Art of Losing [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Japanese edition of 2003 album for alternative rock act, fronted by ex-Letters To Cleo/Veruca Salt drummer Stacy Jones, includes one bonus track, 'When The Breeders Were Big'. Island.

Tracks:

The Art Of Losing
The Breakup Song
Beautiful Disaster
Save Me
Nothing Left To Lose
Teenage Alien Nation
Rise
This Is The Sound
The Gold Rush
Built For Speed
Happy

Amazon.com

American Hi-Fi singer Stacy Jones knows that the real cost of a failed relationship isn't the risk of eternal loneliness, but the possibility of losing your favorite CDs. "One more thing before you go / Would you please give my records back / My Bloody Valentine, the Pixies, Cheap Trick, and Back in Black," the former Veruca Salt drummer desperately imparts to his ex in "The Breakup Song." No doubt, these are hallowed objects to the doe-eyed frontman. American Hi-Fi's second release is a virtual tribute to Jones's modern-rock record collection, mining everyone from Sonic Youth ("Teenage Alien Nation") to Bow Wow Wow ("The Art of Losing") to Oasis ("This Is the Sound") while preserving American Hi-Fi's own endearing pop-punk identity. With producer Nick Launay, the band reins in the prankishness of its self-titled debut, which launched the hit "Flavor of the Weak," and makes a determined bid to walk among its idols. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews:

what a disappointment.......2005-04-27

i'll keep this short and sweet:

this CD sucks.

you might like if you're 12 and into really lame music, think you're cool, etc. but it sucks.

their first CD was AMAZING. i have no idea what the hell happened, but this CD was a waste of my money.

buy the first CD, it's emotional and beautiful and amazing. and then the band decided to jump on the punkrock train, and now they're just like everybody else.

the lyrics are lame. they're just boring. and the vocals are obnoxious, i find his voice irritating. just... ew.

don't. buy. this. CD.

I love ALL AHF CDs thus far!.......2005-02-22

I just saw these guys play live (Feb 2005; opening band for Bowling for Soup in Burlington VT), and I can NOT believe that I had never heard them before. They rocked the place, and I bought all their CDs the very next day. Not only was their show great, but they even hung around afterward, to talk with fans and sign CDs, shirts, etc. Totally cool. My favorites on this particular CD are "Art of Losing," "Breakup Song," "Nothing Left to Lose," "The Gold Rush," and "Built for Speed" (when you have that many favorites off of one CD, you know it's a good one!). Their new CD "Hearts on Parade" will be released by Maverick in April 2005 - and I highly recommend that one too (based on a pre-release EP we bought at the show). And don't miss the chance to see them perform live if you can.

absolute garbage.......2004-12-10

Amazon won't let me rate with zero stars. I saw a video from this band air on MTV one evening while flipping through cable. The song was something about the geeks getting the girls? Anyway, I am completely serious when I say that I felt nauseated. Exactly what kind of music is this? I read in the Amazon review that one of the songs contain lyrics from Stacey Whatever concerning an attempt to get his My Bloody Valentine, and Pixies album back. Please dude, don't write about real bands any more, you totally discredit them (what with your apparent extensive music collection it makes me believe you are spreading everything thin, and you've completely missed the essence of good music). Oh yeah, why are Top 40 bands such as this (see also Good Charlotte, Sum 41, Blink 182, etc.) being called Punk? That's like calling Richard Simmons Hardcore. I'm never negative, but this is such a blatant capitalistic commercial business endeavor preying on impressionable young minds, it makes me sick and deserves to be called out.

Not better/worse--but different than their debut.......2004-04-15

This is one of those albums that you just have to take at face value. While AHF may have shown more emotional range with their debut album, "Art of Losing" is prototypical punk-pop: 3-chord driven melodies and lyrics sung with just enough venom to make you pump your fist. It is meant to be played loudly--preferably somewhere you can pogo like a madman, or at least sing along. The hooks on "Breakup Song," "Nothing Left to Lose" and "Built for Speed" are straight out of the 'I can't get this #*&$ verse of my head!' category.

I think the "ballads" are the weak spots of the album. "This is the Sound" sounds too much like (the worst of) Oasis for my tastes, and "Save Me" has more cliche's than I like--soft/loud/soft, acoustic verse/electric chorus, and guitar licks that could have been sampled right off a Creed album.

