¡Viva La Cobra!
Encyclopedia
¡Viva la Cobra! is the second studio album
by alternative dance
band Cobra Starship
. The album was released October 23, 2007. It was produced by Fall Out Boy
's Patrick Stump
.
bassist Gabe Saporta
took a trip to the deserts of Arizona
. During this time, Saporta went on a "vision quest", spending time with Native American
tribes and smoking peyote
. He began to create his vision for a new band, a melodic style of music heavily influenced by synthpop
and hip-hop. Upon returning home, Saporta rented a house in the Catskill Mountains
and began writing what would become the band's debut album, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets
. He posted a parody response to Gwen Stefani
's "Hollaback Girl
" titled "Hollaback Boy" on Myspace
. The song gained Saporta notoriety on the internet and he eventually signed to Fall Out Boy
bassist Pete Wentz's label, Decaydance Records
.
Midtown's management company soon set Saporta up with an opportunity to record a song for the soundtrack to the 2006 Snakes on a Plane
. Along with members of The Academy Is...
, Gym Class Heroes
, and The Sounds
, Saporta recorded "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)", which became a minor hit. During the recording of While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets, Saporta began recruiting new members to complete the group's lineup. He first enlisted drummer Nate Navarro, whom he met on tour while Navarro sold merchandise for fellow touring act Hidden In Plain View
. After seeing Saporta in Entertainment Weekly
, guitarist Ryland Blackinton
and bassist Alex Suarez
, who lived in the same apartment building as Midtown drummer Rob Hitt, emailed Saporta asking to join the group. The lineup was completed by keytar
ist Elisa Schwartz, who was later replaced by Victoria Asher in December 2006.
, the group began writing music together. The members recorded their individual parts on their laptops in the band's bus. By the time Cobra Starship entered the studio to work on a new album, much of the material was already written. The album was recorded in twenty days at Mission Sound Studios in Brooklyn
, New York
.
-style vocoder thrown in for good measure." "Smile for the Paparazzi" contains Latin influences, and "introduces a touch of Spanish heat to a thoroughly Americanized album".
Philadelphia-based gay
hip-hop trio appears on "Damn You Look Good and I'm Drunk (Scandalous)". Blackinton commented on the collaboration, stating, "V.I.P. are the best. Seriously. They're these dudes from Philly...and they write hard-core gay rap songs. And we had 'Scandalous,' and we thought it would be a good idea to have them come in and just offer their vocal talents. It was probably the most awesome thing we've ever done."
street team
, the band allowed members of the street team to choose between two possible song titles for five different songs on the record. The album was originally going to be called If the World Is Ending, We're Throwing the Party; however, singer Gabe Saporta
stated that:
-pop
sensibilities meet ’80s party abandon on this record, and neither have sounded so enjoyable in years." Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly
gave the album a "B" grade, and concluded that the album improved upon its predecessor with "catchier hooks and harder-rocking beats". Jon Young of Spin
praised Viva la Cobras catchy nature, but felt that the album suffered from over-production, explaining "Sadly, the glitzy overkill production by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump nearly obliterates any potential dance-rock charm. Despite killer hooks, 'Guilty Pleasure' and 'The City Is at War' leave an artificial aftertaste." Andrew Leahey of Allmusic opined that the album was overly repetitive, commenting "There's enough melody here to satisfy most lingering fans...But even Stump can't give the band another sure-fire hit, as all the dance-pop numbers end up repeating the same steps in an attempt to perfect the one routine Cobra Starship knows how to do."
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 alternative dance
Alternative dance
Alternative dance or indie dance is a musical genre that mixes rock subgenres with electronic dance music...
band Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship
Cobra Starship is an American synthpop band created by former Midtown bassist and lead vocalist Gabe Saporta in 2003 in New York City, New York...
. The album was released October 23, 2007. It was produced by Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
's Patrick Stump
Patrick Stump
Patrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
.
