & Lifestyles."
The band embarked on an extensive promotional tour, including the British Glastonbury Festival
and T in the Park
, as well as supporting Eskimo Joe
on several dates in Australia.
Macintosh has said of the album title,
Macintosh has said that they wanted "to write tunes where the song would reach its conclusion and you might even want to play it again" on the record. He also spoke of their willingness to record songs that were "big already" and did not need guitar solos, or what he described as "the new guitar solo" - rap
.
said "Dogs Die don’t slot into any one musical genre — their forthcoming album, Please Describe Yourself, covers everything from ska
to summer pop
to Talking Heads
-type rock
", while another said "Please Describe Yourself ... changes styles so often that it’s hard to keep up. The thread is that all ten tracks are catchy, quirky pop-rock with clever, slightly off-kilter lyrics that tend to take a dig at modern living." The New York Times
described the band's style on the album as "XTC
-meets-Dexy's Midnight Runners
sound." However, the band have claimed that they do not list them as an influence, as "none of us has ever owned a single Dexys record." Heather Phares of Allmusic stated that "Instead of just beating one style into the ground, on Please Describe Yourself Dogs Die in Hot Cars mine the past of British pop but find relatively fresh ways of rediscovering it."
Australian newspaper The Age
called Craig Mactintosh's vocal delivery "biting social observations in a BBC
-friendly accent." Macintosh responded by noting that he was "frustrated with singers who slurred their words and made it hard to make out what they were saying. I've got things I want to say", adding that he wanted people to understand the lyrics that mean something to him.
", the opening track, is about people who change their religion according to what is fashionable. It was released as the album's lead single
on 25 May 2004 in the UK. Described as "a jauntily piano-driven slip of white funk" by The Independent, the song reached number 24 on the UK Singles Chart
, their highest-charting song to date. Speaking of the song's minor success, Lee Worral noted that "It was 17 midweek
, so we were like, 'Wow, we could be on Top of the Pops!' But obviously, later on in the week all the kids get their pocket money and go out and buy Britney Spears or whatever. So 24 was great. See if we can better it with the next one."
According to The Independent, the second song on the album, "Lounger", is "a song about an overeducated, lazy bohemian" with lyrics such as "I get up when I want/Don't have to eat my greens/Or keep my bedroom tidy" guaranteed to appeal to students. The song was called the album's "telling moment" by Pitchfork Media
, whilst Stylus said that it "fizzes along like no-one’s business, guitar on super-jangle and piano set to hyper-jaunty." It was released as the album's third single, and reached a peak of 43 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the last Dogs Die in Hot Cars single to chart.
The third song and second single from the album is titled "I Love You 'Cause I Have To."
"Celebrity Sanctum", both the fourth track and fourth single from the album, according to Gareth Dobson of Drowned in Sound
, is "a song about vicarious love and image obsession." Dobson called the song, which namecheck
s celebrities such as Lucy Liu
and Catherine Zeta Jones, "a moving sense of ennui rather than attempting to play it for laughs", whilst The Age said that "[Cameron is] losing himself in the thrall of icon obsession."
The final single was "Pastimes and Lifestyles." Described as "the closest the band gets to a fashionably post-punk style."
placed the album at number four on his list of the top ten best albums of 2004, saying: "[The] Scottish five-piece makes a buoyant pop album that nods to a bunch of bands you never knew you missed."
William Swygart of Stylus
drew attention to the "frustratingly flimsy feel" of the album, calling it "that of a band that think they’re much better than they really are." However, Swygart went on to acknowledge the "genuinely enjoyable moments", noting that it was the band's first album. Andy Gill
of The Independent called it "an oddly hollow experience."
at number 44 on the week of 24 July 2004. The album dropped to number 71 the following week before exiting the Top 100.
Dogs Die in Hot Cars
Design
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...
band Dogs Die in Hot Cars
Dogs Die in Hot Cars
Dogs Die in Hot Cars is a Scottish band from St. Andrews consisting of members Craig Macintosh , Gary Smith Ruth Quigley , Lee Worrall and Laurence Davey .-History:Macintosh, Smith, Worrall and Davey all met at Madras College and began playing together in 1993 at the age of...
. It was first released on 12 July 2004 in the United Kingdom on V2 Records
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
. After releasing several limited-edition singles
Single (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...
and the extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Man Bites Man
Man Bites Man EP
The Man Bites Man EP was a CD containing 4 tracks that was used to promote Dogs Die in Hot Cars, who were at the time working on their debut album: Please Describe Yourself. The release was limited to 1000 copies. The third track on this CD was used in an advertising campaign for Boots...
, the band released the album to critical praise.
