Le Tigre (album)

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Deceptacon

Opening track "Deceptacon" references Barry Mann's 1961 single "Who Put the Bomp (in the Bomp, Bomp, Bomp)" by asking "Who took the Bomp from the Bompalompalomp?". [14] [15] It denounces a decline in meaningful lyrics in rock music. [16] Hanna expressed frustration that riot grrrl had been transformed into icons like the Spice Girls. [17] The song was popularized by online videos of its "aerobicon" choreography. [8] "Deceptacon" was featured in the 2006 Norwegian film Reprise , the 2003 skateboarding film Yeah Right! , the 2015 documentary film Hurricane of Fun: The Making of Wet Hot , the 2014 animated film The Book of Life , a Pandora Radio advertisement featuring British virtual band Gorillaz, [18] the fourth episode of the Netflix series Special , the trailer for the 2019 film Between Two Ferns: The Movie , The 2022 film Do Revenge, and the 2023 television special Invincible: Atom Eve . The song sparked a collaboration between Le Tigre and Christina Aguilera. [19]

Hot Topic

"Hot Topic" was released as the album's only single. It is a list song of people whose work inspired the band. Most are female, and many are also LGBT. The song encourages them to continue on behalf of progressive women. [20] It combines the sounds of doo-wop, Japanese indie pop, and new wave. [21] Hanna described "Hot Topic" as analogous to a college syllabus in its ability to pass on awareness of works to others. [9] The song was used in a Kohl's commercial in 2016. [22]

What's Yr Take on Cassavetes

"What's Yr Take on Cassavetes" uses American filmmaker John Cassavetes to depict the conflict between public figures' work and their personal lives. [17] It opens with a solemn spoken passage asking "how you really feel about it". [13] The song breaks down into a shouting match that labels Cassavetes with positive terms such as "genius" and "messiah" as well as negative ones such as "misogynist" and "alcoholic". [23] [24]

My My Metrocard

"My My Metrocard" is a song about escapism and exploration. [11] [1] It uses a call-and-response pattern to condemn then-New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose policies against quality-of-life crimes the band opposed. [5]

Critical reception

Le Tigre
Le Tigre (album).jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 25, 1999 (1999-10-25)
Genre Dance-punk, riot grrrl, new wave [1]
Length31:44
Label Mr. Lady
Producer Chris Stamey, Le Tigre
Le Tigre chronology
Le Tigre
(1999)
From the Desk of Mr. Lady
(2001)
Le Tigre studio album chronology
Le Tigre
(1999)
Feminist Sweepstakes
(2001)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Alternative Press 4/5 [25]
Christgau's Consumer Guide A [26]
Entertainment Weekly A− [27]
Melody Maker Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [28]
Pitchfork 8.5/10 [16]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [29]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [30]
Select 4/5 [31]
Spin 9/10 [13]

Le Tigre received positive reviews from music critics. The Village Voice writer Robert Christgau wrote that "Hanna does the unprecedented—if not, apparently, impossible—and reinvents punk again." [32] AllMusic described Le Tigre as sounding "like the best new wave album not to come from the 1980s." [1] Pitchfork called the album's songwriting "less didactic than Bikini Kill's ... geared for the repeated listens these well-crafted pop songs beg for." [16] Spin said that the album "sparkles with a joie de vivre more bubbly than a pink champagne" and continued that "the sound is as charming as the stories they tell", [13] and the magazine later named it the 10th best album of 2000. [33] PopMatters described Le Tigre as "a record in which bristling punk-pop tunes target listeners with confrontational, thought-provoking messages." [34] Select referred to the album as "12 sparky pop nuggets" and "a righteous gem and one worthy of attention of even the most demanding devotee of big shiny production." [31]

Le Tigre placed 28th on The Village Voice's 2000 Pazz & Jop critics' poll. [35] The album is listed on SPIN 's list of "The 300 Best Albums Of The Past 30 Years (1985-2014)", [36] and in the reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [37] In 2022, Le Tigre placed 43rd on Pitchfork's list of "The 150 Best Albums of the 1990s". [38]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Le Tigre

No.TitleLength
1."Deceptacon"3:04
2."Hot Topic"3:44
3."What's Yr Take on Cassavetes"2:22
4."The The Empty"2:04
5."Phanta"3:14
6."Eau d'Bedroom Dancing"2:55
7."Let's Run"2:34
8."My My Metrocard"3:07
9."Friendship Station"3:04
10."Slideshow at Free University"2:48
11."Dude, Yr So Crazy!"3:26
12."Les and Ray"2:06
Bonus tracks on 2004 reissue
No.TitleLength
13."Hot Topic" (BBC Evening Session)3:07
14."Deceptacon" (BBC Evening Session)3:09
15."The The Empty" (BBC Evening Session)2:02
16."Sweetie" (BBC Evening Session)2:43
Bonus tracks on Japanese edition
No.TitleLength
13."Hot Topic" (41 Small Stars remix) 
14."They Want Us to Make a Symphony Out of the Sound of Women Swallowing Their Own Tongues" 
15."Yr Critique" 

Track list error on reissue

The first two bonus tracks listed on the back cover of the reissue have "Hot Topic" then "Deceptacon". These songs are listed in the wrong order, as the song "Deceptacon" is on track 13, and "Hot Topic" is on track 14. This information is matched by the CDDB, but was fixed in the iTunes Store.

Personnel

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