Challengers (album)
Encyclopedia
Challengers is the fourth album by Canadian
indie rock
band The New Pornographers
, released on August 21, 2007. The track listing for the album was revealed June 1, 2007. A box set containing three blank CD-R
s, named "Executive Edition", was released August 7, 2007, two weeks before the album, with the promise of future multimedia to be downloaded at the band's website for fans to compile and burn their own CDs. The first disc included B-sides, demos and alternate versions; the second, titled "Live from the Future", featured live performances of songs related to the album; the third disc includes videos, photos and album artwork. The bonus material was available for download with the pre-orders of Challengers.
The song "My Rights Versus Yours" is currently available for download on Matador Records
website. "Failsafe" is an A.C. Newman song first recorded commercially by the Canadian indie pop band The Choir Practice
, and appeared on their debut album several months before the release of Challengers.
Challengers debuted at number 34 on the U.S. Billboard 200
, selling about 20,000 copies in its first week. "Myriad Harbour" was #79 on Rolling Stone
, except where noted.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers
The New Pornographers is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia.-History:The band's first four albums each ranked in the top 40 on The Village Voices Pazz & Jop year-end poll of hundreds of music reviewers. From 2000 to 2006, either a New Pornographers' album or a...
, released on August 21, 2007. The track listing for the album was revealed June 1, 2007. A box set containing three blank CD-R
CD-R
A CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
s, named "Executive Edition", was released August 7, 2007, two weeks before the album, with the promise of future multimedia to be downloaded at the band's website for fans to compile and burn their own CDs. The first disc included B-sides, demos and alternate versions; the second, titled "Live from the Future", featured live performances of songs related to the album; the third disc includes videos, photos and album artwork. The bonus material was available for download with the pre-orders of Challengers.
The song "My Rights Versus Yours" is currently available for download on Matador Records
Matador Records
Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of indie rock artists and bands.-History:Matador was started by Chris Lombardi in 1989 in his New York City apartment. The following year, Lombardi was joined by former Homestead Records manager Gerard Cosloy, and the two of them have...
website. "Failsafe" is an A.C. Newman song first recorded commercially by the Canadian indie pop band The Choir Practice
The Choir Practice
-External links:*...
, and appeared on their debut album several months before the release of Challengers.
Challengers debuted at number 34 on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, selling about 20,000 copies in its first week. "Myriad Harbour" was #79 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
Track listing
All songs were written by A. C. NewmanCarl Newman
Allan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....
, except where noted.
- "My Rights Versus Yours" – 4:14
- "All the Old Showstoppers" – 4:07
- "Challengers" – 3:29
- "Myriad Harbour" (Bejar) – 3:55
- "All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth" – 3:06
- "Failsafe" – 2:36
- "Unguided" – 6:30
- "Entering White Cecilia" (Bejar) – 3:26
- "Go Places" – 4:27
- "Mutiny, I Promise You" – 4:09
- "Adventures in Solitude" – 4:14
- "The Spirit of Giving" (Bejar) – 4:00
- "Silent Systems" (Japanese release)
- "Fortune" (Japanese release)
Vinyl edition
The vinyl release adjusts the running order slightly, swapping the positions of two tracks so that "Unguided" closes side one and "Failsafe" starts side two rather than the other way around.Side one
- "My Rights Versus Yours" – 4:14
- "All the Old Showstoppers" – 4:07
- "Challengers" – 3:29
- "Myriad Harbour" (Bejar) – 3:55
- "All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth" – 3:06
- "Unguided" – 6:30
Side two
- "Failsafe" – 2:36
- "Entering White Cecilia" (Bejar) – 3:26
- "Go Places" – 4:27
- "Mutiny, I Promise You" – 4:09
- "Adventures in Solitude" – 4:14
- "The Spirit of Giving" (Bejar) – 4:00
Disc two
The second disc contains b-sides, demos and alternate mixes.- "The Speed of Luxury" – 3:28 (Released July 6, 2007)
- "Silent Systems" – 4:06 (Released August 3, 2007)
- "Fortune" – 4:20 (Released August 28, 2007)
- "Failsafe" (Demo) – 2:31 (Released September 11, 2007)
- "Showstoppers" (Demo)- 4:07 (Released September 11, 2007)
- "Myriad Harbour" (Demo) – 3:47 (Released September 11, 2007)
- "Go Places" (Lite Mix) – 4:28 (Released September 25, 2007)
- "Fugue State" – 3:55 (Released November 21, 2007)
- "Arms of Mary/Looking at a Baby" – 3:53 (Released November 28, 2007)
- "Joseph, Who Understood" – 2:58 (Released November 28, 2007)
Disc three
The third disc, titled Live from the Future, was released on January 10, 2008.- "My Rights versus Yours" – 4:06
- "Use It" – 3:23
- "Myriad Harbour" – 3:56
- "Challengers" – 3:47
- "All the Old Showstoppers" – 4:12
- "Mass Romantic" – 3:54
- "Failsafe" – 2:37
- "Electric Version" – 2:52
- "Unguided" – 6:22
- "Adventures in Solitude" – 4:33
- "Jackie" (mislabeled as "Jackie, Dressed in Cobras") – 2:42
- "Go Places" – 4:53
Disc four
The fourth disc contains Challengers videos and photos; it was released in October and November 2007.- "Challengers" music video (Released October 12, 2007)
- "Myriad Harbour" music video
Personnel
- A. C. NewmanCarl NewmanAllan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, WurlitzerWurlitzerThe Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes....