The album reached number 44 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, and was preceded by the singles "Godhopping
Godhopping
"Godhopping" is a pop rock song performed by British band Dogs Die in Hot Cars, released as the first single from their debut album, Please Describe Yourself and their second single overall...
" and "I Love You 'Cause I Have To
I Love You 'Cause I Have To
"I Love You 'Cause I Have To" is a pop rock song by British band Dogs Die in Hot Cars. It was their debut single on label Radiate, released alongside "Celebrity Sanctum" and "Somewhat Off The Way." The three-track release peaked at number 79 on the UK Singles Chart...
" and "Lounger".
Background and conception
Dogs Die in Hot Cars were formed when secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
pupils Craig Macintosh (lead vocals, guitar), Gary Smith (vocals, guitar), Lee Worrall (bass) and Laurence Davey (drums) met whilst attending Madras College
Madras College
Madras College is a secondary school in St. Andrews, Fife in Scotland.-History:Madras College, founded in 1832, takes its name from the system of education devised by the school's founder, the Rev Dr Andrew Bell....
in St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, Scotland. The band practiced in Davey's basement, gradually graduating from Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
cover versions to original songs. After practicing in Wormit
Wormit
Wormit is a small town located on the banks of the Firth of Tay in north east Fife, Scotland. It is most famous for its location at the southern end of the Tay Rail Bridge. Its railway station was on a closed branch line which left the main line railway immediately at the south end of the Bridge...
, Fife, the band relocated to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, adding Ruth Quigley (keyboard, vocals) as the final member. The band released their first single "I Love You ’Cause I Have To" on label Radiate, along with "Celebrity Sanctum" and "Somewhat Off The Way." The three-track release peaked at number 79 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Described as "mix of ska rhythms and new wave pop hooks" by Allmusic, "I Love You 'Cause I Have To" gained enough critical and commercial success to gain a recording contract with V2 Records
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
, and an EP titled Man Bites Man
Man Bites Man EP
The Man Bites Man EP was a CD containing 4 tracks that was used to promote Dogs Die in Hot Cars, who were at the time working on their debut album: Please Describe Yourself. The release was limited to 1000 copies. The third track on this CD was used in an advertising campaign for Boots...
was released by the band in 2004, including the album track "Pastimes & Lifestyles."
The band embarked on an extensive promotional tour, including the British Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
and T in the Park
T in the Park
T in the Park is a major British music festival that has been held annually since 1994. It is named after its main sponsor, the brewing company Tennents. It was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire but since 1997 has been held at a disused airfield in Balado, Kinross-shire...
, as well as supporting Eskimo Joe
Eskimo Joe
Eskimo Joe is an Australian alternative rock band formed by Stuart MacLeod on guitars, Joel Quartermain on drums and guitar and Kavyen Temperley on bass guitar and vocals, in East Fremantle, Western Australia in 1997....
on several dates in Australia.
Macintosh has said of the album title,
"[...] part of the reason why we decided to call the album Please Describe Yourself [is because] it's like those dating channels: everybody goes, 'from London, happy-go-lucky'; nobody says, 'I’m a manic depressive', or 'I think I’m indescribable'. So we’re kind of throwing the question back."
Macintosh has said that they wanted "to write tunes where the song would reach its conclusion and you might even want to play it again" on the record. He also spoke of their willingness to record songs that were "big already" and did not need guitar solos, or what he described as "the new guitar solo" - rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
.
Style
Please Describe Yourself takes influence from a wide variety of genres. One article in The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
said "Dogs Die don’t slot into any one musical genre — their forthcoming album, Please Describe Yourself, covers everything from ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
to summer pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
to Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
-type rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
", while another said "Please Describe Yourself ... changes styles so often that it’s hard to keep up. The thread is that all ten tracks are catchy, quirky pop-rock with clever, slightly off-kilter lyrics that tend to take a dig at modern living." 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...
described the band's style on the album as "XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
-meets-Dexy's Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners
Dexys Midnight Runners are a British pop group with soul influences, who achieved their major success in the early to mid 1980s. They are best known for their songs "Come On Eileen" and "Geno", both of which went No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart....
sound." However, the band have claimed that they do not list them as an influence, as "none of us has ever owned a single Dexys record." Heather Phares of Allmusic stated that "Instead of just beating one style into the ground, on Please Describe Yourself Dogs Die in Hot Cars mine the past of British pop but find relatively fresh ways of rediscovering it."
Australian newspaper The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
called Craig Mactintosh's vocal delivery "biting social observations in a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
-friendly accent." Macintosh responded by noting that he was "frustrated with singers who slurred their words and made it hard to make out what they were saying. I've got things I want to say", adding that he wanted people to understand the lyrics that mean something to him.
Songs and singles
Lyrically, "GodhoppingGodhopping
"Godhopping" is a pop rock song performed by British band Dogs Die in Hot Cars, released as the first single from their debut album, Please Describe Yourself and their second single overall...
