Boys and Girls in America

Infobox Album | Name = Boys and Girls in America
Type = Album
Artist = The Hold Steady

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Released = October 3, 2006
Genre = Rock, Post-punk
Length = 40:07
Label = Vagrant Records
Producer = John Agnello
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ip7uaknkdm3v link]
* The A.V. Club (A-) [http://www.avclub.com/content/node/53633 link]
* "Blender" Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=4207 link]
* "The Guardian" Rating|5|5 [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1988057,00.html link]
* No Ripcord (9/10) [http://www.noripcord.com/?q=node/540 link]
* Pitchfork (9.4/10) [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/38888/The_Hold_Steady_Boys_and_Girls_in_America link]
* Planet Sound (8/10)
* "Q" Rating|4|5 Feb 2007, p.104
* Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Hold+Steady link]
* "Rolling Stone" Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/11738760/review/11755730/boys_and_girls_in_america link]
*"Uncut" Rating|5|5 [http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/the_hold_steady/reviews/9194 link]
Last album = "Separation Sunday"
(2005)
This album = "Boys and Girls in America"
(2006)
Next album = "Stay Positive"
(2008)

"Boys and Girls in America" is the third studio album by The Hold Steady, released on October 3, 2006 by Vagrant Records. On August 18, 2006, first single "Chips Ahoy!" was released as a free download from music site Pitchfork Media. On September 29, 2006, a Flash-based stream of the album was made available on Vagrant Records' website. [ [http://www.vagrant.com/holdsteady_listeningparty/] Dead link|date=March 2008] The second single, "Stuck Between Stations" began to appear on college radio station playlists in November 2006.

Backing vocals for the track "Chillout Tent" are provided by Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner and The Reputation's Elizabeth Elmore [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/37631/Hold_Steady_Announce_Fall_Tour Hold Steady Announce Fall Tour | Pitchfork ] ] . Dana Kletter (ex-Blackgirls, Dear Enemy, and Hole's "Live Through This") contributed backing vocals to "Chips Ahoy!", "You Can Make Him Like You", and "First Night". [ [http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?z=y&EAN=601091044227 Barnes & Noble.com - Music: Boys and Girls in America, The Hold Steady, CD ] ]

The album title is a line taken from Jack Kerouac's novel "On the Road". [ [http://www.worldhum.com/weblog/item/the_hold_steady_pays_tribute_to_kerouacs_on_the_road_20060729/ World Hum | Travel | The Hold Steady Pays Tribute to Kerouac’s “On the Road” ] ]

Critical reception

On October 2, 2006, Pitchfork Media rated "Boys and Girls in America" 9.4 out of 10, making the album tied with Joanna Newsom's "Ys" for the best-reviewed original release of 2006 by the site. However, Pitchfork later selected The Knife's "Silent Shout" (which had received a rating of 8.6 on February 13) as the best album of 2006; "Boys and Girls in America" was named the fifth-best album of the year.

The album received a metascore of 85 out of 100 on Metacritic, making it tied with four other albums for the 12th best-reviewed album of 2006. Magnet and The Onion's AV Club named it the best album of 2006.

The song "Stuck Between Stations" was ranked #11 on Pitchfork's list of the top 100 songs of 2006.

"Chillout Tent" was ranked #33 on The Rolling Stone's list of 100 best songs of 2006. [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/12769472/the_100_best_songs_of_2006/4 The 100 Best Songs of 2006 : Rolling Stone ] ]

Other versions

The song "Girls Like Status" was featured on the album "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Colon the Soundtrack".

Track listing

References