Satellite Rides

Satellite Rides is the fifth studio album by American country/rock band Old 97's, first released in the second quarter of 2001 (see 2001 in music). Though track 9, "Weightless", refers to outer space while the chorus croons "ride on, ride on" to an unspecified audience, the album's title does not appear in the lyrics but was later used for the song "In The Satellite Rides A Star" on the band's followup album, 2004's Drag It Up.

Satellite Rides is much criticized by fans as a pop album at odds with the band's roots in country-influenced rock. This has more to do with the production of the sound than the songwriting, as many of the songs are quite popular, in more rocking form, in live shows.

Lyrically, the songs have Rhett Miller writing about characters other than himself, albeit personal references remain. "Rollerskate skinny" refers to Holden Caulfield's description of his sister in J. D. Salinger's seminal novel, The Catcher in the Rye, while "Buick City Complex" refers to workers affected by General Motors' decision to close its failed mega-factory in Flint, Michigan. Miller wrote the song "Am I Too Late" for his grandmother, Ahnece Pugh. Miller re-recorded "Question" and "Singular Girl" with a full band for his 2006 solo album, The Believer. The album features two songs sung by bassist Murry Hammond, "Up The Devil's Pay" and "Can't Get A Line".

Satellite Rides is also a pseudonym under which that the band plays shows, including a show at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle, Washington, on August 31, 2008.

"Question" was recently used in a commercial for Fuse TV network in the United States. It featured sock puppets. "Question" was also used in the season 2 episode 15, "His Story" of Scrubs, when Turk proposes to Carla, originally broadcaston January 16, 2003. "Question" is often performed live with a French verse.

"King of All the World" was used in the film Out Cold.

Track listing

1. "King of All the World" - 2:52
2. "Rollerskate Skinny" - 3:52
3. "Buick City Complex" - 3:39
4. "Bird in a Cage" - 3:48
5. "Up the Devil's Pay" (vocals by Murry Hammond) - 3:49
6. "What I Wouldn't Do" - 3:47
7. "Question" - 2:15
8. "Am I Too Late" - 2:32
9. "Weightless" - 3:45
10. "Can't Get a Line" (vocals by Murry Hammond) - 2:52
11. "Designs on You" - 3:49
12. "Book of Poems" - 3:32
13. "Nervous Guy" - 3:56

Early pressings of the album included an EP of five songs recorded live at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California on September 25, 1999 for local radio station, KFOG, and one leftover studio track:

1. "Barrier Reef" (Live) - 3:47
2. "Victoria" (Live) - 4:02
3. "Nineteen" (Live) - 3:27
4. "Timebomb" (Live) - 3:37
5. "Valentine" (Live) - 3:18
6. "Singular Girl" - 4:15

Personnel

• Ken Bethea: acoustic, 6-string, 12-string, slide, and lap steel guitars, accordion
• Rhett Miller: electric, acoustic, 6-string, and 12-string guitars, mouth trumpet, vocals
• Murry Hammond: bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Can't Get a Line" and "Up the Devil's Pay"
• Philip Peeples: drums, shakers, maracas, tambourine

Notes