Fast Times at Barrington High
Fast Times at Barrington High is the third and final studio album by American rock band The Academy Is..., released in August 2008.[8][9] It was produced by S*A*M and Sluggo. The title refers to the high school to which William Beckett and Adam Siska went,[10] and a play on the title of the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The album cover photo was taken by William Beckett's sister, Courtney Beckett, and shows William sitting on a couch with Naomi, a friend of the band.
Pete Wentz posted a blog entry saying that he heard the demos for the new album and called them, "Mind blowing. Miles away from where they were."[11] The first single off the album is "About a Girl", which was released on July 15, 2008. Collaborations include Andrew McMahon from Jack's Mannequin; Gabe Saporta, Ryland Blackinton and Alex Suarez from Cobra Starship; and Mason Musso and Blake Healy from Metro Station.
The album sold 35,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 17 on the Billboard 200.[12]
It was named the 46th best album of 2008 by Rolling Stone.[13]
Promotion
The Academy Is... held a contest for releasing new tracks, email addresses were entered on a page off the main website page and 8 winners were selected at random to receive a song off the album and also a call from the band and a free signed copy of Fast Times at Barrington High. The contest winners were encouraged to post the songs over the internet and the winner with the most song listens would receive a special unknown prize.
The band performed "About a Girl" and "Summer Hair = Forever Young" on the Vans Warped Tour and their Australian tour with Panic! at the Disco and Cobra Starship. Hot Topic released two new The Academy Is... T-shirts, one of which comes with a code for the free download of an acoustic version of "His Girl Friday".
Track listing
All lyrics written by William Beckett; all music composed by The Academy Is... with Sam Hollander and Dave Katz on tracks 1–6 and 11.
- "About a Girl" – 3:30
- "Summer Hair = Forever Young" – 3:39
- "His Girl Friday" – 3:41
- "The Test" – 3:29
- "Rumored Nights" – 3:45
- "Automatic Eyes" – 3:26
- "Crowded Room" – 3:07
- "Coppertone" – 3:18
- "After the Last Midtown Show" – 5:13
- "Beware! Cougar!" – 3:38
- "Paper Chase" – 3:30
- "One More Weekend" – 3:43[14]
- iTunes bonus tracks
- "Every Burden Has a Version" – 4:08
- "Sodium" – 3:46
- "About a Girl" (Acoustic version) – 3:22
- Hot Topic bonus track
- "His Girl Friday" (Acoustic version) – 3:42
- 7" vinyl bonus track
- "Tokyo Bay" – 2:59
Release history
| Country |
Release date |
|---|
| New Zealand |
August 18, 2008 |
| United Kingdom |
| United States |
August 19, 2008 |
| Australia |
August 23, 2008 |
Chart positions
| Chart |
Position |
|---|
| Billboard 200 |
17 |
| Rock Albums |
5 |
| Digital Albums |
17 |
| Alternative Albums |
5 |
Personnel
Contributions
Allusions
- The title of the album is a reference to the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The song "Coppertone" references the movie as well.
- The song "Beware! Cougar!" ends with the line, "Don't write a word, 'cause I won't reply". This line was originally from a song by The Format called "I'm Ready, I Am".
- The title of the song "After the Last Midtown Show" is a reference to the band Midtown. This is a band that Gabe Saporta, who contributed backing vocals to "Crowded Room", was in before Cobra Starship.
References
External links
[2]