We Started Nothing

We Started Nothing
Studio album by The Ting Tings
Released 16 May 2008
Recorded 2007–08, Salford, Greater Manchester
Genre Post-punk revival, indie rock, dance-punk, synthpop, new wave
Length 37:47
Label Columbia
Producer Jules De Martino
The Ting Tings chronology

We Started Nothing
(2008)		 Sounds from Nowheresville
(2012)
Alternative cover
International cover
Singles from We Started Nothing
  1. "Fruit Machine"
    Released: 19 November 2007
  2. "Great DJ"
    Released: 24 March 2008
  3. "That's Not My Name"
    Released: 8 May 2008
  4. "Shut Up and Let Me Go"
    Released: 7 July 2008
  5. "Be the One"
    Released: 13 October 2008
  6. "We Walk"
    Released: 23 February 2009
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 64/100[1]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [2]
The A.V. Club B−[3]
Drowned in Sound 5/10[4]
Entertainment Weekly B+[5]
The Guardian [6]
The New York Times positive[7]
NME 6/10[8]
Pitchfork Media 3.8/10[9]
Rolling Stone [10]
The Times [11]
Robert Christgau [12]

We Started Nothing is the debut studio album by British indie rock duo The Ting Tings. It was released on 16 May 2008 by Columbia Records. The US edition has a different cover image in several background colours. The album was also released in the UK on red vinyl limited to 2,000 copies. The US vinyl version is a standard black-vinyl pressing. As of March 2012, We Started Nothing had sold 632,341 copies in the UK.[13]

Background

According to vocalist-guitarist of The Ting Tings, Katie White:

The way we write changes with each song. "Keep Your Head" started with Jules [De Martino] on the drums, "We Walk" started with me on piano, "Shut Up and Let Me Go" started with Jules on bass, "That's Not My Name" was me ranting about my frustrations with the record industry. "Great DJ" was me playing a D chord on the guitar for hours, because that's all I could play. And then I put my finger on the wrong string, and got what I discovered was an augmented chord. And that was the riff! The lyrics described the life we were living at the time. It was about getting lost in hedonism, about forgetting that you had bailiffs knocking at your door and just surrendering to the joys of the music in a nightclub for several hours—the boys, the girls, the strings, the drums.[14]

Singles

The first single released from the album was a double A-side single consisting of "That's Not My Name" and "Great DJ". It was released on 27 May 2007 on the independent label Switchflicker Records.

The album's second single, "Fruit Machine", was released as a limited 500-copy run, only available for their fans at the band's concerts. Four covers were made: one for Salford, one for Berlin, one for London and one for New York.

The third single released from the album was the re-release of "Great DJ" on 3 March 2008. The song did chart until the re-release of "That's Not My Name", reaching number thirty-three on the UK Singles Chart.

The fourth single released from the album was the re-release of "That's Not My Name". It is so far their most successful in the UK, reaching the top spot in this country for one week. The single's popularity caused "Great DJ" to finally chart (two months after its release), and also caused "Shut Up and Let Me Go" to chart early (two months before its release). The song became the UK's twenty-second best-selling single of 2008, selling 300,000 copies. It was released in the US and reached number thirty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100.

The fifth single released from the album was "Shut Up and Let Me Go". Due to the popularity of "That's Not My Name" it entered the top seventy-five two months before its release, based on downloads. The song was officially released on 21 July 2008. It is the duo's second highest-peaking single in the UK, charting at number six, while also faring well in the US where it peaked at number fifty-five on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Be the One" was released on 13 October 2008 as the sixth single from the album. Despite the popularity of the last two singles, it only managed to peak at number twenty-eight in the UK.

The re-release of "Fruit Machine" was originally planned to be released on 9 February 2009 as the album's seventh single, but was cancelled a week before the release. "We Walk" was ultimately released as the seventh and final single on 23 February 2009, peaking at number fifty-eight in the UK. It was the band's first single not to have a 7" vinyl release, instead coming out on CD and 12" vinyl only.

The seventh single was planned to be "Keep Your Head", but the duo decided to cancel it to spend more time recording their second album.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Jules De Martino and Katie White. 

No. Title Length
1. "Great DJ"   3:23
2. "That's Not My Name"   5:11
3. "Fruit Machine"   2:54
4. "Traffic Light"   2:59
5. "Shut Up and Let Me Go"   2:52
6. "Keep Your Head"   3:23
7. "Be the One"   2:58
8. "We Walk"   4:04
9. "Impacilla Carpisung"   3:41
10. "We Started Nothing"   6:22

Personnel

Credits for We Started Nothing adapted from liner notes.[16]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2008–09) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[17] 22
Austrian Albums Chart[18] 57
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[19] 38
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[20] 54
Dutch Albums Chart[21] 20
European Top 100 Albums[22] 5
French Albums Chart[23] 21
German Albums Chart[24] 59
Irish Albums Chart[25] 3
Japanese Albums Chart[26] 50
New Zealand Albums Chart[27] 16
Swiss Albums Chart[28] 28
UK Albums Chart[29] 1
US Billboard 200[30] 78
US Top Alternative Albums[31] 21
US Top Independent Albums[32] 8
US Top Rock Albums[33] 40

Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Position
Australian Albums Chart[34] 76
European Top 100 Albums[35] 58
French Albums Chart[36] 137
UK Albums Chart[37] 29
US Top Independent Albums[38] 26
Chart (2009) Position
French Albums Chart[39] 140

Certifications

Region Certification
Australia Gold[40]
France Silver[41]
Ireland Platinum[42]
United Kingdom 2× Platinum[43]

Release history

Region Date Label Edition
Ireland[44] 16 May 2008 Columbia Records Standard
United Kingdom[45] 19 May 2008
Australia[46] 23 May 2008 Sony Music
Germany[47] 30 May 2008
United States[48] 3 June 2008 Columbia Records, RED Ink Records
France[49] 16 June 2008 Sony Music
United Kingdom[50] 24 November 2008 Columbia Records Deluxe
Japan[51] 21 January 2009 Sony Music Standard, deluxe
France[52] 8 June 2009 Deluxe

See also

References

  1. ↑ "We Started Nothing – The Ting Tings". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  2. ↑ Phares, Heather. "We Started Nothing – The Ting Tings". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  3. ↑ Koski, Genevieve (16 June 2008). "The Ting Tings: We Started Nothing". The A.V. Club. Onion, Inc. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Whyte, Tony Robert (12 May 2008). "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 14 May 2008.
  5. ↑ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (30 May 2008). "We Started Nothing (2008)". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  6. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (16 May 2008). "The Ting Tings, We Started Nothing". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  7. ↑ Pareles, Jon (26 May 2008). "Critics' Choice: New CDs". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  8. ↑ Fullerton, Jamie (15 May 2008). "The Ting Tings". NME. IPC Media. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
  9. ↑ Moerder, Adam (19 June 2008). "The Ting Tings: We Started Nothing". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  10. ↑ Endelman, Michael (12 June 2008). "We Started Nothing : The Ting Tings". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on 5 April 2009. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
  11. ↑ Elan, Priya (17 May 2008). "The Ting Tings: We Started Nothing". The Times. Times Newspapers. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
  12. ↑ Christgau, Robert (July 2008). "Consumer Guide: We Started Nothing". MSN Music. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  13. ↑ Jones, Alan (5 March 2012). "Official Chart Analysis: Sande thrives in Scotland, Ed Sheeran album tops 1m sales in UK". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
  14. ↑ The Guardian: 1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear – Party Songs, Writing Party Songs, pg. 7
  15. ↑ "We Started Nothing: Ting Tings". HMV Japan. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  16. ↑ We Started Nothing (CD liner notes). The Ting Tings. Columbia Records. 2008. 88697314542.
  17. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  18. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  19. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  20. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  21. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  22. ↑ "Hits of the World". Billboard 120 (23): 67. 7 June 2008. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  23. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
  24. ↑ "The Ting Tings, We Started Nothing" (in German). charts.de. Media Control. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  25. ↑ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 22 May 2008". Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  26. ↑ ザ・ティン・ティンズのアルバム売り上げランキング [The Ting Tings album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  27. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing". charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 June 2008.
  28. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  29. ↑ "2008 Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive". Official Charts Company. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
  30. ↑ "We Started Nothing – The Ting Tings : Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  31. ↑ "Alternative Albums : Jun 21, 2008". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  32. ↑ "Independent Albums : Jan 17, 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  33. ↑ "Top Rock Albums : Jun 27, 2009". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  34. ↑ "ARIA Charts – End of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 2008". ARIA Charts. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
  35. ↑ "2008 Year End Charts – European Top 100 Albums". Billboard.biz. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  36. ↑ "Classement Albums – année 2008" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  37. ↑ "Yearly Best Selling Albums – 2008". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  38. ↑ "2008 Year End Charts – Independent Albums". Billboard.biz. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 4 October 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  39. ↑ "Classement Albums – année 2009" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  40. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 11 January 2009.
  41. ↑ "Certifications Albums Argent – année 2008" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  42. ↑ "2008 Certification Awards – Platinum". The Irish Charts. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  43. ↑ "Certified Awards". British Phonographic Industry. 3 April 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  44. ↑ "Ting Tings – We Started Nothing". Tower Records Ireland. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  45. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing". Columbia Records UK. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  46. ↑ "We Started Nothing – Ting Tings, The". JB Hi-Fi. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  47. ↑ "The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing" (in German). Sony Music Entertainment Germany. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  48. ↑ "We Started Nothing: Ting Tings". Amazon.com. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  49. ↑ "We started nothing : The Ting Tings" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  50. ↑ "Ting Tings: We Started Nothing: Deluxe Edition: Includes Dvd". HMV. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  51. ↑
  52. ↑ "We started nothing – Inclus DVD bonus : The Ting Tings" (in French). Fnac. Retrieved 17 March 2012.

External links