New Magnetic Wonder
Encyclopedia
New Magnetic Wonder is the sixth studio album from The Apples in Stereo
. The album was produced by Robert Schneider
with additional production and mixing by Bryce Goggin
(Pavement
, Evan Dando
, Sean Lennon
) and was recorded in three separate states (New York
, Colorado
and Kentucky
). The album was released on February 6, 2007 via a co-venture between the actor Elijah Wood
's Simian Records
, Yep Roc Records
and Elephant 6.
In an interview, Robert Schneider has described New Magnetic Wonder as an album with sensibilities between the Apples in Stereo albums Fun Trick Noisemaker
and The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone
, as well as a heavy influence from 1970s bands such as Electric Light Orchestra
. Schneider has also admitted Smile
by Brian Wilson
as an early influence on the album.
tour. The Apples in Stereo also performed new songs such as "Open Eyes", "Play Tough", "Can You Feel It?" and "Energy" while on the New Magnetic Wonder 2006 pre-release tour.
Initially, the tour lineup featured lead singer and guitarist Robert Schneider, bassist Eric Allen, guitarist John Hill
and drummer Hilarie Sidney
as well as the addition of Elephant 6 co-founder Bill Doss
on keyboards. On August 12, 2006, during Athens Popfest, it was announced that longtime drummer Hilarie Sidney was leaving the band. On October 30, 2006, John Dufilho
was announced as the band's new drummer. John Ferguson
also joined the tour lineup to perform additional keyboards and vocals.
. Wood, a dedicated Apples fan, met Robert Schneider at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas
during 2003. New Magnetic Wonder was the first release on the newly-formed label, co-released, marketed and distributed through Yep Roc Records, Elephant 6 and Redeye Distribution, as well as the first album by The Apples in Stereo not released through spinART Records
, the album currently has a 78 out of 100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."
This album was #28 on Rolling Stone
All tracks written by Robert Schneider
except where noted.
Disc 1: NB-39
Disc 2: DT-13
The song "Atom Bomb" - 2:37 - is featured as Track 7 in the Vinyl Release between tracks 6 (Joanie Don't U Worry) and 7 (Sunndal Song).
". The enhanced CD
version of the album features descriptions of the scale as well as digital files for MIDI usage.
Two songs composed using this scale have been included on the album, with a third ("Non-Pythagorean Composition 2") as a bonus track on the enhanced CD.
Additional engineering is by:
Assistant engineering is by Ryan Shono, Alec Fellman, and Jack Schlinkert (Brooklyn, New York).
Album art collages are by Andrew McLaughlin with graphic design by Mary Gunn.
The Apples in Stereo
The Apples in Stereo, styled The Apples in stereo, is an American indie rock band associated with The Elephant Six Collective, a group of bands also including Neutral Milk Hotel and The Olivia Tremor Control. The band is largely a product of lead vocalist/guitarist Robert Schneider, who writes the...
. The album was produced by Robert Schneider
Robert Schneider
Robert Peter Schneider is one of the co-founders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, along with Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, and Jeff Mangum...
with additional production and mixing by Bryce Goggin
Bryce Goggin
Bryce Goggin is a record producer and sound engineer. He began his career in the early 1990s working at Baby Monster Studios. He first received acclaim for mixing the album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain by Pavement...
(Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
, Evan Dando
Evan Dando
Evan Griffith Dando is an American musician, most famous for fronting the alternative rock band The Lemonheads. He is the only original member left in the current Lemonheads line-up, having served as lead singer since the band's original formation in 1986...
, Sean Lennon
Sean Lennon
is an American singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and actor. He is the only child of John Lennon and Yoko Ono. His godfather is Sir Elton John.-Early life and education:...
) and was recorded in three separate states (New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
). The album was released on February 6, 2007 via a co-venture between the actor Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
's Simian Records
Simian Records
Simian Records is a record label founded by actor and The Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood in 2005. The label's first album, New Magnetic Wonder by The Apples in Stereo, was released on February 6, 2007...
, Yep Roc Records
Yep Roc Records
Yep Roc Records is an independent International record label based in Haw River, North Carolina and owned by Redeye Distribution . The label has put out albums by artists like The Go-Betweens, The Fleshtones, Gang of Four, The Reverend Horton Heat, and The Minus 5, as well as the work of important...
and Elephant 6.
