Anthem (album)

Infobox Album | Name = Anthem
Type = Album
Artist = Less Than Jake


Released = May 20, 2003
Recorded = Piety Street Recording in New Orleans, Morning View Studios in Malibu
Genre = Ska punk, pop punk
Length = 43:58
Label = Sire
Producer = Rob Cavallo
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:2fq67ul030ja link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/lessthanjake/albums/album/284544/review/6068185/anthem link]
Last album = "Goodbye Blue & White"
(2002)
This album = "Anthem"
(2003)
Next album = "B Is for B-sides"
(2004)

"Anthem" is an album by ska punk band Less Than Jake. It was released May 20, 2003 on Sire Records, an imprint of Warner Bros. Records. It was the band's first release on this label. Recording took place between October and December 2002 at Piety Street Recording in New Orleans, LA and Morning View Studio in Malibu, CA, both with producer Rob Cavallo.

The album performed very well, debuting higher than any Less Than Jake album to date [AllMusic Charts: [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hxfixqlaldje~T3 Anthem] Accessed 19 October 2007] . Songs released from the record include "She’s Gonna Break Soon" and "The Science of Selling Yourself Short", two of Less Than Jake's most commercially successful songs, and both of which became video singles. The album includes a re-recorded version of "Look What Happened" from the band's previous album, "Borders & Boundaries", which omits the horn-driven bridge between the intro and first verse. The band continues to play the original version live.

The title of the album directly comes from a lyric in the song "Screws Fall Out", but also from its use among the band to describe a powerful song that the band can rally behind, similar to "My Very Own Flag" and "Gainesville Rock City" off of "Pezcore" and "Borders & Boundaries" respectively. Bassist, Roger Manganelli, often jokes that the title was selected by the band writing down every single word in the English language, crossing out words until "Anthem" was the only one left uncrossed.

The album reached #45 on the billboard charts. [AllMusic Charts: [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hxfixqlaldje~T3 Anthem] Accessed 19 October 2007]

Track listing

#"Welcome to the New South" – 2:46
#"The Ghosts of Me and You" – 3:21
#"Look What Happened" – 3:06
#"The Science of Selling Yourself Short" – 3:07
#"Short Fuse Burning" – 2:19
#"Motown Never Sounded So Good" – 2:38
#"The Upwards War and the Down Turned Cycle" – 2:59
#"Escape From the A-Bomb House" – 3:31
#"Best Wishes to Your Black Lung" – 2:54
#"She's Gonna Break Soon" – 3:14
#"That's Why They Call It a Union" – 3:03
#"Plastic Cup Politics" – 2:17
#"The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out/Screws Fall Out" – 4:54

Bonus Tracks

#"Surrender" – 3:45
#*The Japanese release includes, in place of "Surrender":
#"A.S.A.O.K." – 2:08

Artwork

The CD packaging included a different piece of artwork for each track except "Surrender", and two additional pieces not attached to a specific song, but still present and credited in the booklet. As each song's lyrics are printed on the back of a piece of artwork, and no lyrics are provided for "Surrender", one of these two illustrations can be assumed to represent that song, but is not credited as such. The art direction was done by Vinnie Fiorello and [http://www.douganfarms.com Wendy Dougan] , with Fiorello creating the concept for the CD booklet and Dougan designing the booklet itself. Most notable are a piece by Shepard Fairey of Obey Giant for "The Upwards War and the Down Turned Cycle" and Chip Wass's design for "The Science of Selling Yourself Short". The latter would inspire the music video for "The Science Of Selling Yourself Short" and be immortalized as a toy in Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie's Monkey Vs. Robot collection.

Cover Artwork

* Concept by [http://www.chihuahuaranch.com Stephanie Allen]
* Artwork by [http://www.stinkboy.com Erik Davison]

Song Artwork

* "Welcome to the New South" by [http://www.jeffsoto.com Jeff Soto]
* "The Ghosts of Me And You" by [http://www.thinkmodern.com Steve Vance]
* "Look What Happened" by [http://www.scarystories.com Wendy Ann Garbner]
* "The Science of Selling Yourself Short" by [http://www.worldofwassco.com Chip Wass]
* "Short Fuse Burning" by [http://www.blkmrkt.com Florenzio Zavala]
* "Motown Never Sounded So Good" by [http://www.kurthalsey.com Kurt Halsey Fredericksen]
* "The Upwards War and the Down Turned Cycle" by [http://www.obeygiant.com Shepard Fairey]
* "Escape From the A-Bomb House" by [http://www.davidchoe.com David Choe]
* "Best Wishes to Your Black Lung" by [http://www.alisonz.com Alison Zawacki]
* "She's Gonna Break Soon" by [http://www.mitchoconnell.com Mitch O'Connell]
* "That's Why They Call It a Union" by [http://www.peterwonsowski.com Peter Wonsowski]
* "Plastic Cup Politics" by [http://www.sincstudio.com Scott Sinclair]
* "The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out" by [http://www.camillerosegarcia.org Camille Rose Garcia]
* "Screws Fall Out" by [http://www.squaresville.com Speed Scott Hall]

Additional Artwork

* [http://www.artgaga.com Jason Miracle]
* [http://www.shawnhall.org Shawn Hall]

Personnel

* Chris Demakes - guitar, vocals
* Roger Manganelli - bass guitar, guitar, vocals
* Vinnie Fiorello - drums, lyrics
* Buddy Schaub - trombone
* Peter "JR" Wasilewski - saxophone

* Luis Conte - additional percussion
* Jamie Muhoberac - additional keyboards
* Heather Tabor - backup vocals ("Look What Happened")

Miscellanea

* Anthem is, commercially, the band's most successful to date; the album debuted at #45 on the Billboard 200 (the band's highest to date), spent 12 weeks on the Billboard 200 (currently 9 longer than any other), and debuted at #7 for Top Internet Albums (the band's highest to date)
* "Welcome To The New South" was finished as the band was recording the album in New Orleans
* "The Science of Selling Yourself Short" was a last-minute idea for the record, and turned out to be the band's most successful song to date (#36 Billboard Modern Rock Chart)
* The guitar riff to "Short Fuse Burning" is a tribute to AC/DC's "Thunderstuck"
* "Best Wishes To Your Black Lung" is written about Pete Anna, who left the band to go back to Chicago after Borders & Boundaries to become a firefighter
* The music video to "She's Gonna Break Soon" featured Alexis Bledel from Gilmore Girls
* "The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out" was written about Carter Graham, as was "Is This Thing On?"
* The band covers Cheap Trick's "Surrender" on the album, making it the only cover song on a studio release of the band's

References