Me. Me. Me.

Me. Me. Me.
Studio album by
Air Miami
Released1995
RecordedMay 1995
StudioCriteria
GenreIndie rock
Label4AD/Teenbeat[1]
ProducerGuy Fixsen
Air Miami chronology
Me. Me. Me.
(1995) 		Fuck You, Tiger EP
(1995)

Me. Me. Me. (also stylized as me. me. me.) is the only album by the American indie rock band Air Miami, released in 1995.[2] It was recorded after the breakup of Unrest, the former band of guitarist Mark Robinson and bassist Bridget Cross.[3] The band promoted the album with a North American tour that included shows with Throwing Muses.[4]

Production

Recorded during two weeks in May 1995 at Criteria Studios, in Miami, the album was produced by Guy Fixsen; Gabriel Stout played drums.[5][6][7] It was the band's intention to produce an album of short songs.[7] "Afternoon Train" is a re-recording of the final Unrest single.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The Austin Chronicle[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[11]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[12]
Press & Sun-BulletinA[13]
Spin8/10[14]
The Tampa Tribune[15]

Me. Me. Me. was met with generally favourable reviews. The Washington Post wrote that Robinson and Cross "trade lead vocals on 13 short songs that combine bubblegum tunefulness ('Neely'), with lounge-ballad melancholy ('Seabird'), evanescent soundscapes ('Reprise') and occasional space-rock bleeps."[6] Trouser Press thought that "the bubblegum aftertaste left by segments of Me. Me. Me. is a bit too strong when Robinson indulges his propensity for creating inconsequential chantalongs like 'World Cup Fever', but he offsets that with reams of bracing, Fire Engines-styled guitar and a guileless new wave sensibility (see 'Dolphin Expressway') that should sway all but the most diehard Anglophobe."[16] The Austin Chronicle deemed the album "a heady mix of danceable trivialities and serious longing."[10] The Tampa Tribune concluded that "Air Miami soars through a universe of pop styles with a surfeit of panache and a minimum of bombast... Pure pleasure—clean, clever, surprising."[15]

Spin called Robinson "one of the few men in indieland who can hold a vocal melody," and wrote that "the guitar work here is as nimble as Dean Wareham's."[14] The Post and Courier determined that "Robinson's avant pop/punk songs are fun, and serve as great set-ups for Cross' more oblique offerings."[17] The St. Louis Post-Dispatch labeled the album "alternately fun and pretentious, like most 4AD stuff," writing that "faced with the choice of copping either atmospheric Velvets-style arrangements or Wire-esque sprinters, Air Miami did the all-American thing and riffed off both."[18]

AllMusic wrote that, "unsurprisingly, early drum machines provide percussion as well, a sonic signifier that also fits nicely more often than not ... Me, Me, Me is a simpler musical pleasure than most."[9] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide opined that Me. Me. Me. "doesn't have the giddiness of the Unrest work, but it is sweet to listen to."[11]

Legacy

Time Out considered the album cover to be one of the 40 best of the 1990s.[19] "Seabird" was covered by Maria Somerville for the 2021 4AD compilation Bills & Aches & Blues.[20]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."I Hate Milk" 
2."World Cup Fever" 
3."Seabird" 
4."Special Angel" 
5."Afternoon Train" 
6."Dolphin Expressway" 
7."Sweet as a Candy Bar" 
8."You Sweet Little Heartbreaker" 
9."Neely" 
10."Bubble Shield" 
11."The Event Horizon" 
12."Definitely Beachy" 
13."Reprise" 

References

  1. ^ Daley, David (May 31, 1996). "me. me. me". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  2. ^ "Air Miami Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  3. ^ "An Expected Poke in the Ribs from Air Miami". MTV News. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  4. ^ Thompson, Stephen (October 5, 1995). "Star-Packed Week Coming". Rhythm. Wisconsin State Journal. p. 8.
  5. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. pp. 83–84.
  6. ^ a b "Air Miami's Flights of Fancy". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Yockel, Michael (September 14, 1995). "Nightclub Jitters – Something in the Air". Columns. Miami New Times.
  8. ^ "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly. CMJ Network, Inc. October 10, 1995. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Me, Me, Me". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Music Reviews". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  11. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 15.
  12. ^ Sherr, Sara (October 15, 1995). "Pop". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. G6.
  13. ^ Stevens, Andy (September 1, 1995). "Air Miami, me. me. me". Good Times!. Press & Sun-Bulletin. p. 4.
  14. ^ a b Huston, Johnny (November 1995). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 11, no. 8. pp. 120–121.
  15. ^ a b Ross, Curtis (December 29, 1995). "Air Miami, Me. Me. Me". Friday Extra!. The Tampa Tribune. p. 21.
  16. ^ "Unrest". Trouser Press. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  17. ^ Allread, Walter (November 9, 1995). "Unrest never sleeps; Air Miami takes off". The Post and Courier. p. D19.
  18. ^ Hampel, Paul (November 22, 1995). "me. me. me". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 9.
  19. ^ "The best album covers of the 90s". Time Out. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  20. ^ Blistein, Jon (March 10, 2021). "4AD Preps Covers Compilation Featuring the Breeders, Future Islands, Big Thief". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
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