In an interview, Robert Schneider has described New Magnetic Wonder as an album with sensibilities between the Apples in Stereo albums Fun Trick Noisemaker
Fun Trick Noisemaker
Fun Trick Noisemaker is the debut studio album from The Apples in Stereo, recorded in a house in Los Angeles, in Robert Schneider's portable Pet Sounds Studio. The album is perhaps the most raw example of the Apples, with the rather lo-fi recording values being eclipsed somewhat by their later...
and The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone
The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone
The Discovery of a World Inside the Moone is the fourth album from The Apples in Stereo. It received generally good reviews as a showcase for the band’s experimental/psychedelic pop....
, as well as a heavy influence from 1970s bands such as Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
. Schneider has also admitted Smile
Smile (Brian Wilson album)
Smile, sometimes typeset with the idiosyncratic partial capitalization SMiLE, or referred to as Brian Wilson Presents Smile is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks released on September 28, 2004 on CD and two-disc vinyl LP...
by Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
as an early influence on the album.
Tour
In early 2005, Schneider performed "Skyway" during his MarblesMarbles (band)
Marbles is the solo recording project of The Apples in Stereo singer and chief songwriter Robert Schneider. The project started out in 1993 when Schneider would record his various musical endeavors on cassette for various people he knew, but was somewhat abandoned as the Apples got off the ground...
tour. The Apples in Stereo also performed new songs such as "Open Eyes", "Play Tough", "Can You Feel It?" and "Energy" while on the New Magnetic Wonder 2006 pre-release tour.
Initially, the tour lineup featured lead singer and guitarist Robert Schneider, bassist Eric Allen, guitarist John Hill
John Hill (musician)
John Hill is an American guitarist best recognized as a member of The Apples in Stereo and Dressy Bessy.Hill, a college friend of drummer Hilarie Sidney and bassist Jim McIntyre, joined The Apples in January, 1994 after the departure of lead guitarist Chris Parfitt...
and drummer Hilarie Sidney
Hilarie Sidney
Hilarie Sidney is a musician most famously recognized as the longtime drummer for The Apples in Stereo. She was previously married to Apples in Stereo frontman and Elephant 6 co-founder Robert Schneider. Their divorce became publicly acknowledged in 2004...
as well as the addition of Elephant 6 co-founder Bill Doss
Bill Doss
Bill Doss is among the co-founders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, based in Athens, Georgia, and one of the key creative forces behind The Olivia Tremor Control, one of the leaders of the collective, and later, following the band's break-up, The Sunshine Fix...
on keyboards. On August 12, 2006, during Athens Popfest, it was announced that longtime drummer Hilarie Sidney was leaving the band. On October 30, 2006, John Dufilho
John Dufilho
John Dufilho is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist best known as the lead creative talent behind indie rock band The Deathray Davies. He partnered with Davies bassist Jason Garner and released an eponymous CD in 2002 under the name I Love Math. A second release, "Getting To...
was announced as the band's new drummer. John Ferguson
John Ferguson (musician)
John Roger Ferguson is an American musician. He is currently a member of The Apples in Stereo, and he was a founding member of Big Fresh. His father, Roger Ferguson, was an associate of underground DIY figure, R. Stevie Moore, and John appeared on Moore's recordings and radio shows by age three...
also joined the tour lineup to perform additional keyboards and vocals.
New label
It was announced on September 19, 2006 that The Apples in Stereo have been signed to Simian Records, a new record label formed by Elijah WoodElijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood is an American actor. He made his film debut with a minor part in Back to the Future Part II , then landed a succession of larger roles that made him a critically acclaimed child actor by age 9. He is best known for his high-profile role as Frodo Baggins in Peter Jackson's...
. Wood, a dedicated Apples fan, met Robert Schneider at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
during 2003. New Magnetic Wonder was the first release on the newly-formed label, co-released, marketed and distributed through Yep Roc Records, Elephant 6 and Redeye Distribution, as well as the first album by The Apples in Stereo not released through spinART Records
SpinART Records
spinART Records is a now-defunct New York City-based independent record label that released recordings by artists such as The Apples in Stereo, Clem Snide, Frank Black and Michael Penn....
Reception
New Magnetic Wonder has received positive reviews. According to review aggregate site MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the album currently has a 78 out of 100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."
This album was #28 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
New Magnetic Wonder consists of 14 songs and 10 musical segues ("link tracks").All tracks written by Robert Schneider
Robert Schneider
Robert Peter Schneider is one of the co-founders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, along with Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, and Jeff Mangum...
except where noted.
