Bleed American

"The Authority Song" redirects here. For the John Cougar Mellencamp song, see Uh-huh.

Bleed American
Studio album by Jimmy Eat World
Released	July 24, 2001
Recorded	Cherokee, Los Angeles Harddrive, North Hollywood
Genre	Alternative rock, emo, emo pop, pop punk, power pop
Length	46:38
Label	DreamWorks
Producer	Mark Trombino, Jimmy Eat World
Jimmy Eat World chronology
Singles (2000)Singles2000 Bleed American (2001) Futures (2004)Futures2004
Singles from Bleed American
"Bleed American" Released: September 24, 2001 "The Middle" Released: November 5, 2001 "Sweetness" Released: June 3, 2002 "A Praise Chorus" Released: 2002

Bleed American (re-released as Jimmy Eat World) is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Jimmy Eat World.

Songs

"Hear You Me" was reportedly written for Mykel and Carli Allan, the pair were fans of the band Weezer.

The title for "The Authority Song" was taken from a John Mellencamp song.

The album is the first Jimmy Eat World album without a lead vocal by guitarist Tom Linton.

Recording

The album was produced by Mark Trombino.

Release

Bleed American was released on July 24, 2001 by DreamWorks. The album artwork is taken from William Eggleston's photograph "Memphis".

Out of concern that its title could be misinterpreted following the September 11 attacks, the album was re-released on October 9, 2001 with an eponymous title. In addition, the title track was renamed "Salt Sweat Sugar."

An EP, titled Good to Go EP, was released in Japan on February 22, 2002. A tour EP, The Middle/A Praise Chorus Tour EP was released in Australia in January 2003.

On April 28, 2008, a deluxe edition of the album was released with a bonus disc containing several b-sides, acoustic versions, live versions, demo versions and previously unreleased tracks. The original album and track title Bleed American were restored.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Drowned in Sound	10/10
Entertainment Weekly	B
Los Angeles Times
Pitchfork Media	3.5/10
Punknews.org	(2001) (2008)
Rolling Stone
Slant Magazine
Sputnikmusic	3.5/5
The Village Voice	C+

Bleed American was a critical and commercial success, helping the band gain mainstream popularity. Bleed American was well received by music critics and was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), and silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Thomas Nassiff at AbsolutePunk stated that "praising this album is something that can't be done enough" and concluded: "Certainly one of the most memorable records of 2001, Bleed American might actually have the most lasting power of any album from that class." Nassiff also opined that the album contained "no bad songs". AllMusic's Mark Vanderhoff praised the album's "compelling lyrics, driving guitar work, and insanely catchy melodies". Mike Stagno of Sputnikmusic commented: "When I first listened to Jimmy Eat World's fourth album, I wasn't really expecting anything other than an average mainstream rock album. What I got was an enjoyable, catchy mainstream rock album." Stagno noted its high replay value, particularly tracks such as "Sweetness" and "Get It Faster". Aubin Paul of Punknews.org stated that unlike the band's prior albums, the second half of Bleed American was "quite strong, and really fleshes out the musical ideas from the record." While noting that those who dislike "emo or 'poppier' music" would dislike the album, Paul ultimately concluded that "the punker-than-thou kids should stick with Static Prevails, but a catalog as impressive a J.E.W.'s can be appreciated by anyone without preconceptions."

Q listed Bleed American as one of the best 50 albums of 2001. The album was included in Rock Sound's 101 Modern Classics list at number 48. In 2013, it was ranked at number 429 on NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. BuzzFeed included the album at number 17 on their "36 Pop Punk Albums You Need To Hear Before You F——ing Die" list. NME listed the album as one of "20 Pop Punk Albums Which Will Make You Nostalgic". NME listed the album as one of "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time". The album was ranked at number 183 on Spin's "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)" list.

Track listing

All songs written by Jimmy Eat World, except "A Praise Chorus", which contains lyrics from "Crimson and Clover" written by Tommy James and Peter P. Lucia, Jr.