When AHF rocks out, the result is much, much better. What I find interesting is that the album seems to progress from more "pop" in the first tracks to more "punk" as the tracks progress...a rare album where the later tracks are better than the earlier tracks.

good album but not as good as first.......2004-03-20

this is an underatted band. i like how is has its own sound no trying to sound like other bands. i saw them play at michigan state university and they were awsome. if you want some good rock go buy this album.

Average customer rating:

Broadway Divas
Love the choices
coulda been a contender
Two words: Julia Murney

Broadway Divas
Liza Minnelli , Mandy Patinkin , Bernadette Peters , Mary Martin , Patti LuPone , Jeanne Lehman , Mark Jacoby , Madeline Kahn , Marin Mazzie , Barbara Cook , Angela Lansbury , and Julia Murney
Manufacturer: RCA Victor Broadway
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Nostalgia | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music

General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

Traditional Pop | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Musicals | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

The Lady With The Torch
Patti LuPone Live! (Highlights)
I'm Not Waiting
Legends of Broadway
Sondheim Etc. Etc.: Bernadette Peters Live at Carnegie Hall (The Rest of It)

ASIN: B00005LN5V
Release Date: 2001-08-07

Tracks:

I Got The Sun In The Morning - Ethel Merman
Sing Happy - Liza Minnelli
Mean To Me - Nell Carter
Children And Art - Bernadette Peters
Before I Kiss The World Goodbye - Mary Martin
Being Alive - Patti LuPone
Monotonous - Eartha Kitt
Shy - Sarah Jessica Parker
All That Jazz - Bebe Neuwirth
Raise The Roof - Julia Murney
Getting Married Today - MADELINE KAHN
Back To Before - Marin Mazzie
Losing My Mind - Barbara Cook
What Did I Have That I Don't Have? - Barbara Harris
Everything's Coming Up Roses - Angela Lansbury

Customer Reviews:

Broadway Divas.......2007-01-22

Wonderful selection of classic singers and songs. Special favorites are Ethel Merman and Barbara Cook.

Love the choices.......2006-08-11

This is great. Anything with Ethel, Bernadette, Barbara (both of them), Mary, and Marin is beyond words. Any one of them by themselves is awesome but these ladies together are mind blowing. All of the women sound amazing but they made a mistake on the list of songs and composers. "Raise the Roof" sung by Julia Murney (I love her)was written by Andrew Lippa, not LaChusia.

coulda been a contender.......2006-03-15

The divas are indeed divine, but the choice of music sung left me wondering why, with so many other great music selection contenders.

Two words: Julia Murney.......2001-09-03

OK, so it sounds crazy to review an album with Ethel Merman and Bernadette Peters on it and not mention them. But...tough. I've read enough about them to know how good they are.

Buy this album as a token of love to the producer who had the cajones to put Julia Murney on an album celebrating the last 100 years of Broadway divas.

Because SHE is one of the greatest voices of the decade!

Average customer rating:

Clean is good.. but good music is better.
Clean or Explicit, Still a 5-Star Album

The Art of Losing
American Hi-Fi
Manufacturer: Island
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk Revival | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk-Pop | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Post Grunge | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Hearts On Parade

ASIN: B00008AY5Y
Release Date: 2003-02-25

Tracks:

The Art Of Losing
The Breakup Song
Beautiful Disaster
Save Me
Nothing Left To Lose
Teenage Alien Nation
Rise
This Is The Sound
The Gold Rush
Built For Speed
Happy

Customer Reviews:

Clean is good.. but good music is better........2003-08-07

I bought the album after hearing a couple of songs from the CD somewhere.

First off... I was thrilled that they had a clean version - Hey Blink 182, Eminem how about it? But I was disapointed with some of the songs on the album. Just not the rocking I was hoping for...

Clean or Explicit, Still a 5-Star Album.......2003-03-04

I'll personally always prefer the explicit, unedited versions of albums, but the pleasure to be had from American Hi-Fi doesn't come from obscenities. Clean or explicit, this album is an amazing disc of pop/punk/alt-rock that gets its hooks in your brain and doesn't let go. Highlights are the amazing title track, "The Breakup Song" and "Beautiful Disaster" but there's really no bad tracks to be found here. Stacy Jones and company have produced a killer follow-up to their acclaimed debut, and if you're only into buying "clean" albums, then get this version and prepare to be spinning it in your CD player for months to come.