Le Tigre (album)

Le Tigre is the debut studio album of American music trio Le Tigre. It was released October 25, 1999[2] on Mr. Lady Records. The album combined pop music with the band's feminist political lyrics. It received positive reviews from music critics.

Le Tigre
Studio album by
Le Tigre
ReleasedOctober 25, 1999 (1999-10-25)
GenreDance-punk, riot grrrl, new wave[1]
Length31:44
LabelMr. Lady
ProducerChris Stamey, Le Tigre
Le Tigre chronology
Le Tigre
(1999)		 From the Desk of Mr. Lady
(2001)
Le Tigre studio album chronology
Le Tigre
(1999)		 Feminist Sweepstakes
(2001)
Singles from Le Tigre
  1. "Hot Topic"
    Released: 1999

History
Fateman, Samson, and Hanna performing in September 2000

Le Tigre was formed by Kathleen Hanna, Johanna Fateman, and Sadie Benning. Hanna lived with Fateman while the two were in a band called the Troublemakers. Hanna had collaborated with Benning on a video for "Aerobicide" from Hanna's 1997 album Julie Ruin.[3] The three of them originally planned to come up with a live format for Hanna's songs as Julie Ruin, but they transitioned into making music.[4]

The band constructed songs using inexpensive electronic equipment. Fateman explained that they chose equipment with which they were unfamiliar to show "girl-punk scorn for that particular strain of male expertise associated with electronic music."[5] Le Tigre produced the album with Chris Stamey of the dB's, who helped the band rearrange songs through digital editing. Hanna and Fateman knew the founders of Mr. Lady Records from their time in Portland, Oregon. They chose to release the album through Mr. Lady because of its political engagement.[4] When Benning was unable to tour in support of the album, the band removed them from its lineup and added JD Samson.[6]

Composition

Le Tigre's music spans 1960s pop, punk rock, and lo-fi new wave.[7] The band members listened to pop and hip hop music while making it.[8] Le Tigre plays Farfisa organs, samplers, turntables, and guitars on the album.[9] Many of the album's beats were programmed on an Alesis HR-16b drum machine. Fateman stated that she found the use of a drum machine liberating because "it makes you self-sufficient."[8]

Sadie Benning, one of the original band members and collaborators.

The album incorporates the band's political beliefs; Hanna commented that she wanted "to make something that's totally pleasurable and political too."[3] "My My Metrocard" criticizes New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani,[10] and "Hot Topic" praises progressive activists.[11] The band emphasized frankness and didacticism in its lyrics as a response to the ironic tone of hipster subculture.[8] Le Tigre's vocals often carry a bored or soft-spoken tone, punctuated by more energetic bursts.[12] Their use of girl group chants was likened to 1960s group the Shangri-Las.[13] Hanna was influenced by the vocals on old records by Lesley Gore, the Shirelles, and Connie Francis. She explained that she was fascinated by "what it would be like to be a woman with way more constraints than we have now, singing these really fucked-up insipid heterosexual love songs."[3]

Songs

Deceptacon

Opening track "Deceptacon" references Barry Mann's 1961 single "Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" by asking "Who took the Bomp from the Bompalompalomp?".[14][15] It denounces a decline in meaningful lyrics in rock music.[16] Hanna expressed frustration that riot grrrl had been transformed into icons like the Spice Girls.[17] The song was popularized by online videos of its "aerobicon" choreography.[8] "Deceptacon" was featured in the 2006 Norwegian film Reprise, the 2003 skateboarding film Yeah Right!, the 2015 documentary film Hurricane of Fun: The Making of Wet Hot, the 2014 animated film The Book of Life, a Pandora Radio advertisement featuring British virtual band Gorillaz,[18] the fourth episode of the Netflix series Special and the trailer for the 2019 film Between Two Ferns: The Movie. The song sparked a collaboration between Le Tigre and Christina Aguilera.[19]