Background
Cobra Starship was formed in 2005 after MidtownMidtown (band)
Midtown was an American pop punk band from Springfield, New Jersey. Midtown was formed in November 1998 by three Rutgers University students, but soon became a quartet. The band took advantage of the fertile New Jersey punk scene to develop a sound that combined elements of pop punk and punk rock...
bassist Gabe Saporta
Gabe Saporta
Gabriel Eduardo "Gabe" Saporta is the lead singer and primary creative force behind the synthpop band Cobra Starship. He was previously the lead singer, bassist, and lyricist for the pop punk band Midtown....
took a trip to the deserts of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. During this time, Saporta went on a "vision quest", spending time with Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
tribes and smoking peyote
Peyote
Lophophora williamsii , better known by its common name Peyote , is a small, spineless cactus with psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline.It is native to southwestern Texas and Mexico...
. He began to create his vision for a new band, a melodic style of music heavily influenced by synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
and hip-hop. Upon returning home, Saporta rented a house in the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
and began writing what would become the band's debut album, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets
While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets
While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets is the debut album from Cobra Starship. It was released on October 10, 2006 in the U.S., and on October 17, 2006 in Canada...
. He posted a parody response to Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
's "Hollaback Girl
Hollaback Girl
"Hollaback Girl" is a song by American recording artist Gwen Stefani from her debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. . As part of Stefani's vision of creating "a silly dance record", the song is influenced by 1980s dance and pop music...
" titled "Hollaback Boy" on 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....
. The song gained Saporta notoriety on the internet and he eventually signed to Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
bassist Pete Wentz's label, Decaydance Records
Decaydance Records
Decaydance Records is a record label based in New York City. Originally founded as an imprint of Fueled by Ramen, it is now an independent record label owned by Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and partners. The first band Wentz signed to the label was Panic! at the Disco...
.
Midtown's management company soon set Saporta up with an opportunity to record a song for the soundtrack to the 2006 Snakes on a Plane
Snakes on a Plane
Snakes on a Plane is a 2006 American horror-action-thriller film directed by David R. Ellis and starring Samuel L. Jackson. It was released by New Line Cinema on August 18, 2006 in North America...
. Along with members of The Academy Is...
The Academy Is...
The Academy Is... was an American rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 2003. Before dispersing, they were signed by the Decaydance imprint of the Fueled by Ramen label. They were originally known as "The Academy", but added the "Is..." in 2004 to avoid legal complications with other...
, Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes
Gym Class Heroes is an American hip hop rock band from Geneva, New York. They have collaborated with Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump on numerous occasions, notably for providing backing vocals on the song "Cupid's Chokehold." Stump also produced the majority of their album The Quilt.The group formed...
, and The Sounds
The Sounds
The Sounds are a Swedish Indie Rock band. Formed in Helsingborg in 1999, the group's musical style has been compared to New Wave acts such as Blondie, The Cars, the Epoxies and Missing Persons....
, Saporta recorded "Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)", which became a minor hit. During the recording of While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets, Saporta began recruiting new members to complete the group's lineup. He first enlisted drummer Nate Navarro, whom he met on tour while Navarro sold merchandise for fellow touring act Hidden In Plain View
Hidden in Plain View
Hidden in Plain View was a five-piece Pop Punk band from northern New Jersey. They formed in 2000 and disbanded in 2007. During their six and a half year run, the group released records with four different record labels , including two full-length albums and three EPs...
. After seeing Saporta in Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, guitarist Ryland Blackinton
Ryland Blackinton
Ryland Blackinton is the lead guitarist for the band Cobra Starship. He is from Wilmington MA, but was born in South Kingstown Rhode Island on March 31, 1982. Before joining Cobra Starship, Ryland, along with high school best friend Alex Suarez formed the folk/pop duo This Is Ivy League...
and bassist Alex Suarez
Alex Suarez
Alex Suarez is the bass player and additional keyboardist and vocalist for Cobra Starship as well as co-founder of This is Ivy League, a band created with fellow Cobra Starship member and high school best friend Ryland Blackinton.-Early life:...
, who lived in the same apartment building as Midtown drummer Rob Hitt, emailed Saporta asking to join the group. The lineup was completed by keytar
Keytar
A keytar is a relatively lightweight keyboard that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands...
ist Elisa Schwartz, who was later replaced by Victoria Asher in December 2006.
Recording and production
While on the 2007 Honda Civic TourHonda Civic Tour
The Honda Civic Tour is an annual concert tour, sponsored by Honda Motor Company which began in 2001. Each year, the headlining band or bands customize a Honda Civic for concert patrons to win in a raffle.-First Half:*Headliner: blink-182...
