Big Bad World
| Big Bad World | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Plain White T's | ||||
| Released | September 23, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | Groovemaster Studios (Chicago) | |||
| Genre | Pop punk,[1] indie rock[1] | |||
| Length | 33:57 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Plain White T's chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Big Bad World | ||||
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Big Bad World is the fifth studio album by American pop rock band Plain White T's. It was released on September 23, 2008 by Hollywood Records.[2] To promote the album, the Plain White T's launched a few webisodes, which together form the series Meet Me in California.
Promotion
The clothing store Aéropostale started selling the album. Buying it from there includes a limited edition Plain White T's t-shirt; also trying on a pair of jeans there gets you a code to type on Aeropostale's website for a free song download titled "Love at 10th Sight". This was also done with the latest Fall Out Boy album to increase awareness of the Aero brand. The free download is no longer available due to it being limited until midnight of the album release.[3]
The single "Natural Disaster" is featured as downloadable content for the Rock Band series.
- Natural Disaster
- Hey There Delilah
- Hate (I Really Don't Like You)
- Our Time Now
- Making Of 'Big Bad World'
- UK Tour Footage
- Making Of 'Natural Disaster'
- Rodders
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AbsolutePunk.net | (24%)[4] |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
| Blender | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[6] |
| Kerrang! | |
| PopMatters | (1/10)[7] |
| Rocklouder! | [8] |
The album received mixed reviews, with The Album Project giving the album a score of 2/5 and saying; "the new Plain White T's seem to be making music with the intention of not simply becoming a one hit wonder ("Hey There Delilah") and "making it big" but in the process have watered down everything."[9] AbsolutePunk.net reviewer Chris Fallon gave the album a score of only 24%, saying "the band continues their steep decline by writing some of the cheesiest, most gimmicky songs even Kidz Bop wouldn't consider covering".[4] AbsolutePunk later lampooned the record by claiming that album had sold 10 million copies, as their April Fool's Day joke of 2009.[10]
However, the album also gained a positive reception from critics. AllMusic reviewer Andrew Leahey gave the album 3 and-a-half out of 5 stars, saying "the[y] [Plain White T's] never attempt to recreate the magic that fueled "Hey There Delilah," focusing instead on slick, sunny songcraft with nary an acoustic guitar in sight," calling it "a refreshingly smart release that emphasizes the band's pop/rock leanings" and that they "deserve points for remaining grounded after a meteoric year."[5]
Track listing
All songs written by Tom Higgenson except for when noted
| Standard edition | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |||||||
| 1. | "Big Bad World" | Higgenson, Chris Tompkins | 3:07 | |||||||
| 2. | "Natural Disaster" | Higgenson, Ian Kirkpatrick, Tim Lopez, Mike Retondo | 3:40 | |||||||
| 3. | "Serious Mistake" | 3:32 | ||||||||
| 4. | "Rainy Day" | Higgenson, Tompkins | 3:11 | |||||||
| 5. | "1234" | 3:18 | ||||||||
| 6. | "That Girl" | 3:07 | ||||||||
| 7. | "Sunlight" | Higgenson, Lopez, Reed Calhoun | 3:50 | |||||||
| 8. | "I Really Want You" | 2:58 | ||||||||
| 9. | "Meet Me in California" | Higgenson, Tompkins | 3:34 | |||||||
| 10. | "Someday" | Higgenson, Lopez, Evan Frankfort | 3:40 | |||||||
Total length: |
33:57 | |||||||||
| Bonus Track | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 11. | "Love at 10th Sight" (UK/iTunes Bonus Track) | 2:59 | ||||||||
| 12. | "I Get Screwed" (iTunes Bonus Track) | 3:02 | ||||||||
Personnel
- Tom Higgenson - Lead vocals, piano on tracks 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 harmonica on track 8
- Tim Lopez - Lead guitar, Backing vocals
- Dave Tirio - Rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Mike Retondo - Bass guitar, bass clarinet on track 3, melodica on track 3, coronet on track 3, saxophone on track 1, backing vocals
- De'Mar Hamilton - Drums, percussion
- Johnny K - Slide guitar on track 9, mellotron on track 7
- William Hamilton - Organ on track 7
- Matt Harris - Screamed vocals on track 6
- Eric Remschneider - Strings on tracks 3, 4 and 10
- Ian Kirkpatrick - Horn arrangements on tracks 1 and 3
- Jon Brion - Chamberlin on track 5
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Plain White T's: Big Bad World". The AV Club. The Onion. September 29, 2008.
- ↑ "Big Bad World". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- ↑ Aeropostale Gives Away Plain White T's at the Wayback Machine (archived June 18, 2009)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fallon, Chris (September 21, 2008). "Plain White T's - Big Bad World". AbsolutePunk.net. Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Leahey, Andrew. "Plain White T's - Big Bad Word". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
- ↑ Wood, Mikael (September 16, 2008). "Big Bad World Review". Entertainment Weekly (Time Inc.). Archived from the original on April 25, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
- ↑ Langager, Ross (January 8, 2009). "Plain White T's: Big Bad World Review". PopMatters. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
- ↑ May, Phillip (November 12, 2008). "Plain White T's - Big Bad World". Rocklouder. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
- ↑ "Full Review: Plain White T's - Big Bad World". The Album Project.net. Archived from the original on 2008-10-02. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
- ↑ "Plain White T's Go Diamond - News Article". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
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