Hot Topic

"Hot Topic" was released as the album's only single. It is a list song of people whose work inspired the band. Most are female, and many are also LGBT. The song encourages them to continue on behalf of progressive women.[20] It combines the sounds of doo-wop, Japanese indie pop, and new wave.[21] Hanna described "Hot Topic" as analogous to a college syllabus in its ability to pass on awareness of works to others.[9] The song was used in a Kohl's commercial in 2016.[22]

What's Yr Take on Cassavetes

"What's Yr Take on Cassavetes" uses American filmmaker John Cassavetes to depict the conflict between public figures' work and their personal lives.[17] It opens with a solemn spoken passage asking "how you really feel about it".[13] The song breaks down into a shouting match that labels Cassavetes with positive terms such as "genius" and "messiah" as well as negative ones such as "misogynist" and "alcoholic".[23][24]

My My Metrocard

"My My Metrocard" is a song about escapism and exploration.[11][1] It uses a call-and-response pattern to condemn then-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose policies against quality-of-life crimes the band opposed.[5]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Alternative Press4/5[25]
Christgau's Consumer GuideA[26]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[27]
Melody Maker[28]
Pitchfork8.5/10[16]
Rolling Stone[29]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[30]
Select4/5[31]
Spin9/10[13]

Le Tigre received positive reviews from music critics. The Village Voice writer Robert Christgau wrote that "Hanna does the unprecedented—if not, apparently, impossible—and reinvents punk again."[32] AllMusic described Le Tigre as sounding "like the best new wave album not to come from the 1980s."[1] Pitchfork called the album's songwriting "less didactic than Bikini Kill's ... geared for the repeated listens these well-crafted pop songs beg for."[16] Spin said that the album "sparkles with a joie de vivre more bubbly than a pink champagne" and continued that "the sound is as charming as the stories they tell",[13] and the magazine later named it the 10th best album of 2000.[33] PopMatters described Le Tigre as "a record in which bristling punk-pop tunes target listeners with confrontational, thought-provoking messages."[34] Select referred to the album as "12 sparky pop nuggets" and "a righteous gem and one worthy of attention of even the most demanding devotee of big shiny production."[31]

Le Tigre was the 24th most acclaimed album of 1999, according to Acclaimed Music.[35] The album placed 28th on The Village Voice's 2000 Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[36] The album is listed on SPIN's list of "The 300 Best Albums Of The Past 30 Years (1985-2014)",[37] and in the reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[38] In 2022, Le Tigre placed 43rd on Pitchfork's list of "The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s".[39]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Le Tigre

No.TitleLength
1."Deceptacon"3:04
2."Hot Topic"3:44
3."What's Yr Take on Cassavetes"2:22
4."The The Empty"2:04
5."Phanta"3:14
6."Eau d'Bedroom Dancing"2:55
7."Let's Run"2:34
8."My My Metrocard"3:07
9."Friendship Station"3:04
10."Slideshow at Free University"2:48
11."Dude, Yr So Crazy!"3:26
12."Les and Ray"2:06
Bonus tracks on 2004 reissue
No.TitleLength
13."Hot Topic" (BBC Evening Session)3:07
14."Deceptacon" (BBC Evening Session)3:09
15."The The Empty" (BBC Evening Session)2:02
16."Sweetie" (BBC Evening Session)2:43
Bonus tracks on Japanese edition
No.TitleLength
13."Hot Topic" (41 Small Stars remix) 
14."They Want Us to Make a Symphony Out of the Sound of Women Swallowing Their Own Tongues" 
15."Yr Critique" 

Track list error on reissue

The first two bonus tracks listed on the back cover of the reissue have "Hot Topic" then "Deceptacon". These songs are listed in the wrong order, as the song "Deceptacon" is on track 13, and "Hot Topic" is on track 14. This information is matched by the CDDB, but was fixed in the iTunes Store.