, the group began writing music together. The members recorded their individual parts on their laptops in the band's bus. By the time Cobra Starship entered the studio to work on a new album, much of the material was already written. The album was recorded in twenty days at Mission Sound Studios in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Music
The album has been described as "11 tracks of unabashed party jams, full of big hooky electropop, super-produced guitar crunch and the occasional T-PainT-Pain
Faheem Rasheed Najm , better known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor, currently signed to Young Money Entertainment. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released in 2005. In 2007, T-Pain released his second studio album Epiphany,...
-style vocoder thrown in for good measure." "Smile for the Paparazzi" contains Latin influences, and "introduces a touch of Spanish heat to a thoroughly Americanized album".
Philadelphia-based gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
hip-hop trio appears on "Damn You Look Good and I'm Drunk (Scandalous)". Blackinton commented on the collaboration, stating, "V.I.P. are the best. Seriously. They're these dudes from Philly...and they write hard-core gay rap songs. And we had 'Scandalous,' and we thought it would be a good idea to have them come in and just offer their vocal talents. It was probably the most awesome thing we've ever done."
Lyrics
The majority of the lyrics on ¡Viva la Cobra! are inspired by Cobra Starship's rise to fame. Saporta explained "All of us played in punk-rock bands growing up, and we could never have dreamed of having this level of celebrity...On one hand, it's awesome because you're hanging out with all your friends, you're getting the VIP treatment. But then you also see how it's just like this big [flattery] convention. And the record is sort of about that contradiction, where on one hand you wanna have fun and party, but at the same time, it's a critique of that whole lifestyle." "Damn You Look Good and I'm Drunk (Scandalous)", which was originally titled "Fake Boobs and Rollerblades", discusses trashy women who the band often met at parties.Title
Through the Fueled by RamenFueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen is an American record label which operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida, is based in New York City...
street team
Street team
A street team is a term used in marketing to describe a group of people who 'hit the streets' promoting an event or a product. 'Street Teams' are a powerful promotional tool that has been adopted industry wide as a standard line item in marketing budgets by entertainment companies, record labels,...
, the band allowed members of the street team to choose between two possible song titles for five different songs on the record. The album was originally going to be called If the World Is Ending, We're Throwing the Party; however, singer Gabe Saporta
Gabe Saporta
Gabriel Eduardo "Gabe" Saporta is the lead singer and primary creative force behind the synthpop band Cobra Starship. He was previously the lead singer, bassist, and lyricist for the pop punk band Midtown....
stated that:
Critical reception
Critical response to ¡Viva la Cobra! was generally mixed to positive. Luke O'Neil of Alternative Press enjoyed the disc's "party-at-the-end-of-the-world" style, and stated that "Contemporary emoEmo
Emo is a style of rock music and its associated subcultureEmo may also refer to:- Businesses :* Emo , an Irish oil company and filling station chain* Emo Speedway, a racetrack in Emo, Ontario...
-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...
sensibilities meet ’80s party abandon on this record, and neither have sounded so enjoyable in years." Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the album a "B" grade, and concluded that the album improved upon its predecessor with "catchier hooks and harder-rocking beats". Jon Young of 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...
praised Viva la Cobras catchy nature, but felt that the album suffered from over-production, explaining "Sadly, the glitzy overkill production by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump nearly obliterates any potential dance-rock charm. Despite killer hooks, 'Guilty Pleasure' and 'The City Is at War' leave an artificial aftertaste." Andrew Leahey of Allmusic opined that the album was overly repetitive, commenting "There's enough melody here to satisfy most lingering fans...But even Stump can't give the band another sure-fire hit, as all the dance-pop numbers end up repeating the same steps in an attempt to perfect the one routine Cobra Starship knows how to do."
Track listing
Chart positions
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. 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... |
80 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Modern Rock | 19 |
| U.S. Billboard Comprehensive Albums | 82 |
Singles
- "Kiss My Sass" (featuring Travis McCoy)
- "The City Is at War"
- "Guilty Pleasure" (with an appearance by Patrick StumpPatrick StumpPatrick Vaughn Stump is an American singer-songwriter, composer, record producer, and music critic. He is the composer, lead singer, and multi-instrumentalist of Fall Out Boy, an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, and is also a solo artist...
)