The Sophtware Slump

The Sophtware Slump
Studio album by Grandaddy
Released	May 29, 2000
Genre	Indie rock Space rock
Length	46:47
Label	V2
Producer	Jason Lytle
Grandaddy chronology
Signal to Snow Ratio (1999) The Sophtware Slump (2000) The Windfall Varietal (2000)

The Sophtware Slump is the second studio album by American indie rock band Grandaddy, released in 2000. The album received strong reviews from most critics.^[1] It is seen by some as a concept album about problems concerning modern technology in society. The title is a reference to the sophomore slump, as it is their second album. The album was reissued in 2011 with a second disc of bonus material containing B-sides, EP tracks, outtakes, and demos.^[2]

Recording

The album was written and recorded by Jason Lytle alone in a remote farmhouse, which he described: "I just remember everything out there was dusty. Humidity and dust."^[3] Lytle described how he made the recordings "in my boxer shorts, bent over keyboards with sweat dripping off my forehead, frustrated, hungover, and trying to call my coke dealer".^[3] It was mixed by former Pavement drummer Gary Young.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Drowned in Sound	[5]
Mojo	[1]
NME	[6]
Pitchfork Media	(8.5/10)[7]
Q	[1]
Robert Christgau	(A-)[8]
Stylus Magazine	(A-)[9]

The indie music magazine Under the Radar ranked The Sophtware Slump fifteenth in its list The Best of the Decade Albums (2000-2009).^[10] Steve Taylor, in his book The A to X of Alternative Music, viewed The Sophtware Slump as "clean, lush and less understated" than the band's previous work, describing "The Crystal Lake" as "a perfectly executed pop song".^[11] Richard A. Martin, writing for CMJ New Music Monthly noted Jason Lytle's "new infatuation with technology, expertly juxtaposed with his almost spiritual connection to the West's wide-open spaces and bird-filled skies", and stated that "Lytle expresses sympathy for the lost souls and machines of the high-tech dot-com landscape throughout the album".^[12] Neil Strauss of The New York Times called the album "a heart-achingly beautiful requiem for a culture in which progress and technology have led to alienation and disposability".^[13] Allmusic's Heather Phares called it " Grandaddy's most impressive work yet".^[4] For the Daily Telegraph's Neil McCormick the album was one of the highlights of 2000, describing it as "a work of rare and precious qualities. A collection of emotional, richly melodic songs that deal with modern man's uneasy relationship with technology".^[14]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"He's Simple, He's Dumb, He's the Pilot"	8:52
2.	"Hewlett's Daughter"	3:06
3.	"Jed the Humanoid"	4:18
4.	"The Crystal Lake"	5:00
5.	"Chartsengrafs"	2:51
6.	"Underneath the Weeping Willow"	2:40
7.	"Broken Household Appliance National Forest"	4:34
8.	"Jed's Other Poem (Beautiful Ground)"	3:25
9.	"E. Knievel Interlude (The Perils of Keeping It Real)"	1:57
10.	"Miner at the Dial-a-View"	5:21
11.	"So You'll Aim Toward the Sky"	4:43

Sales and charts

By February 2001 the album had sold 20,000 copies in the US and almost 80,000 worldwide.^[12] By 2006 it had sold 107,000 copies.^[15] It reached number 36 on the UK Albums Chart in its first week of release, re-entering the chart in 2001, peaking at number 63.^[16]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "The Sophtware Slump Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/grandaddy/sophtwareslump. 
2. ^ Stickler, Jon (2011) "Grandaddy Announce Deluxe Edition of 'The Software Slump'", stereoboard.com, June 28, 2011, retrieved 2011-08-07
3. ^ ^{a b} Barton, Laura (2006) "'Stuff doesn't happen unless I'm alone'", The Guardian, May 19, 2006, retrieved 2011-08-07
4. ^ ^{a b} Heather Phares. "The Sophtware Slump". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r470075. 
5. ^ James Skinner (22 August 2011). "Grandaddy - The Sophtware Slump: Deluxe Edition". Drowned in Sound. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16428/reviews/4143295. 
6. ^ "The Sophtware Slump". NME. 12 September 2005. http://www.nme.com/reviews/grandaddy/2202. 
7. ^ Ryan Schreiber (6 June 2000). "Album Reviews: Grandaddy: The Sophtware Slump". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/3545-the-sophtware-slump/. 
8. ^ Robert Christgau. "Grandaddy". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Grandaddy. 
9. ^ Dan Cooper (1 September 2003). "Sophtware Slump - Review". Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/grandaddy/sophtware-slump.htm. 
10. ^ Under the Radar, (No. 29/Holiday 2009).
11. ^ Taylor, Steve (2004) The A to X of Alternative Music, Continuum, ISBN 0-8264-7396-2, p. 119-120
12. ^ ^{a b} Martin, Richard A. (2001) "Hidden Agenda: Grandaddy's Fake Plastic Tress Can't Obscure How Good They Are", CMJ New Music Monthly, February 2001, p. 38, retrieved 2011-08-06
13. ^ Strauss, Neil (2000) "MUSIC: The Year in Pop and Jazz: the Critics' Choices; Raps of Persecution, Songs of Alienation", The New York Times, December 17, 2000, retrieved 2011-08-07
14. ^ McCormick, Neil (2001) "Bearded and Proud", Daily Telegraph, February 1, 2001, retrieved 2011-08-07
15. ^ Bronson, Kevin (2006) "Grandaddy leader finally changes his tune on band", Milwaukee Sentinel, June 5, 2006, p. 5E, retrieved 2011-08-07
16. ^ "Grandaddy", Chart Stats, retrieved 2011-08-06