, CasioCasiois a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
, mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, bass melodion - Blaine ThurierBlaine ThurierBlaine Thurier is a Canadian musician and film producer. He plays synthesizer with the Canadian indie pop supergroup The New Pornographers. Thurier also directs the band's music videos, and he has released films of his own.-Links:*...
– Fender RhodesRhodes pianoThe Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, samplerSampler (musical instrument)A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or... - Danny BejarDan BejarDaniel Bejar is an independent singer-songwriter from Vancouver renowned for his challenging and often cryptic lyrics and unorthodox vocals featured in many of his songs. Bejar has gained widespread popularity through his musical collaborations with Vancouver indie-rock band The New Pornographers,...
– vocals, shakersShaker (percussion)The word shaker describes a large number of percussive musical instruments used for creating rhythm in music.They are so called because the method of creating sound involves shaking them—moving them back and forth rather than striking them. Most may also be struck for a greater accent on certain...
, guitar, piano - John CollinsJohn Collins (Canadian musician)John Edward Collins is a member of The New Pornographers, Destroyer, and The Evaporators. He plays the bass, guitar, synthesizer, ebow and sings....
– bass, baritone guitarBaritone guitarThe baritone guitar is a variation on the standard guitar, with a longer scale length that allows it to be tuned to a lower range. It first appeared in the classical music realm...
, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, mandolin, guitars, Casio, tambourineTambourineThe tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all.... - Kathryn CalderKathryn CalderKathryn Calder is a Canadian indie rock musician, who performs as a solo artist, and is a member of the band The New Pornographers. She is a former member of Immaculate Machine. Calder started with The New Pornographers by filling in for Neko Case for live performances and was made a permanent...
– vocals, piano, Wurlitzer - Kurt DahleKurt DahleKurt Dahle is a Canadian musician best known for his work as a drummer with the rock bands Age of Electric, Limblifter, and The New Pornographers....
– drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, vocals, percussion - Neko CaseNeko CaseNeko Case is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her solo career and her contributions as a member of the Canadian indie rock group The New Pornographers....
– vocals - Todd FanceyTodd FanceyTodd Fancey is a Canadian guitarist, keyboardist and solo artist. He is most widely known as the guitarist for Vancouver-based indie rock band The New Pornographers and the bassist for the band Limblifter...
– guitars, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, mandolin
Guest musicians
- Alan Hampton – double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Benjamin D. Calb – celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
- Brendan Ryan – accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, French horn, trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Eileen Gannon – harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
- Leslie Kubicka – fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, piccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written... - Marla Hansen – violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
- Olivier Manchon – violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Phil Palazzolo – guitar
- Tara Szczygielski – violin
Production
- Phil Palazzolo - ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- John CollinsJohn Collins (Canadian musician)John Edward Collins is a member of The New Pornographers, Destroyer, and The Evaporators. He plays the bass, guitar, synthesizer, ebow and sings....
- ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - A. C. NewmanCarl NewmanAllan Carl Newman is a Canadian musician and songwriter. He was a member of the indie rock bands Superconductor and Zumpano in the 1990s. Following the breakup of those bands, he reemerged as the leader of The New Pornographers in 2000....
- ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Howard RedekoppHoward RedekoppHoward Redekopp is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based Canadian music producer/mixer/engineer.In 2009, Rolling Stone ranked one of Howard's projects, The New Pornographers' Electric Version, #79 in the "100 Best Albums of the Decade".-Discography:...
- MixerMixing engineerA mix engineer is the person responsible for incorporating all the different recorded elements of music to make the final version of a song. These mixing professionals have many years of experience and training with audio equipment which has enabled them to master the art of audio mixing...