Disc 1: NB-39
- "Can You Feel It?" – 4:10
- "Skyway" – 2:40
- "Mellotron 1" – 0:33
- "Energy" – 3:30
- "Same Old Drag" - 3:25
- "Joanie Don't U Worry" – 0:46
- "Sunndal Song" (H. SidneyHilarie SidneyHilarie Sidney is a musician most famously recognized as the longtime drummer for The Apples in Stereo. She was previously married to Apples in Stereo frontman and Elephant 6 co-founder Robert Schneider. Their divorce became publicly acknowledged in 2004...
) – 3:31 - "Droplet" – 0:13
- "Play Tough" – 3:27
- "Sun is Out" – 2:29
- "Non-Pythagorean Composition 1" – 0:30
- "Hello Lola" – 0:15
- "7 Stars" – 3:46
- "Mellotron 2" – 0:41
Disc 2: DT-13
- "Sunday Sounds" (H. Sidney) – 2:59
- "Open Eyes" – 5:12
- "Crimson" – 0:17
- "Pre-Crimson" (E. Allen) – 1:24
- "Vocoder Ba Ba" – 0:14
- "Radiation" – 3:14
- "Beautiful Machine Parts 1-2" – 2:36
- "Beautiful Machine Parts 3-4" – 4:58
- "My Pretend" – 0:42
- "Non-Pythagorean Composition 3" – 0:49
The song "Atom Bomb" - 2:37 - is featured as Track 7 in the Vinyl Release between tracks 6 (Joanie Don't U Worry) and 7 (Sunndal Song).
Non-Pythagorean scale
New Magnetic Wonder touts Schneider's invention of a new musical scale: the "Non-Pythagorean scaleNon-Pythagorean scale
The Non-Pythagorean scale is a musical scale first conceived and developed by Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo. It is based on natural logarithms...
". The enhanced CD
Enhanced CD
Enhanced CD, also known as CD Extra and CD Plus, is a certification mark of the Recording Industry Association of America for various technologies that combine audio and computer data for use in both Compact Disc and CD-ROM players....
version of the album features descriptions of the scale as well as digital files for MIDI usage.
Two songs composed using this scale have been included on the album, with a third ("Non-Pythagorean Composition 2") as a bonus track on the enhanced CD.
Enhanced CD content
The enhanced CD version of the album features the following supplemental content:- The bonus mp3MP3MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
"Non-Pythagorean Composition 2" (also known as "Alien Pop"). - Three pop collages by Andrew McLaughlin, from which the album art was derived. All three images are .jpg filesJPEGIn computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
.- "Acid Eden" (front cover artwork)
- "Bob Dylan's Enlightenment" (gatefold artwork)
- "Sightseeing" (liner notes artwork)
- Two short films, both .mov filesQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
.- Dr. Robert featuring the song "Droplet"
- A brief demonstration of the Non-Pythagorean scale by Robert Schneider
- Lyrics and liner notes (.txt filesText fileA text file is a kind of computer file that is structured as a sequence of lines of electronic text. A text file exists within a computer file system...
). - Various descriptions and explanations of the Non-Pythagorean scale, including .wav filesWAVWaveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
, a SoundFontSoundFontSoundFont is a brand name that collectively refers to a file format and associated technology designed to bridge the gap between recorded and synthesized audio, especially for the purposes of computer music composition...
file and instructions for tuning a keyboard to the Non-Pythagorean scale.
The Apples in Stereo
As they appear on the album:- Robert SchneiderRobert SchneiderRobert Peter Schneider is one of the co-founders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, along with Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, and Jeff Mangum...
- lead and backing vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, acoustic and electric piano, organ, synthesizer, Mellotron, vocoder, electronic effects, percussion, handclaps, bass guitar, non-Pythagorean music scale - Hilarie SidneyHilarie SidneyHilarie Sidney is a musician most famously recognized as the longtime drummer for The Apples in Stereo. She was previously married to Apples in Stereo frontman and Elephant 6 co-founder Robert Schneider. Their divorce became publicly acknowledged in 2004...
- lead and backing vocals, drums, percussion, handclaps, rhythm guitar - Eric Allen - bass guitar, backing vocals, echoplex, space guitar, handclaps
- John HillJohn Hill (musician)John Hill is an American guitarist best recognized as a member of The Apples in Stereo and Dressy Bessy.Hill, a college friend of drummer Hilarie Sidney and bassist Jim McIntyre, joined The Apples in January, 1994 after the departure of lead guitarist Chris Parfitt...
- rhythm guitar, phase shift, backing vocals, handclaps
Other performers
- Anonymous studio musicians - Mellotron tape banks.
- Per Ole Bratset - lead guitar, sound effects.
