Emergency & I
Encyclopedia
"A Life of Possibilities", "What Do You Want Me to Say?", "Jitters" and "The City" are all also featured in remixed form on A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan
with bonus tracks "Just Like You" and "The First Anniversary Of Your Last Phone Call" being on The Ice Of Boston EP.
Pitchfork Media
gave the album a 9.6 out of 10 (they gave the reissue a perfect score of 10/10), with a short review that read simply, "If you consider yourself a fan of groundbreaking pop, go out and buy this album right now. Now. Get up. Go." Ned Raggett of Allmusic wrote "The band's third full album is a firecracker, showing their at once passionate and sly approach to music—take in everything, put it back out, and give it its own particular sheen and spin—is in no danger of letting up." In a retrospective review written in 2011, Zachary Houle of Popmatters
wrote "Just in terms of a sheer personal enjoyment factor, I would almost argue the case for a new rating: the Spinal Tap
-esque 11
. Emergency & I is just a relentless record, full of youthful abandon and insightful penetrations into the technology-addled brain. I just can’t get enough of it."
Emergency & I was ranked the best album of 1999 by Pitchfork Media
and was ranked #16 on Pitchfork Media's "redux" version of the Top 100 Albums of the 1990s list. In addition, the website ranked the track "The City" #64 on their list of the Top 200 Tracks of the 1990's
A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan
A People's History of the Dismemberment Plan is a 2003 album by Washington D.C. indie band The Dismemberment Plan, issued on DeSoto Records. The album is a compilation of songs from three of the band's previous releases, The Dismemberment Plan Is Terrified, Emergency & I and Change, remixed by...
with bonus tracks "Just Like You" and "The First Anniversary Of Your Last Phone Call" being on The Ice Of Boston EP.
Personnel
- Eric Axelson – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Jason Caddell – 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...
, keyboards - Joe Easley – 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 ....
- Travis MorrisonTravis MorrisonTravis Morrison is an American musician and web developer from the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., United States...
– vocals, guitar, keyboards
Reception and legacy
Emergency & I has received mostly positive reviews.Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
gave the album a 9.6 out of 10 (they gave the reissue a perfect score of 10/10), with a short review that read simply, "If you consider yourself a fan of groundbreaking pop, go out and buy this album right now. Now. Get up. Go." Ned Raggett of Allmusic wrote "The band's third full album is a firecracker, showing their at once passionate and sly approach to music—take in everything, put it back out, and give it its own particular sheen and spin—is in no danger of letting up." In a retrospective review written in 2011, Zachary Houle of Popmatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
wrote "Just in terms of a sheer personal enjoyment factor, I would almost argue the case for a new rating: the Spinal Tap
Spinal Tap (band)
Spinal Tap is a parody heavy metal band that first appeared on a failed 1979 ABC TV sketch comedy pilot called "The T.V. Show", starring Rob Reiner...
-esque 11
Up to eleven
"Up to eleven" or "these go to eleven" is an idiom from popular culture which has come to refer to anything being exploited to its utmost abilities, or apparently exceeding them, such as a sound volume control. Similarly, the expression "turning it up to eleven" refers to the act of taking...
. Emergency & I is just a relentless record, full of youthful abandon and insightful penetrations into the technology-addled brain. I just can’t get enough of it."
Emergency & I was ranked the best album of 1999 by Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
and was ranked #16 on Pitchfork Media's "redux" version of the Top 100 Albums of the 1990s list. In addition, the website ranked the track "The City" #64 on their list of the Top 200 Tracks of the 1990's