Stoosh

Stoosh
Studio album by Skunk Anansie
Released 20 May 1996
Recorded 1996
Genre Alternative rock, punk rock
Length 46:56
Label One Little Indian, Epic
Producer Garth Richardson
Skunk Anansie chronology

Paranoid and Sunburnt
(1995)		 Stoosh
(1996)		 Post Orgasmic Chill
(1999)
Singles from Stoosh
  1. "All I Want"
    Released: September 1996
  2. "Twisted (Everyday Hurts)"
    Released: November 1996
  3. "Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)"
    Released: February 1997
  4. "Brazen (Weep)"
    Released: June 1997

Stoosh is the second studio album by British rock band Skunk Anansie, released on 20 May 1996.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly B[2]
Rock Hard (de) 9.5/10[3]

In 2005, Stoosh was ranked number 367 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[4]

Track listing

No. Title Length
1. "Yes It's Fucking Political"   3:51
2. "All I Want"   3:52
3. "She's My Heroine"   5:03
4. "Infidelity (Only You)"   6:00
5. "Hedonism (Just Because You Feel Good)"   3:29
6. "Twisted (Everyday Hurts)"   4:13
7. "We Love Your Apathy"   5:11
8. "Brazen (Weep)"   4:38
9. "Pickin' on Me"   3:18
10. "Milk Is My Sugar"   3:48
11. "Glorious Pop Song"   4:18

Skin gave a track-by-track guide to Select:

  1. Yes It's Fucking Political "The main criticism we have had is that you can't mix politics and music, which seems like quite a fascist idea from music journalists. This song is about how everything is fucking political, and we'll always have that element to our music."
  2. All I Want "We wrote this song in America. We just kept bumping into these people whose only religion was money. It's a song about greed. It's not typical of Americans – just people who like hanging around bands."
  3. She's My Heroine "There's quite a few melancholic songs on this album, like this one. This is a song about how some things that you think are really good for you can also really fuck you up. I discovered this with someone I used to go out with."
  4. Infidelity (Only You) "The title is what it is about. We have a string quartet on a few songs on this album, which was arranged by Michael McKeegan, who works with Therapy?. He also plays cello and he's fantastic."
  5. Hedonism (Just Because It Feels Good) "This is one of my favourite lyrics on the album, just because it is so simple but says so much. As a band, you are forced into so many situations where you are pushed to just have a good time all the time, and you sometimes have to take a step back and see what success is doing to you."
  6. Twisted (Everyday Hurts) "I'm really not sure what this song is about! I wrote it while I was in a bad situation and, now I'm out of it, the song means something different. The lyrics are quite depressive, which goes against the whole happy groove of the music. It's a bit of an oxymoron."
  7. We Love Your Apathy "This song is about how we keep voting in the same piece-of-shit government, and how the Labour Party are condoning this apathy. I always vote, though. I like to have a voice, even if it is a tactical vote."
  8. Brazen (Weep) "This opens with quite a demonic laugh, which fits in with the dark, violent mood of the song. Like 'Twisted', this is about the extremely sad situation I was in."
  9. Pickin' on Me "We have never done a song with just guitar and vocals before, but it works well on this song. It was inspired by someone I knew at school who really wound me up and was always up the teacher's arse. You just knew he was going to grow up to be a policeman, and he did. It's about how racism really starts in the classroom."
  10. Milk Is My Sugar "This is a fucking disgusting song about sex. My mum asked me what it's about and I said breakfast and she believed me. I bet some squirmy little bastard will show her a copy of Select now!"
  11. Glorious Pop Song "This song was originally called 'You're Still A Strange One'. It was so poppy that we got worried that the record company would release it and that we would become known for it, like Extreme did with 'More Than Words'. When we recorded it, we covered it with swear words, so it will never be a single."[5]

Hidden tracks

The album contains a number of hidden tracks and surprises for the listener. The first is hidden before the start of track 1, it's a instrumental mix of the song "100 ways to be a good girl" taken from the first album. After track 3, 7 and 9 there is a short jam (lasting between 0:35 and 1:30; altogether 3:39) which can be accessed directly by rewinding from tracks 4, 8, and 10 respectively. Technically it exists in the pause between the end of one track and the beginning of another. CD players can sometimes be seen counting down to zero while they play these hidden tracks. Some rippers will often append these hidden tracks to the end of the previous song (for example, when ripping the CD).

The final track, "Glorious Pop Song", also contains some minutes of silence followed by a recorded conversation which is mostly laughter.

References

  1. ↑ Demalon, Tom. "Allmusic review". Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  2. ↑ Sinclair, Tom. "EW review". Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  3. ↑ Kress, Hanno. "Rock Hard review". issue 114. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  4. ↑ [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 61. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
  5. ↑ Select, November 1996