Cocktails & Dreams
Encyclopedia
Cocktails & Dreams is an album of B-Sides and rarities by the Chicago, Illinois punk rock
band The Lawrence Arms
, released in 2005 by Asian Man Records
. It collects the songs from their two Asian Man EP
s, songs from several compilations and a few new songs.
s "Cocktails" and "Dreams," respectively. This echoes the use of pseudonyms they had used on their fourth album The Greatest Story Ever Told. "Cocktails and Dreams" was also the name of the bar that Tom Cruise's character dreamed of opening in the film Cocktail.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Lawrence Arms
The Lawrence Arms
The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. They have released five full-length albums and toured extensively.-Pre-history:...
, released in 2005 by Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
. It collects the songs from their two Asian Man EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
s, songs from several compilations and a few new songs.
Track listing
- "Intransit" - 1:59
- "Quincentuple Your Money" - 3:01
- "100 Resolutions" - 3:31
- "There's No Place Like a Stranger's Floor" - 3:24
- "Hey, What Time is 'Pensacola: Wings of Gold' on Anyway?" - 4:19
- "Presenting: The Dancing Machine (The Robot With the Monkey Head)" - 1:27
- "Overheated" - 4:20
- "Necrotism: Decanting the Insalubrious (Cyborg Midnight) Part 7" - 1:49
- "A Boring Story" - 3:02
- "Faintly Falling Ashes" - 1:20
- "A Toast" - 2:36
- "Nebraska" - 3:37
- "Another Boring Story" - 3:00
- "Joyce Carol Oates is a Boring Old Biddy" - 3:28
- "The Old Timer's 2x4" - 2:19
- "Turnstiles" / "Old Mexico Way" / "Purple Haze" / "Heaven Help Me" - 19:05
Performers
- Chris McCaughanChris McCaughanChris McCaughan is the guitarist and vocalist in the band The Lawrence Arms. McCaughan was formerly the guitarist for the bands Tricky Dick and The Broadways ....
- 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...
, vocals - Brendan KellyBrendan Kelly (musician)Brendan Kelly is the bassist/vocalist of Chicago-based punk band The Lawrence Arms, as well as guitarist/lead vocalist in The Falcon. Kelly's former bands include Slapstick and The Broadways...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - Neil Kevin HennessyNeil HennessyNeil Kevin Hennessy is a musician and music producer/engineer from Chicago, Illinois.Hennessy currently plays in The Lawrence Arms, Colossal, The Falcon, The Smoking Popes and Demon Beach. He has also been a member of Noise By Numbers, Baxter, The Killing Tree, and Quattro.Hennessy works at Atlas...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
Album information
- Record label: Asian Man RecordsAsian Man RecordsAsian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
- Tracks 1, 15 & 16 recorded at Atlas StudiosAtlas StudiosAtlas Studios is a film studio located 5 kilometers west of the city of Ouarzazate, Morocco. Measured by acreage, it is the world's largest film studio. Most of the property consists of desert and mountains....
in early 2005 by Matt Allison - Tracks 2-5 recorded at Atlas Studios in January 2001 by Matt Allison
- Track 7 recorded at Atlas Studios in October 2001 by Matt Allison
- Track 8 recorded at Atlas Studios in December 2003 by Matt Allison
- Tracks 9-13 recorded at Atlas Studios in May 2000 by Matt Allison
- Track 14 recorded in September 2002 in a ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
oil factory by Chris Carr and Lance Reynolds - "Old Mexico Way" recorded by Mike Giampa
- "Purple Haze" and "Heaven Help Me" recorded by the Lawrence Arms on home recording devices
- Layout by David Holtz
- Photos by the Lawrence Arms, Ben Pier and others
Song information
- Tracks 2-5 originally appeared on the EP Present Day MemoriesPresent Day MemoriesPresent Day Memories is an EP by the Chicago, Illinois punk rock band The Lawrence Arms and the San Francisco, California ska band The Chinkees, released in 2001 by Asian Man Records. It is considered a "split" CD in that each band contributes several songs...
