My Dinosaur Life

My Dinosaur Life
My Dinosaur Life
Studio album by Motion City Soundtrack
Released January 19, 2010
Recorded April–June 2009 at OPRA Music Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre Pop punk
Length 39:52
Label Columbia
Producer Mark Hoppus
Motion City Soundtrack chronology
Even If It Kills Me
(2007)		 My Dinosaur Life
(2010)

My Dinosaur Life is the fourth studio album by American pop punk band Motion City Soundtrack, released through Columbia Records on January 19, 2010. It is the band's first album on a major label, after they moved from Epitaph Records in June 2008. Akin to their second album, Commit This to Memory (2005), the album was produced by Blink-182 singer-bassist Mark Hoppus.

My Dinosaur Life was released to universal acclaim from critics; multiple reviewers stated that the album is the best of the band's career and called it a resounding success for the band. The album debuted at number 15 on the US Billboard 200, with nearly 30,000 copies sold in its first week.[1]

Contents

Production and recording

After releasing three records on independent label Epitaph, Motion City Soundtrack signed a multiple-album deal with Columbia Records in late 2006, months prior to releasing their previous album Even If It Kills Me. Following the move, guitarist Joshua Cain said "it just felt right to make the move when there was the right interest there". With the new signing, the band's promotional team aimed to develop a balance between the benefits of a new major label and their previous grass-roots approach.[2]

The band's Columbia debut was produced by Blink-182 frontman Mark Hoppus, who also worked with the band for their second album, Commit This to Memory. Hoppus revealed that the band wanted to follow in the tracks of Commit This to Memory, but push things further.[3] He said the album would incorporate a heavier, more experimental side of the group. "There's an edge on this record that I'm really excited about getting into," he said. "But it still has all the catchiness of everything that I personally love about Motion City Soundtrack. As a fan, it's really exciting to get to work with them again and help them flesh out this new vision of themselves."[3]

The band announced they were to begin recording sessions with Hoppus in April 2009.[4] Due to drummer Tony Thaxton's broken arm, the band were forced to rearrange the sequence in which they recorded. The drums were replaced by electronic beats and drum machines until Thaxton was able to play properly in the last week of recording.[5] It was confirmed recording had been completed on June 28, 2009.[6]

Promotion and release

Whilst on tour with Blink-182, Motion City Soundtrack did an interview for MTV with Mark Hoppus, in which it was revealed that the band's fourth album would be titled My Dinosaur Life.[7] The album title was derived from frontman Justin Pierre misquoting a line ("My dragon life") from the 2008 film American Teen.[5]

Throughout November 2009, Pierre undertook a promotional tour called On the Dino Trail. Along with the band's tour manager and a friend, Pierre made appearances and played acoustic shows throughout the US Midwest and East Coast. The tour's itinerary was planned with fans' help through Twitter, with it all being chronicled online at MyDinosaurLife.com. Guitarist Joshua Cain commented that he felt their use of Twitter had helped reconnect the band with fans; "I feel like in the last few years, that stuff's gotten harder to do... [Twitter has] really re-engaged us as a band to be able to communicate with everybody."[2] The band played three sold-out Chicago shows in mid-December, each of which featured one of the band's previous records in full. They then composed a touring schedule which would include supporting Weezer on several dates in December and January, as well as beginning a headlining tour in late January covering the United States. Then following the album's release they recommenced touring, and within the first three months following the album's release the band travelled to Australia for the national Soundwave festival, as well as Japan and the United Kingdom.[2]

On November 3, 2009, My Dinosaur Life was announced to have a release date of January 19, 2010.[8] Pre-orders for the album went on sale through the band's official website on November 13, 2009. The pre-orders came in three varieties: digital, standard and deluxe edition. The physical form of the deluxe edition features five bonus tracks, a hard-bound book with six 7-inch picture discs, a signed Pulp Fiction—style lyric booklet and album artwork for each song by Joe Ledbetter. The digital deluxe edition includes the bonus tracks and the artwork in PDF form.[2][9]

In October 2009, the band released the first song off of the album, "Disappear", as a free download on their website.[10] The band released a music video online for the song on November 19, 2009.[2][11] "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" was first publicly released in November 2009 on Spin's website for streaming, the song was one of the site's most popular streams in 2009.[12] Becoming the album's first single, "Her Words" was serviced to modern rock radio in December 2009, before having a music video released on January 11, 2010.[2][13] A third song, "A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)", was also released on Spin prior to the album.[12]

Throughout January 2010 the band undertook a series of song by song video testimonials to each of the album's tracks. The clips were released on numerous music websites including AbsolutePunk, Spin, Buzznet, Purevolume, Alternative Press, Punknews.org, Alloy.com, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The A.V. Club, Ultimate Guitar Archive, Buzzgrinder.com and Twitvid.[14] The album was uploaded for streaming on the band's MySpace on January 12, 2010.[13]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AbsolutePunk (92%)[15]
Allmusic 4/5 stars[16]
Alternative Press 5/5 stars[17]
The A.V. Club (B+)[18]
Entertainment Weekly (A-)[19]
Idobi 4.5/5 stars[20]
Lincoln Journal Star (B-)[21]
Slant 3/5 stars[22]
Spin 3.5/5 stars[23]
The Washington Post (favorable)[24]

Critical response to My Dinosaur Life was generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received a score of 79 from 13 reviews.[25]

The album was given a nod of approval by Spin prior to its release, who awarded it 3.5/5 stars. The reviewer Mikael Wood said "the band strikes a radio-ready balance between mayhem and melody, (which) may well trigger their long-awaited breakthrough."[23] Drew Beringer of AbsolutePunk also gave the album a glowing review, awarding a 92% rating. He stated that the album, "combines the mayhem and melody of Commit This to Memory, while maintaining the pop sensibilities they showed on Even If It Kills Me. It has the ferocity of a debut album while maintaining the expertise that seasoned bands possess". He also made comparisons to Weezer's earlier work; "If Weezer created the nerdy/quirky pop-rock sound, then Motion City Soundtrack has perfected it on their best album to date".[15] Scott Heisel of Alternative Press was equally impressed, awarding My Dinosaur Life a full five stars. He praised, "Mark Hoppus' fantastic production, which never gets in the way of the song (a complete 180 from his work on 2005's Commit This To Memory); and the unique, textured, background role Jesse Johnson has allowed his synth to play this time around. So let's just end it on this: Motion City Soundtrack have made the best album of their career".[17] The A.V. Club critic Kyle Ryan gave a positive review, giving the album a "B+" grade. He claimed the album is full of "maddeningly catchy rock—associated with punk, but undeniably pop with clever, sensitive-boy lyrics". Minor complaints included, "("A Lifeless Ordinary") veers a little too close to Weezer-esque cheese in its generic chorus, and budding “sensitive homeboys” anthem ("@!#?@!")—“Go fuck yourselves, leave us alone”—is a little groan-inducing, but those missteps are pretty minor".[18] Entertainment Weekly writer Andy Greenwald awarded the album an "A-" grade. He stated that frontman Justin Pierre "lets his geek flag fly, likening a breakup to the destruction of Superman's home world ("Her Words Destroyed My Planet") and puzzling over ephemera ranging from acid rain (the lovely "Skin and Bones") to Busta Rhymes ("Stand Too Close"), all backed by soaring choruses guaranteed to fossilize themselves into your brain".[19] Lincoln Journal Star journalist L. Kent Wolgamott gave the album a "B-" grade in his review. While stating that their blend of "classic power pop and punk pop" was repetitive, he did also praise the lyrical content; "My Dinosaur Life is full of complaints and clever cultural observations, insecurities and determination to move forward, a heap of modern confusion that is bound together by the catchy if repetitive music".[21]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Justin Pierre; all music composed by Motion City Soundtrack.

  1. "Worker Bee" — 2:25
  2. "A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)" — 3:23
  3. "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" — 3:38
  4. "Disappear" — 3:12
  5. "Delirium" — 3:29
  6. "History Lesson" — 2:35
  7. "Stand Too Close" — 2:48
  8. "Pulp Fiction" — 3:53
  9. "@!#?@!" — 3:00
  10. "Hysteria" — 3:05
  11. "Skin and Bones" — 3:36
  12. "The Weakends" — 4:48

Bonus tracks

iTunes pre-order/Japanese bonus track
  1. "Sunny Day" — 3:10
Deluxe edition bonus disc
  1. "A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)" (Alternate version) — 3:20
  2. "Pulp Fiction" (Alternate Version) — 3:23
  3. "So Long Farewell" — 3:07
  4. "Worker Bee" (Alternate Version) — 2:36
  5. "Disappear" (Alternate Version) — 4:07

Chart performance

Chart Peak position
Australian Albums Chart[26] 50
US Billboard 200[27] 15
US Billboard Alternative Albums[27] 3
US Billboard Rock Albums[27] 3

