Fast Times at Barrington High
Fast Times at Barrington High | ||||
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Studio album by The Academy Is... | ||||
Released | August 18, 2008 | |||
Recorded | Spring — Summer 2008 at Avatar Studios in New York City, New York | |||
Genre | ||||
Label | Fueled by Ramen, Decaydance | |||
Producer | S*A*M and Sluggo | |||
The Academy Is... chronology | ||||
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Singles from Fast Times at Barrington High | ||||
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Fast Times at Barrington High is the third and final studio album by American rock band The Academy Is..., released in August 2008.[1][2]
Background
It was produced by S*A*M and Sluggo. The title refers to the high school to which William Beckett and Adam Siska went,[3] and a play on the title of the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The album cover photo was taken by William Beckett's sister, Courtney Beckett, and shows William sitting on a couch with Naomi, a friend of the band.
Pete Wentz posted a blog entry saying that he heard the demos for the new album and called them, "Mind blowing. Miles away from where they were."[4] Collaborations include Andrew McMahon from Jack's Mannequin; Gabe Saporta, Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez from Cobra Starship; and Mason Musso and Blake Healy from Metro Station.
Promotion
The Academy Is... held a contest for releasing new tracks, email addresses were entered on a page off the main website page and 8 winners were selected at random to receive a song off the album and also a call from the band and a free signed copy of Fast Times at Barrington High. The contest winners were encouraged to post the songs over the internet and the winner with the most song listens would receive a special unknown prize.
The band performed "About a Girl" and "Summer Hair = Forever Young" on the Vans Warped Tour and their Australian tour with Panic! at the Disco and Cobra Starship. Hot Topic released two new The Academy Is... T-shirts, one of which comes with a code for the free download of an acoustic version of "His Girl Friday".
The first single off the album is "About a Girl", which was released on July 15, 2008. The song impacted radio on August 12.[5]
Reception
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AbsolutePunk | (68%)[6] |
Allmusic | [7] |
Alternative Press | [8] |
Entertainment Weekly | (B+)[9] |
IGN | [10] |
Kerrang! | |
The New York Times | (favorable)[11] |
Rolling Stone | |
Spin | [12] |
The album sold 35,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 17 on the Billboard 200.[13] It was named the 46th best album of 2008 by Rolling Stone.[14] By October 2009, the album's sales stood at 85,000.[15]
Track listing
All lyrics written by William Beckett; all music composed by The Academy Is... with Sam Hollander and Dave Katz on tracks 1–6 and 11.
- "About a Girl" – 3:30
- "Summer Hair = Forever Young" – 3:39
- "His Girl Friday" – 3:41
- "The Test" – 3:29
- "Rumored Nights" – 3:45
- "Automatic Eyes" – 3:26
- "Crowded Room" – 3:07
- "Coppertone" – 3:18
- "After the Last Midtown Show" – 5:13
- "Beware! Cougar!" – 3:38
- "Paper Chase" – 3:30
- "One More Weekend" – 3:43[16]
- iTunes bonus tracks
- "Every Burden Has a Version" – 4:08
- "Sodium" – 3:46
- "About a Girl" (Acoustic version) – 3:22
- Hot Topic bonus track
- "His Girl Friday" (Acoustic version) – 3:42
- 7" vinyl bonus track
- "Tokyo Bay" – 2:59
Release history
Country | Release date |
---|---|
New Zealand | August 18, 2008 |
United Kingdom | |
United States | August 19, 2008 |
Australia | August 23, 2008 |
Chart positions
Chart | Position |
---|---|
Billboard 200 | 17 |
Rock Albums | 5 |
Digital Albums | 17 |
Alternative Albums | 5 |
Personnel
- William Beckett – lead vocals, guitar, piano
- Mike Carden – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Adam T. Siska – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Andy "The Butcher" Mrotek – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Michael Guy Chislett – lead guitar, backing vocals
Contributions
- Gabe Saporta (Cobra Starship & Midtown) – additional vocals on "Crowded Room".
- Mason Musso (Metro Station) – additional vocals on "Crowded Room".
- Andrew McMahon (Jack's Mannequin & Something Corporate) – piano on "After the Last Midtown Show".
- Ryland Blackinton (Cobra Starship) – additional vocals on "About a Girl".
- Alex Suarez (Cobra Starship) – additional vocals on "His Girl Friday".
- Blake Healy (Metro Station) – piano on "His Girl Friday" and "Summer Hair = Forever Young".
References
- Citations
- ↑ Gamboa, Glenn (10 June 2008). "The Academy Is... ready to rock". Newsday. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ↑ Shultz, Brian (26 June 2008). "The Academy Is... set third album name and date". Alternative Press. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ↑ "Question and Answers with William and Sisky". Friends Or Enemies. 9 October 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ↑ Wentz, Pete (11 July 2008). "Pete Wentz on the new album". Friends Or Enemies. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ↑ "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. August 5, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
- ↑ "The Academy Is... - Fast Times at Barrington High - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.
- ↑ "Fast Time at Barrington High - The Academy Is...". Allmusic.
- ↑ "The Academy Is... - Fast Times At Barrigton High". Alternative Press.
- ↑ "Fast Times at Barrington High Review". Entertainment Weekly. 19 August 2008.
- ↑ "The Academy Is... Fast Times at Barrington High". IGN.
- ↑ "Critics' Choice". The New York Times. 18 August 2008.
- ↑ "The Academy Is..., 'Fast Times at Barrington High' (Decaydance/Fueled by Ramen". Spin.
- ↑ "'Fast Times at Barrington High' chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ↑ Fricke, David; Will Hermes; Christian Hoard; Melissa Maerz; Jody Rosen (25 December 2008). "Fast Times at Barrington High at No.46 in Rollingstone.com's Best albums list of 2008". RollingStone.com. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
- ↑ Bell; Harding 2009, p. 57
- ↑ DeAndrea, Joe (11 July 2008). "Fast Times At Barrington High's Track List". Absolutepunk.com. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- Sources
External links
- Fast Times at Barrington High at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)
- Official website