- Bill DossBill DossBill Doss is among the co-founders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company, based in Athens, Georgia, and one of the key creative forces behind The Olivia Tremor Control, one of the leaders of the collective, and later, following the band's break-up, The Sunshine Fix...
- backing vocals, vocal arrangement, Piano Fun, acoustic guitar, handclaps. - John FergusonJohn Ferguson (musician)John Roger Ferguson is an American musician. He is currently a member of The Apples in Stereo, and he was a founding member of Big Fresh. His father, Roger Ferguson, was an associate of underground DIY figure, R. Stevie Moore, and John appeared on Moore's recordings and radio shows by age three...
- backing vocals. - John FernandesJohn FernandesJohn Fernandes is an American multi-instrumentalist musician.-Professional career:Fernandes, along with several other members of the Elephant Six Collective, joined the acclaimed psychedelic pop group The Olivia Tremor Control in Athens, GA in 1994...
- bass clarinet, violins. - Pete Fitzpatrick - euphonium.
- Bryce GogginBryce GogginBryce Goggin is a record producer and sound engineer. He began his career in the early 1990s working at Baby Monster Studios. He first received acclaim for mixing the album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain by Pavement...
- electronic effects. - Matthew Goodman - backing vocals.
- Will Cullen HartWill Cullen HartWilliam "Will" Cullen Hart is one of the co-founders of the Elephant Six Collective, as well as the rock band The Olivia Tremor Control...
- drums, backing vocals, electronic effects, handclaps, backwards poetry, plastic whistle. - Otto Helmuth - mandolin, backing vocals, handclaps.
- Jeff Holland - lap steel, echoplex.
- London audience - anger due to Apples' overly-loud guitars.
- Jeff MangumJeff MangumJeff Mangum is a musician best known for being the lyricist, vocalist and guitarist of the band Neutral Milk Hotel, as well as being one of the cofounders of The Elephant 6 Recording Company. Mangum, along with the other founding members of the Elephant 6, attended Ruston High School in the late...
- drums, cow object, backing vocals, handclaps. - Tony Miller - backing vocals.
- Craig Morris - lead and backwards guitar, Mellotron, fuzz bass.
- Adam Sachs - cowbell, tambourine.
- Zack Shaw - alto sax, weird toys, echoplex.
Production
New Magnetic Wonder was produced by Robert Schneider. The album was co-produced and engineered by Bryce Goggin at Trout Recording, Brooklyn, New York. Schneider and Goggin also mixed the album. It was mastered by Fred Kevorkian (Kevorkian Mastering, New York, New York). Original recording, mixing and mastering was conducted September 2005 to September 2006 in multiple studios, utilizing analog tape machines and digital computers.Additional engineering is by:
- The Apples in Stereo (Lexington, KentuckyLexington, KentuckyLexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
and Denver, ColoradoDenver, ColoradoThe City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
) - Adam Sachs (Brooklyn, New York)
- Craig Morris (Benton, KentuckyBenton, KentuckyBenton is a city in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 4,197 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marshall County....
) - Otto Helmuth (Lexington, Kentucky)
- Bill Doss (Athens, GeorgiaAthens, GeorgiaAthens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
) - Pete Fitzpatrick (Brooklyn, New York)
- Jas Osborne (Lexington, Kentucky)
- Jeff Holland (Boulder, ColoradoBoulder, ColoradoBoulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
)
Assistant engineering is by Ryan Shono, Alec Fellman, and Jack Schlinkert (Brooklyn, New York).
Album art collages are by Andrew McLaughlin with graphic design by Mary Gunn.
Chart performance
| Year | Album | Chart | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | New Magnetic Wonder | Top Heatseekers | 9 |
| 2007 | New Magnetic Wonder | Top Independent Albums | 32 |
External links
- The Apples in Stereo, official website
- Jeff Mangum Guests on New Apples in Stereo LP at Pitchfork media
- The Apples in Stereo @ Athens Popfest 2006, audio recording featuring new songs and Hilarie's last show with the band
- The Apples in Stereo @ Athens Popfest 2006, video recording featuring new songs and Hilarie's last show with the band
- New Magnetic Wonder Review, at Comfortcomes
- Apples in Stereo Pop Gospel at You Ain't No Picasso
- Short story review of New Magnetic Wonder at The Wheel's Still In Spin
- Explanation of the Non-Pythagorean Scale at Pop Culture Will Eat Itself
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55A1K8aEuH0, The song "Energy" being used in an advertisement produced by AGL Energy