Personnel

Motion City Soundtrack

Production

References

  1. ^ "Motion City Billboard". AbsolutePunk. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1534612. Retrieved 2010-02-01. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f Leebove, Laura. "Motion City Soundtrack Ready To Ignite 'Dino'-mite". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/news/motion-city-soundtrack-ready-to-ignite-dino-1004051089.story#/news/motion-city-soundtrack-ready-to-ignite-dino-1004051089.story. Retrieved 2010-01-26. 
  3. ^ Hoppus, Mark. "I’m In A Press Release". himynameismark.com. http://www.pickrset.com/markhoppus/?p=531. Retrieved 22 April 2009. 
  4. ^ a b "My Dinosaur Life Album Testimonial Video". MotionCitySoundtrack.com. http://www.motioncitysoundtrack.com/news/my-dinosaur-life-album-testimonial-video. Retrieved 2010-02-03. 
  5. ^ "Motion City Soundtrack Finish New Album". Alter the Press. http://www.alterthepress.com/2009/06/motion-city-soundtrack-finish-new-album.html. Retrieved 2009-07-05. 
  6. ^ "Blink-182's Mark Hoppus Grills Motion City Soundtrack About New LP". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1617297/20090730/blink_182.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-07-31. 
  7. ^ "My Dinosaur Life Release Date is January 19, 2010". Motioncitysoundtrack.com. http://www.motioncitysoundtrack.com/news/my-dinosaur-life-release-date-january-19-2010. Retrieved 2009-11-03. 
  8. ^ "Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life: New Album Order Now". Official Sony Music Store. http://motioncity.skyroo.com/se/view/music/index.html. Retrieved 2010-02-03. 
  9. ^ "New song Disappear available free download now". Motioncitysoundtrack.com. http://www.motioncitysoundtrack.com/news/new-song-disappear-available-free-download-now. Retrieved 2010-01-27. 
  10. ^ "Disappear Video Premiere". Motioncitysoundtrack.com. http://www.motioncitysoundtrack.com/news/disappear-video-premiere. Retrieved 27 January 2010. 
  11. ^ a b "Exclusive: New Motion City Soundtrack Song". Spin. http://spin.com/articles/exclusive-new-motion-city-soundtrack-song. Retrieved 27 January 2010. 
  12. ^ a b ""Her Words Destroyed My Planet" Video Premiere!". Motioncitysoundtrack.com. http://www.motioncitysoundtrack.com/news/her-words-destroyed-my-planet-video-premiere. Retrieved 27 January 2010. 
  13. ^ "Video Countdown Track 12: "The Weakends" + Live From Vintage Vinyl Tomorrow!". Motion City Soundtrack.com. http://www.motioncitysoundtrack.com/news/video-countdown-track-12-weakends-live-vintage-vinyl-tomorrow. Retrieved 2010-01-25. 
  14. ^ a b Beringer, Drew. "Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life". AbsolutePunk. http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1518251. Retrieved 2010-01-17. 
  15. ^ Apar, Corey. "Review: My Dinosaur Life". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1702480. Retrieved 2010-01-20. 
  16. ^ a b Heisel, Scott (February 2010), "Motion City Soundtrack: My Dinosaur Life. The Champ is Here", Alternative Press (259): p91 
  17. ^ a b Ryan, Kyle. "Motion City Soundtrack: My Dinosaur Life". The A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/motion-city-soundtrack-my-dinosaur-life,37151/?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=feeds&utm_source=avclub_rss_daily. Retrieved 2010-01-19. 
  18. ^ a b Greenwald, Andy. "Motion City Soundtrack: My Dinosaur Life". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20336603,00.html. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
  19. ^ McGrath, James. "Album review: Motion City Soundtrack tabs Mark Hoppus for major label debut". Idobi. http://idobi.com/news/2010/01/album-review-motion-city-soundtrack-tabs-mark-hoppus-for-major-label-debut/. Retrieved 2010-01-31. 
  20. ^ a b Wolgamott, L. Kent. "Review: 'My Dinosaur Life' is repetitive but catchy power pop". Lincoln Journal Star. http://journalstar.com/entertainment/article_ef922280-0478-11df-8d54-001cc4c03286.html. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
  21. ^ Cole, Matthew. "Motion City Soundtrack - My Dinosaur Life". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/motion-city-soundtrack-my-dinosaur-life/1969. Retrieved 22 January 2010. 
  22. ^ a b Wood, Mikael. "Motion City Soundtrack, 'My Dinosaur Life'". Spin. http://spin.com/reviews/motion-city-soundtrack-my-dinosaur-life-columbia. Retrieved 2010-01-08. 
  23. ^ "Quick Spins: Motion City Soundtrack's 'My Dinosaur Life'". The Washington Post. 2010-01-19. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/18/AR2010011803610.html. Retrieved 2010-02-03. 
  24. ^ "My Dinosaur Life reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/motioncitysoundtrack/mydinosaurlife. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
  25. ^ "Album Top 50 - 07/02/2010". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/weekchart.asp?cat=a&year=2010&date=20100207. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
  26. ^ a b c "Motion City Soundtrack Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/search/?keyword=motion+city+soundtrack&x=0&y=0#/artist/motion-city-soundtrack/chart-history/515278. Retrieved 2010-02-03. 

External links

v · Motion City Soundtrack
Justin Pierre · Joshua Cain · Tony Thaxton · Matthew Taylor · Jesse Johnson
Sidney Burgdorf · Matt Potocnik · Joel Habedank · Austin Lindstrom · Andy Gruhn · Andy Whitney · Joe Skinner
Studio albums
EPs
Kids for America · Back to the Beat · Live at Lollapalooza 2007 · Acoustic EP
Split EPs
Schatzi Split · Limbeck Split · Matchbook Romance Split
Singles
"Promenade/Carolina" · "The Future Freaks Me Out" · "My Favorite Accident" · "Everything Is Alright" · "Hold Me Down" · "L.G. Fuad" · "Broken Heart" · "This Is for Real" · "It Had to Be You" · "Fell In Love Without You (Acoustic)" · "Disappear" · "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" · "A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)"
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