American Girls: Difference between revisions

American Girls (view source)

Revision as of 16:50, 25 June 2020

1,311 bytes added , 25 June 2020

Added some details, consolidated information into one section

HMC

Bureaucrats, Administrators

19,484

edits

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 | Album type      = soundtrack
 }}
-"'''American Girls'''" is the only officially released song from the [[Homie]] catalogue.  It was written by [[Rivers Cuomo]] in 1997 during Weezer's hiatus and released in 1998 on the ''[[Meet the Deedles Soundtrack|Meet the Deedles]]'' soundtrack.
+"'''American Girls'''" is a song from the soundtrack to the [[Meet the Deedles Soundtrack|1998 film ''Meet the Deedles'']]. It was the only song officially released by [[Homie]], a side-project formed by [[Rivers Cuomo]] in [[1997]] after [[Weezer]] entered a period of hiatus.
 ==Overview==
-Though it is technically attributed to Homie, "American Girls" was the [[:Category:Book-end tracks|last proper Weezer recording]] to feature the band's classic line up, as [[Matt Sharp]] would leave the band after its release.
+"American Girls" was first recorded by Rivers Cuomo on his DA-88 machine in September of 1997, while living in Boston. When asked about his songwriting structure in an e-mail correspondence in [[2001]], Cuomo responded: "Round about the time I wrote American Girls, I started getting interested in what one of my professors calls "Strophic" composition: where one verse is essentially the same as the last. I think this form produces less "emotional" music, but the masters of the form, including the Beatles and Nirvana, don't seem to let their listeners down with it. I'll admit I haven't found a way to pull it off yet." [https://web.archive.org/web/20080603104847/http://www.members.shaw.ca/ridd2/correspondence/matt.html]
-===Hard Rock version===
-====Live Performances====
-The original incarnation of "American Girls" was a fast paced driving rock number.  Fans have dubbed it the "American Girls (Hard Rock version)".  The song was performed three times in the winter of 1997 in local Boston clubs.  The first performance was in October at a Weezer try-out show.  After another performance at a Weezer try-out show, the song was switched to the Homie setlist.
-====Studio recordings====
+Following the departure of [[Matt Sharp]] from Weezer, Cuomo began performing shows around Boston as both Weezer "try-out" shows as well as shows under his new side-project, [[Homie]]. "American Girls" was first performed live at [[Rivers Cuomo concert: 10/08/1997 - Cambridge, MA|the first of these "try-out" shows]] at a club in Cambridge in October of [[1997]]. At this show, Cuomo introduced the song by saying that it was about "how American girls can be kinda rough sometimes." Cuomo was joined by future Weezer bassist [[Mikey Welsh]] on bass, [[Kevin Stevenson]] (of the band The Shods) on guitar, and [[Zeph Courtney]] (of Chevy Heston and Stompbox) on drums. The group also played it at [[Rivers Cuomo concert: 10/??/1997 - Cambridge, MA|another show]] that same month, and one additional time at [[Homie concert: 11/21/1997 - Cambridge, MA|the second of two Homie shows]] on [[November 21]]. These live performances are sometimes referred to my fans as the "hard rock" or "rocked out" version of the song, in contrast to the slowed-down ballad form of the ''Meet the Deedles'' release.
-The song was recorded four times prior to it's ''Deedle's'' recording.  All three of these demo recordings are assumed to be of the Hard Rock version.  The first recording was on Rivers' DA-88 machine in September of 1997.  The second recording was recorded later that Winter in Cambridge, MA, as a home demo.  Next, the song was recorded in a professional Boston studio, most likely Fort Apache, with Ross Humpheries engineering.  Finally, the song was recorded in the Homie album sessions, which, according to [[Karl Koch]], were finished recordings of the Homie album.
-===''Deedles'' version===
+Cuomo recorded additional demos of "American Girls" the following winter, including a demo at his home in Cambridge, as well as a "pro" demo engineered by Ross Humphrey. Cuomo subsequently recorded a full Homie album with [[Fred Eltringham]] (of Gigolo Aunts) and Drew Parsons (of Tracy Bonham's band) at a studio (most likely Fort Apache), but the album was never released, and it's not known if "American Girls" was among the songs recorded.
-The official and released version of "American Girls" is a slowed down, primarily acoustic, R&B ballad, recorded in January 1998 at a Boston pro studio.  The song makes extensive use of the harmonica and gang vocals.  It should be noted that this is the final released recording to feature both Rivers Cuomo and [[Matt Sharp]], as Matt Sharp had left the band prior to the recording to pursue [[The Rentals]] full time.
+A new version of "American Girls" was recorded in Boston for the [[Meet the Deedles Soundtrack|soundtrack to the film ''Meet the Deedles'']], released [[March 24]], [[1998]]. Though it is technically attributed to Homie, "American Girls" was the [[:Category:Book-end tracks|final recording]], to date, to feature the Weezer line up of [[Rivers Cuomo]], [[Matt Sharp]], [[Brian Bell]], and [[Pat Wilson]]. The recording also features instrumentation from [[Yuval Gabay]] and [[Sebastian Steinburg]] of Soul Coughing, guitar by [[Greg Brown]] of the band Cake, and additional vocals from Cuomo's childhood friends [[Justin Fisher]] and [[Adam Orth]] as well as Geffen A&R representative [[Todd Sullivan]].
 ==Audio==
 <youtube>ZDKUhwn3D3U</youtube>
@@ Line 38: / Line 33: @@
 <youtube>OxoJyJw9WH0</youtube>
-==Studio Recording Personnel==
+==Personnel==
+===''Meet the Deedles''===
 *[[Rivers Cuomo]] - vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, lyrics, and melody
-*Yuval Gabay (of Soul Coughing) -- drum loops
+*[[Yuval Gabay]] (of Soul Coughing) -- drum loops
 *[[Matt Sharp]] - co-producer and background vocals
-*Sebastian Steinburg (of Soul Coughing) -- upright bass
+*[[Sebastian Steinburg]] (of Soul Coughing) -- upright bass
 *[[Pat Wilson]] - miscellaneous, drum playing (what got looped)
-*Greg Brown (of Cake) -- electric guitar (lead and solos)
+*[[Greg Brown]] (of Cake) -- electric guitar (lead and solos)
 *[[Brian Bell]] - backing vocals
 *[[Justin Fisher]] (formerly of [[Avant Garde]] and [[Shufflepuck]]) - backing vocals