Boys and Girls in America

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Boys and Girls in America
Studio album by The Hold Steady
Released	October 3, 2006
Genre	Rock, Post-punk
Length	40:07
Label	Vagrant Records
Producer(s)	John Agnello
Professional reviews
Pitchfork (9.4/10.0) link All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link Twisted Ear link Static and Feedback link
The Hold Steady chronology
Separation Sunday (2005)	Boys and Girls in America (2006)

Boys and Girls in America is an album by The Hold Steady released on October 3, 2006 by Vagrant Records (See 2006 in music). The title refers to a line in Jack Kerouac's 1957 novel On the Road, which is made explicit in the opening line of the album: "There are nights when I think Sal Paradise was right: Boys and Girls in America have such a sad time together." On August 18, 2006 the first single, "Chips Ahoy!," was released online as a free download from popular indie music site Pitchfork Media. On the September 29, 2006 a Flash-based stream of the album was made publicly available on Vagrant Records' website [1].

Backing vocals for the track "Chillout Tent" are provided by Soul Asylum's Dave Pirner and The Reputation's Elizabeth Elmore [2]. Dana Kletter (ex-Blackgirls, Dear Enemy, Hole's "Live Through This") contributed backing vocals to several tracks including "Chips Ahoy!," "You Can Make Him Like You," and "First Night [3]."

[edit] Critical reception

On October 2, 2006, Pitchfork Media gave Boys and Girls in America a rating of 9.4 out of 10, making the album tied with Joanna Newsom's Ys for best-reviewed original release of 2006 by Pitchfork Media. However, Pitchfork Media named The Knife's Silent Shout the best album of 2006 even though they rated it at 8.6 on February 13, 2006. Pitchfork Media named Boys and Girls in America the 5th best album of 2006.

The album received a metascore of 85 out of 100 on Metacritic, making it tied for the 12th best reviewed album of 2006 with four other albums.

It was named the album of 2006 by Magnet and The Onion AV Club's Staff. It also appeared on numerous other top ten lists in 2006.

The track "Stuck Between Stations" was ranked at #11 on Pitchfork Media's list of the top 100 songs of 2006.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Stuck Between Stations" – 4:10
2. "Chips Ahoy!" – 3:09
3. "Hot Soft Light" – 3:53
4. "Same Kooks" – 2:47
5. "First Night" – 4:54
6. "Party Pit" – 3:56
7. "You Can Make Him Like You" – 2:48
8. "Massive Nights" – 2:54
9. "Citrus" – 2:44
10. "Chillout Tent" – 3:42
11. "Southtown Girls" – 5:10