Personnel
  • Kathleen Hanna – lead vocals on all but 3, 10 & 11, backing vocals on 3, guitar on 3, bass guitar on 8
  • Johanna Fateman – lead vocals on 3, backing vocals on 1, 2, 3, 4 & 8, guitar on 4 & 7, keyboards on 1 & 8
  • Sadie Benning – backing vocals on 1, 2, 3, & 8, guitar on 2
  • JD Samson – lead vocals on 11, backing vocals on 2, trumpet on 7

References
  1. Flota, Brian. "Le Tigre – Le Tigre". AllMusic. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  2. "Mr Lady News". Mr Lady Records and Videos. Archived from the original on 2000-01-18. Mr. Lady is proud to debut their yet to be named release on October 25th.
  3. Weeks, Laurie (2000). "Kathleen Hanna". Index Magazine. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  4. Jenkins, Mark (April 21, 2000). "Le Tigre: Hear Them Roar". The Washington Post. p. N08. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  5. Fateman, Johanna (May 28, 2013). "New York Stories: Johanna Fateman". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  6. Saller, René Spencer (October 5, 2000). "Tigre Beat". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  7. Holub, Annie (October 5, 2000). "The Eye Of Le Tigre". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  8. Ferris, Glen (May 22, 2014). "Le Tigre's Johanna Fateman dissects Deceptacon". Red Bull Music Academy. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  9. Chute, Hillary (December 28, 1999). "More, more, more". The Village Voice. Vol. 44, no. 51. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  10. Carpenter, Lorraine (December 2001). "Le Tigre Know The Politics of Dancing". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  11. Carpenter, Lorraine (November 2004). "Le Tigre Raise the Stakes". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  12. Goldberg, Michelle (November 24, 1999). "Geek Grrl Anthems". Metro Silicon Valley. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  13. Vowell, Sarah (March 2000). "Le Tigre: Le Tigre". Spin. 16 (3): 147. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  14. Jenkins, Mark (January 26, 2000). "Le Tigre: Where's the Bomp?". The Washington Post. p. C05.
  15. Kelly, Chris (February 20, 2012). "Gibberish in pop music: bomp ba bomp". CBC Music. Archived from the original on March 1, 2016. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  16. Rockermann, Kristin Sage (October 26, 1999). "Le Tigre: Le Tigre". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  17. Nelson, Chris (October 21, 1999). "Best Of '99: Ex-Bikini Kill Singer Bares Teeth With Le Tigre". MTV News. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  18. Gorillaz - Pandora - "Sounds Like Gorillaz", archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2019-12-02
  19. Baron, Zach (February 1, 2010). "Perez Hilton Was Right: Le Tigre are Contributing to Christina Aguilera's Bionic". The Village Voice. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  20. Plitt, Amy (March 7, 2014). "10 awesome, fierce feminist anthems". Time Out New York. Archived from the original on November 22, 2013. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  21. Carlson, Dean. "Hot Topic – Le Tigre". AllMusic. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  22. "Kohl's TV Commercial, 'Back to School: T-shirts' Song by Le Tigre". iSpot.tv. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
  23. Tyler-Ameen, Daoud (November 27, 2012). "Old Music Tuesday: Le Tigre". NPR. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  24. Bowman, Patrick (July 26, 2012). "13 Songs That Have a Filmmaker in the Title". MTV Hive. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
  25. "Le Tigre: Le Tigre". Alternative Press (139): 92. February 2000.
  26. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Le Tigre: Le Tigre". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  27. Vincentelli, Elisabeth (November 19, 1999). "Le Tigre". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  28. "Le Tigre: Le Tigre". Melody Maker. November 10, 1999.
  29. Sheffield, Rob (March 30, 2000). "Le Tigre: Le Tigre". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 2, 2001. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  30. Kot, Greg (2004). "Bikini Kill". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 72. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  31. Long, Pat (February 2000). "Le Tigre: Le Tigre". Select (116): 86.
  32. Christgau, Robert (November 16, 1999). "African Connection II". The Village Voice. Vol. 44, no. 45. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  33. Hermes, Will (January 2011). "The Top 20 Albums of the Year". Spin. 17 (1): 73.
  34. Zahora, George. "Le Tigre: Le Tigre". PopMatters. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  35. "Acclaimed Music". www.acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
  36. "The 2000 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. February 20, 2001. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  37. "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)". 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  38. Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (February 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Universe. p. 851. ISBN 978-0-7893-1371-3.
  39. "The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2023-04-01.
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