", the opening track, is about people who change their religion according to what is fashionable. It was released as the album's lead single
Single (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...
on 25 May 2004 in the UK. Described as "a jauntily piano-driven slip of white funk" by The Independent, the song reached number 24 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, their highest-charting song to date. Speaking of the song's minor success, Lee Worral noted that "It was 17 midweek
Midweeks
Midweeks are lists of sales figures for music albums and singles in the United Kingdom during the period between the weekly chart publication on Sundays...
, so we were like, 'Wow, we could be on Top of the Pops!' But obviously, later on in the week all the kids get their pocket money and go out and buy Britney Spears or whatever. So 24 was great. See if we can better it with the next one."
According to The Independent, the second song on the album, "Lounger", is "a song about an overeducated, lazy bohemian" with lyrics such as "I get up when I want/Don't have to eat my greens/Or keep my bedroom tidy" guaranteed to appeal to students. The song was called the album's "telling moment" by Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, whilst Stylus said that it "fizzes along like no-one’s business, guitar on super-jangle and piano set to hyper-jaunty." It was released as the album's third single, and reached a peak of 43 on the UK Singles Chart. It was the last Dogs Die in Hot Cars single to chart.
The third song and second single from the album is titled "I Love You 'Cause I Have To."
"Celebrity Sanctum", both the fourth track and fourth single from the album, according to Gareth Dobson of Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
, is "a song about vicarious love and image obsession." Dobson called the song, which namecheck
Name-dropping
Name-dropping is the practice of mentioning important people or institutions within a conversation, story, song, online identity, or other communication. The term often connotes an attempt to impress others; it is usually regarded negatively, and under certain circumstances may constitute a breach...
s celebrities such as Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...
and Catherine Zeta Jones, "a moving sense of ennui rather than attempting to play it for laughs", whilst The Age said that "[Cameron is] losing himself in the thrall of icon obsession."
The final single was "Pastimes and Lifestyles." Described as "the closest the band gets to a fashionably post-punk style."
Critical reception
Please Describe Yourself was critically well-received. Allmusic's Heather Phares said: "on Please Describe Yourself Dogs Die in Hot Cars mine the past of British pop but find relatively fresh ways of rediscovering it", whilst Gareth Dobson, giving the album nine out of ten, noted that "rarely does a debut record offer such assuredness, consistency and creative quality." Dobson went on to say "Please Introduce Yourself is the best indie record of the year bar none, for no other band has successfully mixed playful and serious, novel and attention grabbing and hip and super uncool as much as this has." David Peinser of Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
placed the album at number four on his list of the top ten best albums of 2004, saying: "[The] Scottish five-piece makes a buoyant pop album that nods to a bunch of bands you never knew you missed."
William Swygart of Stylus
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
drew attention to the "frustratingly flimsy feel" of the album, calling it "that of a band that think they’re much better than they really are." However, Swygart went on to acknowledge the "genuinely enjoyable moments", noting that it was the band's first album. Andy Gill
Andy Gill
Andy Gill is a founding member and guitarist for the English rock group Gang of Four, considered among the most influential post-punk bands...
of The Independent called it "an oddly hollow experience."
Chart performance
Please Describe Yourself debuted and peaked on the UK Albums ChartUK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
at number 44 on the week of 24 July 2004. The album dropped to number 71 the following week before exiting the Top 100.
Track listing
Personnel
Production- Dogs Die in Hot Cars - Arranger
- Clive LangerClive LangerClive Langer is a British record producer active from the mid 1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films Still Crazy and Brothers of the Head. Prior to his record producing career he was a guitarist with the British cult band Deaf SchoolLanger...
- Producer - Alan WinstanleyAlan WinstanleyAlan Kenneth Winstanley is a British record producer active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer.-Notable studio albums produced by Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer:* One Step Beyond... – Madness...
- Producer
Dogs Die in Hot Cars
- Craig Macintosh
- Gary Smith
- Lee Worrall
- Ruth Quigley
- Laurence Davey
Design
- Steve Crichton - Images
- Craig Macintosh - Design
- Eddie Martin - Design, Images
- Pete Martin - Images
- Elizabeth Ogilvie - Images
- Perou - Images
Release history
| Region | Release date | Format(s) | Catalogue | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 12 July 2004 | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
1027142 | V2 V2 Records V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI.... |
| Japan | 22 September 2004 | CD, DI | 2197 | |
| 27 September 2004 | CD (with bonus tracks) | 2194 | ||
| Russia | CD | 82876 65161 2 | BMG Russia | |
| United States | 26 October 2004 | 63881-27204-2 | V2 | |
| Australia | 2004 | 1027142 | Festival Mushroom |