The Art Of Losing

American Hi-Fi

explicit

Released on 01/01/2003 by EMI
Main artists: American Hi-Fi
Genre: Pop

Available in

16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo

Unlimited Streaming

Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps

Start my trial period and start listening to this album

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Digital Download

Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

Former '90s alt.rock utility man Stacy Jones brings the gleaming steel wool of his American Hi-Fi out of the box once again with The Art of Losing. The album arrives after a curious live offering, which seemed to exist solely as an opportunity for Jones to fulfill a Live at Budokan fantasy. Nevertheless, fans of the 2001 hit "Flavor of the Weak" will find The Art of Losing and its title track lead single worthy follow-ups. It's appropriate that "The Art of Losing"'s slick, reconstituted punk jerk found its way into a Coors Light ad -- its chants of "Hey ho/Let's go/I'm gonna start a riot" and "One two/F*ck you/Don't tell me what to do" take the packaging of punk for mass consumption to macrobrewery levels. Impossibly, the similarly processed grit of "The Breakup Song" is a straight-up knockoff of blink-182's "First Date." Jones includes another name-drop of Cheap Trick here, too; the production inserts handclaps, layer after layer of harmony vocals, and the thousand-foot-high guitar tone typical of songs mixed for radio. In fact, this is the sound that guides both Losing and American Hi-Fi, a band that's been designed and built for success in three-minute increments. "Nothing Left to Lose" splices played-out hip-hop phrasing ("Holla back y'all," "All the bitches in the back") into smarmy Jackson Browne and Undertones references as the guitars chug and ring referentially; "Teenage Alien Nation" and "Beautiful Disaster" feature more bombastic riffery and meticulously placed potty mouth from Jones. Elsewhere there are the requisite ballads ("Save Me" and "This Is the Sound" -- think a louder Goo Goo Dolls), but The Art of Losing is rounded out mostly by a jumble of F-words, cheeky pop culture references, name-drops (Built to Spill? My Bloody Valentine? Mentioning them doesn't put you in the same league), and more buzzing 21st century new alternative rock helped out considerably by production chicanery. American Hi-Fi truly is the flavor of the week.

© Johnny Loftus /TiVo

More info

The Art Of Losing

American Hi-Fi

You are currently listening to samples.

Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.

Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.

From 12.49€/month

The Art Of Losing (Album Version (Explicit)) Explicit

00:03:24

Stacy Jones, Guitar, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Nick Launay, Producer, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kevin Dean, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Chris Reynolds, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Errin Familia, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - American Hi-Fi, MainArtist - Adam Fuller, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dave Alhert, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jamie Arentzen, Guitar, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Drew Parsons, Bass Guitar, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian Nolan, Drums, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer

℗ 2002 The Island Def Jam Music Group

The Break Up Song (Album Version (Explicit)) Explicit

00:02:54

Stacy Jones, Guitar, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Lars Fox, Unknown, Other - Nick Launay, Producer, Recording Engineer, Mix Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Kevin Dean, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Chris Reynolds, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Errin Familia, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - American Hi-Fi, MainArtist - Adam Fuller, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dave Alhert, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jamie Arentzen, Guitar, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Drew Parsons, Bass Guitar, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Brian Nolan, Drums, Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer