Before Today (album)
| Before Today | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti | ||||
| Released | June 8, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | 2009-2010 | |||
| Length | 44:48 | |||
| Label | 4AD | |||
| Producer | Sunny Levine, Rik Pekkonen, Michael Wagener | |||
| Ariel Pink chronology | ||||
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Before Today is an album by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti (the first time presented as a group), released on June 8, 2010, by 4AD.[1][2][3] The album contains several homages to vintage rock and roll songs, such as "Bright Lit Blue Skies" which was originally recorded by the Rockin' Ramrods in 1966, and "Beverly Kills," which draws heavily on Ago's 1982 track "For You." "Reminiscences" is an instrumental cover of an Ethiopian pop song, "I Remember a Man" by Yeshimebet Dubale.
In December 2010, Pitchfork Media named "Round and Round" the best song of 2010.[4] Pitchfork placed it at number 9 on its list "The Top 50 Albums of 2010".[5]
Exclaim! named "Before Today" the No. 15 Pop & Rock Album of 2010.[6] Exclaim! writer Dimitri Nasrallah said that "Before Today is a hard-earned victory lap for Pink, not only the most triumphantly realized album of his left-of-centre catalogue, but a much-needed second wind for an artist who very nearly finished off the decade as another minor curiosity in outsider-pop's long lineage."
The album was recognized as one of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far, a list published by Pitchfork Media in August 2014.[7]
Additional information
The album's opening track, Hot Body Rub previously appeared (in an alternative version) on an EP Ariel Pink with Added Pizzazz, which was a collaboration between Vas Deferens Organization (as producers) and Ariel Pink who are friends to each other. VDO provided production for this track, as well as thanks to one of its members, Eric Lumbleau, Pink made friends with Gonzales family who appeared on it.[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hot Body Rub" | 2:26 |
| 2. | "Bright Lit Blue Skies" | 2:25 |
| 3. | "L'estat (Acc. to the Widow's Maid)" | 4:26 |
| 4. | "Fright Night (Nevermore)" | 3:35 |
| 5. | "Round and Round" | 5:08 |
| 6. | "Beverly Kills" | 3:56 |
| 7. | "Butt-House Blondies" | 3:27 |
| 8. | "Little Wig" | 5:46 |
| 9. | "Can't Hear My Eyes" | 3:19 |
| 10. | "Reminiscences" | 2:34 |
| 11. | "Menopause Man" | 4:00 |
| 12. | "Revolution's a Lie" | 3:49 |
|
Total length:
|
44:48 | |
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | (85/100) [9] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [10] |
| Drowned in Sound | (8/10)[11] |
| NME | (8/10)[12] |
| The Phoenix | [13] |
| Pitchfork Media | (9.0/10)[14] |
| Popmatters | (9/10)[15] |
| The Skinny | [16] |
| Slant Magazine |  [17] |
| Spectrum Culture | [18] |
| Spin Magazine | [19] |
Personnel
- Chris Cohen – backing vocals
- John Golden – mastering
- Aaron González – bass guitar
- Dennis González – trumpet
- Stefan González – drums
- Max "Sax" Kaplan – saxophone
- Douglas Lee – artwork
- Jim Lehnert – alto sax, baritone sax
- Sunny Levine – producer, engineer
- Eric Lumbleau – vocals
- Rik Pekkonen – engineer
- Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti – producer, engineer, mixing, music
- Ariel Pink – lead vocals, guitar, farfisa organ
- Tamara Cauble – violin
- Aaron Sperske - Drums
- Nedelle Torrisi – backing vocals
- Christian Wright – mastering
References
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- ↑ [1][dead link]
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- ↑ Niklas Records, Jakub Krawczynski (2011, August). "Vas Deferens Organization and Brad Laner: Transcontinental Conspiracy presskit". Retrieved 09 September 2012.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Before Today at AllMusic
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