1. "Bleed American" – 3:02
2. "A Praise Chorus" – 4:03
3. "The Middle" – 2:46
4. "Your House" – 4:46
5. "Sweetness" – 3:40
6. "Hear You Me" – 4:45
7. "If You Don't, Don't" – 4:33
8. "Get It Faster" – 4:22
9. "Cautioners" – 5:21
10. "The Authority Song" – 3:38
11. "My Sundown" – 5:40

Bonus tracks

Japanese/vinyl bonus track
No.	Title	Length
12.	"(Splash) Turn Twist"	4:09

Deluxe edition disc one bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
12.	"The Most Beautiful Things" (from Good to Go / Jebediah split)
13.	"No Sensitivity" (from German "The Middle" single / Jebediah split)
14.	"(Splash) Turn Twist" (from The Middle EP / Firestarter EP)

Deluxe edition disc two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Cautioners" (demo, from Good to Go EP / Jebediah split)
2.	"Firestarter" (from Firestarter EP)
3.	"Get It Faster" (AOL version, previously unreleased)
4.	"Bleed American" (live, from the Australian EP)
5.	"A Praise Chorus" (live, from Good to Go)
6.	"Softer" (live, from Good to Go)
7.	"The Middle" (acoustic, from the Australian EP)
8.	"If You Don't, Don't" (XFM version, from British "The Middle" single)
9.	"Game of Pricks" (from British "The Middle" single / Good to Go EP)
10.	"The Authority Song" (demo, from German "The Middle" single)
11.	"My Sundown" (from Believe in What You Want)
12.	"Sweetness" (live, previously unreleased)
13.	"Last Christmas" (from Last Christmas)
14.	"My Sundown" (demo, from German "The Middle" single)
15.	"Spangle" (from Good to Go EP / Singles)
16.	"Hear You Me" (from Believe in What You Want)
17.	"The Middle" (demo, from German "The Middle" single)
18.	"Your House 2007" (previously unreleased)

Personnel

Personnel per 2008 reissue booklet.

Jimmy Eat World

• Jim Adkins – lead vocals, guitar, percussion; bass guitar on "Your House"; piano on "Hear You Me" and "My Sundown"; organ on "Cautioners" and "My Sundown", bells on "My Sundown"
• Rick Burch – bass guitar; vocals on "If You Don't, Don't"
• Zach Lind – drums; percussion on "Your House" and "My Sundown"
• Tom Linton – guitar; vocals on "Bleed American"; organ on "Hear You Me"

Additional musicians

• Davey vonbohlen – additional vocals on "A Praise Chorus"
• Mark Trombino – synth emulator programming on "The Middle"; percussion on "Your House"; programming on "Get It Faster" and "My Sundown"; "magic box" on "Cautioners"
• Travis Keller, Doug Messenger – "timely handclaps" on "The Authority Song"
• Rachel Haden – additional vocals on "Hear You Me", "If You Don't, Don't", "Cautioners", and "My Sundown". Also provides backups on "The Authority Song" but was not credited
• Ariel Rechtshaid – additional vocals on "If You Don't, Don't"

Production

• Mark Trombino – producer, engineering, mixing
• Jimmy Eat World – producer
• Justin Smith – assistant engineer
• William Eggleston – front cover photograph
• Christopher Wray-McCann – photography
• Jim Adkins – art direction
• Jeff Kleinsmith – art direction, design
• Jesse LeDoux – design

Deluxe edition production

• Dana G. Smart – supervisor
• Jimmy Eat World, Dana Smart, Luke Wood – compilers
• Pat Lawrence – executive producer
• Ted Jensen – mastering
• Vartan – art direction
• Coco Shinomiya – design
• Ryan Null – photo coordination
• Monique McGuffin Newman – production manager

Chart performance

Chart (2001–02)	Peak position
Australia ARIA	54
Germany	20
New Zealand Recorded Music NZ	43
UK OCC	62
US Billboard 200	31

See also

• List of audiovisual entertainment affected by the September 11 attacks

References

Footnotes

Citations

External links

• Bleed American at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)