Music for Men

Music for Men
Studio album by Gossip
Released June 19, 2009
Recorded Shangri La Studios, Malibu
Genre
Length 43:27
Label Columbia
Producer Rick Rubin
Gossip chronology

Standing in the Way of Control
(2006)		 Music for Men
(2009)		 A Joyful Noise
(2012)
Singles from Music for Men
  1. "Heavy Cross"
    Released: April 28, 2009
  2. "Love Long Distance"
    Released: September 13, 2009
  3. "Pop Goes the World"
    Released: March 8, 2010
  4. "Men in Love"
    Released: October 29, 2010 (Germany)[1]

Music for Men is the fourth studio album by the American band Gossip, released in 2009 by Columbia Records.[2][3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 69/100[4]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [5]
BBC Music favorable[6]
Drowned in Sound 5/10[7]
The Guardian [8]
The Independent [9]
Pitchfork Media 6.4/10[10]
Planet Sound 4/10[11]
Spin [12]
The Times [13]
Uncut [14]

Music for Men received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 69, based on 26 reviews.[4] The album's production was criticized due to its "loud" sound quality.[15] Albums such as this have been mastered so loud that additional digital distortion is generated during the production of the CD. The trend, known as the loudness war, has become very common on modern rock CDs. In 2010, Music for Men earned Gossip a nomination for Outstanding Music Artist at the 21st GLAAD Media Awards.[16]

Chart performance

The album was a massive success in Europe with sales of 280,000 in France alone, where it also spent 138 weeks in the chart.[17]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Dimestore Diamond"   3:16
2. "Heavy Cross"   4:06
3. "8th Wonder"   3:17
4. "Love Long Distance"   4:26
5. "Pop Goes the World"   3:27
6. "Vertical Rhythm"   3:50
7. "Men in Love"   3:41
8. "For Keeps"   4:08
9. "2012"   3:51
10. "Love and Let Love"   3:32
11. "Four Letter Word"   3:49
12. "Spare Me from the Mold"   2:28

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2009–10) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[20] 13
Austrian Albums Chart[21] 4
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[22] 3
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[23] 13
Croatian International Album Chart[24] 27
Dutch Albums Chart[25] 31
European Top 100 Albums[26] 15
Finnish Albums Chart[27] 32
French Albums Chart[28] 5
German Albums Chart[29] 10
Irish Albums Chart[30] 27
Italian Albums Chart[31] 29
New Zealand Albums Chart[32] 28
Norwegian Albums Chart[33] 34
Spanish Albums Chart[34] 100
Swiss Albums Chart[35] 12
UK Albums Chart[36] 18
US Billboard 200[37] 164
US Top Heatseekers[37] 8

Certifications

Region Certification
Austria[38] Platinum
Belgium[39] Gold
France[40] 2× Platinum
Germany[41] 3× Gold
Switzerland[42] Platinum

Year-end charts

Chart (2009) Position
Australian Albums Chart[43] 77
Austrian Albums Chart[44] 57
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[45] 28
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[46] 73
European Top 100 Albums[47] 67
French Albums Chart[48] 28
German Albums Chart[49] 55
Swiss Albums Chart[50] 55
Chart (2010) Position
Austrian Albums Chart[51] 33
European Top 100 Albums[52] 36
French Albums Chart[53] 34
German Albums Chart[54] 24
Swiss Albums Chart[55] 35

References

  1. ↑ "Men in Love: Gossip". Amazon.de. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  2. ↑ Amazon – Music For Men
  3. ↑ Gossip Official Website
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Music For Men – Gossip". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 7, 2010.
  5. ↑ Music for Men at AllMusic
  6. ↑ BBC review
  7. ↑ Drowned in Sound review
  8. ↑ The Guardian review
  9. ↑ The Independent review
  10. ↑ Pitchfork Media review
  11. ↑ Planet Sound review
  12. ↑ Spin review
  13. ↑ The Times review
  14. ↑ Uncut review
  15. ↑ Barnbeck, Carsten (August 25, 2009). "STEREO fühlt dem Dynamikwahn auf den Zahn". STEREO (in German). Reiner H. Nitschke Verlags. Retrieved August 25, 2009.
  16. ↑ "21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards – English Language Nominees". Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  17. ↑ http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Gossip/Music-For-Men-a107376676.html
  18. ↑ AllMusic 'Music for Men' Album Credits
  19. ↑ ARTISTdirect 'Dana Nielsen' Credits
  20. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men". Australian Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men" (in German). IFPI Austria. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  22. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  23. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
  24. ↑ "Top Stranih – Tjedan 4. 2010." (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  26. ↑ "European Albums – Week of July 11, 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men". IFPI Finland. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  28. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  29. ↑ "Gossip, Music For Men" (in German). Media Control. charts.de. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  30. ↑ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 25 June 2009". Irish Recorded Music Association. Chart-Track. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  31. ↑ "Artisti – Classifica settimanale dal 19/06/2009 al 25/06/2009" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  32. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men". Recorded Music NZ. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  33. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men". Verdens Gang. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men". Productores de Música de España. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  35. ↑ "Gossip – Music For Men". Media Control. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  36. ↑ "2009 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. July 4, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 "Music for Men – Gossip – Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  38. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – Gossip – Music for Men" (in German). IFPI Austria. November 16, 2010. Enter Gossip in the field Interpret. Enter Music for Men in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  39. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2009". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. September 25, 2009.
  40. ↑ "French album certifications – Gossip – Music for Men" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. July 8, 2010.
  41. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Gossip; 'Music for Men')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  42. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Gossip; 'Music for Men')". Hung Medien.
  43. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2009". ARIA. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  44. ↑ "Jahreshitparade 2009" (in German). IFPI Austria. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  45. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten 2009" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  46. ↑ "Rapports Annuels 2009" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  47. ↑ "2009 Year End Charts – European Top 100 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  48. ↑ "Classement Albums – année 2009" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  49. ↑ "VIVA Album Jahrescharts 2009" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Viva. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  50. ↑ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2009". Media Control. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  51. ↑ "Jahreshitparade 2010" (in German). IFPI Austria. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  52. ↑ "2010 Year End Charts – European Top 100 Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  53. ↑ "Classement Albums – année 2010" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
  54. ↑ "VIVA Album Jahrescharts 2010" (in German). Media Control. Viva. Retrieved January 6, 2011.
  55. ↑ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2010". GfK Entertainment. Hung Medien. Retrieved May 6, 2012.