, a split CD-EP with The ChinkeesThe ChinkeesThe Chinkees are an American ska punk band fronted by Mike Park . The group debuted with 1998's The Chinkees Are Coming!, and followed with 1999's Peace Through Music and 2002's Searching for a Brighter Future before a greatest hits album was released in 2003...
released in 2001 by Asian Man Records. - Track 6 originally appeared on the compilation Fat Music, Vol. 6: Uncontrollable FatulenceUncontrollable FatulenceFat Music Volume 6: Uncontrollable Fatulence was the sixth compilation album in the "Fat Music" series, released by the Fat Wreck Chords record label, in 2002...
, released in 2002 by Fat Wreck ChordsFat Wreck ChordsFat Wreck Chords is a San Francisco, California based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by Fat Mike and his ex-wife, Erin, in 1990....
. It was originally titled "Presenting: The Dancing Machine (Il Robot Con la Testa di Scimmia)." - Track 7 is an outtake from the recording sessions for the band's third album Apathy and ExhaustionApathy and ExhaustionApathy and Exhaustion is the third album by the Chicago, Illinois punk rock band The Lawrence Arms, released in 2002 by Fat Wreck Chords. It was the band's first to be released on Fat Wreck Chords, and with this release, the band formed a close relationship with the label and its founder Fat Mike,...
. - Track 8 originally appeared on the compilation Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2 is the second Rock Against Bush compilation album released on the Fat Wreck Chords record label. It contains a collection of songs by various punk rock artists, some of which were previously unreleased. It also includes a bonus DVD with political facts, commentary...
, released in 2004 by Fat Wreck Chords. Its title "Necrotism: Decanting the Insalubrious (Cyborg Midnight) Part 7" is a direct reference to the band CarcassCarcass (band)Carcass are an extreme metal band from England, who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons....
's third album Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious. - Tracks 9-13 originally appeared on the Shady View Terrace / The Lawrence Arms split EPShady View Terrace / The Lawrence Arms split EPShady View Terrace / The Lawrence Arms split EP is a punk rock EP by the Branchville, New Jersey band Shady View Terrace and the Chicago, Illinois band The Lawrence Arms. It was originally released in 2000 by Castaway Records on CD format, and was re-released later that same year by Asian Man Records...
, which was originally released on vinyl EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
by Castaway Records and re-released in 2000 on CD by Asian Man RecordsAsian Man RecordsAsian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
. Track 10 "Faintly Falling Ashes" is a rerecording of an earlier demo, which was then titled "Purple Haze" and is included in this album's final track (see below). - Track 14 originally appeared on the compilation Oil: Chicago Punk RefinedOIL: Chicago Punk RefinedOIL: Chicago Punk Refined is a punk compilation CD released in 2003 on Thick Records. All tracks were recorded over a 15 day period in an old oil blending factory located on Chicago's South Side. It was recorded by Lance Reynolds and produced by Billy Spunke...
, released in 2002 by Thick RecordsThick RecordsTHICK RECORDS is a Chicago based independent record label formed in 1994 by Detroit native Zak Einstein. Early label releases include influential albums from Chicago ska-punkers The Blue Meanies, Alton, IL’s Judge Nothing, and the Omaha based Commander Venus, whose members included Conor Oberst,...
. It was originally titled "Where Are You Going, Where Have You BeenWhere Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is a frequently anthologized short story written by Joyce Carol Oates. The story first appeared in the Fall 1966 edition of Epoch Magazine. It was inspired by three Tucson, Arizona murders committed by Charles Schmid, which were profiled in Life magazine...
," a reference to a story by Joyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
. In the liner notes Chris notes that the song was re-titled because "1) There's nothing more lame than to be asked if you've ripped off, or even worse, were paying homage to Joyce Carol Oates. 2) It's a stupid title that basically means nothing." - Tracks 15 & 16 are re-recordings of songs that originally appeared on the band's second album Ghost Stories.
- The final track is followed by the same hidden tracks that appeared on the album Ghost Stories, but in a different order. "Purple Haze" was later rerecorded as "Faintly Falling Ashes" (see above).
Pseudonyms
In the liner notes and artwork Brendan and Chris identify themselves using the pseudonymPseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s "Cocktails" and "Dreams," respectively. This echoes the use of pseudonyms they had used on their fourth album The Greatest Story Ever Told. "Cocktails and Dreams" was also the name of the bar that Tom Cruise's character dreamed of opening in the film Cocktail.