The Black and White Album
Encyclopedia
The Black and White Album is the fourth full-length album by Swedish
rock band
The Hives
. The album was released on 15 October 2007, in the United Kingdom
through Polydor Records
and November 13, 2007, in the United States
via A&M/Octone Records
, No Fun Records
, Universal Music Operations and Stockholm Records
. The album was originally scheduled for release on 9 October in the United Kingdom
; however, this date was postponed to 15 October for unknown reasons, as was the original US release of October 9, 2007.
The first single from the album, "Tick Tick Boom
", appears in the games Madden NFL 08
and Madden NFL 11
, although it is an early version with some notable changes, such as an alternative chorus. The final version appears on the album as well as in NCAA Football 10
. Clips from this song appeared in a Nike
commercial shortly before the single's release date, August 14 for the US and 24 September in the UK.
The band said they had recorded 20 to 30 songs (including seven recorded with super producers The Neptunes
) for this album from which they finally chose the best. Other tracks were produced by Jacknife Lee
and Dennis Herring
. Sessions were held with Timbaland
, with whom the band produced the song "Throw It On Me
", but took place too late for any of the resulting tracks to be on the album. They hoped to use these songs as B-sides.
The album's track listing was confirmed on the band's German website on 13 September 2007, and later through NME
.
By 9 October, "Tick Tick Boom", "Try It Again", "You Got It All... Wrong", "Well All Right!", "Won't Be Long" and "Fall Is Just Something Grownups Invented" were available on iTunes
.
On 17 December 2007, "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." was confirmed as the album's next single on the band's website.
The song "A Stroll Through Hive Manor Corridors" is an instrumental using just a 1960s organ and a drum machine.
The song "Fall Is Just Something Grownups Invented" was written and was being used for autumn promotions on the US television channel Cartoon Network
. This song appears as a bonus track on the United Kingdom version of the album.
"Well All Right!" and "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." were produced by The Neptunes
.
"Try It Again" features the cheerleading squad from the University of Mississippi
. It was also featured in a commercial for the film Get Him to the Greek
. "Try It Again" was used in an opening scene in the Chuck (TV series)
episode Chuck vs. The Third Dimension. "Try It Again" was part of the promotional trailers for the USA show White Collar
.
The song "Tick Tick Boom" was the official theme song for WWE's Survivor Series 2007 and also featured in the Madden NFL 11
soundtrack. "Tick Tick Boom" featured on a teaser trailer for the 2008 film Get Smart
and was also used in a video for the 81st Oscars Awards. In 2010 the 12 contestants in American Idol made a Ford video including this song.
"Well, All Right" has been featured on Sears
' spring and summer commercials and a playable track of NBA Live 08, as well as part of the official trailer of The Pink Panther 2.
A video for "Won't Be Long" was released on The Hives MySpace
on 26 August 2008.
"Hey Little World" is featured in trailers for the film Kick-Ass
and in Victoria's Secret
commercials.
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
The Hives
The Hives
The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band that first garnered attention in the early 2000s as a prominent group of the garage rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the "greatest hits" album Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most well-known song "Hate to Say I Told...
. The album was released on 15 October 2007, in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
through Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
and November 13, 2007, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
via A&M/Octone Records
A&M/Octone Records
A&M/Octone Records is an American record label and a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Octone Records, also known as OctoScope Music...
, No Fun Records
No Fun
No Fun may refer to:* "No Fun" , a song from the album The Stooges* The No Fun EP by Local H.* No Fun Records / No Fun Entertainment a record label and production/booking company...
, Universal Music Operations and Stockholm Records
Stockholm Records
Stockholm Records is a Swedish subsidiary of Universal Music Group.The boutique label was originally launched in 1992 as an independent record company by its Swedish founders Ola Håkansson and Alexander Bard in partnership with the original distributor and investor Polygram in London.Håkansson and...
. The album was originally scheduled for release on 9 October in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
; however, this date was postponed to 15 October for unknown reasons, as was the original US release of October 9, 2007.
The first single from the album, "Tick Tick Boom
Tick Tick Boom (song)
"Tick Tick Boom" is a single by Swedish rock band The Hives, released in 2007. It is the opening track to The Black and White Album and is the first single taken from that album. "Tick Tick Boom" was released on 8 October 2007...
", appears in the games Madden NFL 08
Madden NFL 08
Madden NFL 08 is the 2008 edition of the American football video game series published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 19th installment in the Madden NFL video game franchise. It features Titans star quarterback Vince Young on the cover. San Diego Chargers defensive end Luis...
and Madden NFL 11
Madden NFL 11
Madden NFL 11 is an American football video game based on the National Football League published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 22nd annual installment in the bestselling Madden NFL video game franchise. It was released on August 10, 2010 in North America, and on August 13 in...
, although it is an early version with some notable changes, such as an alternative chorus. The final version appears on the album as well as in NCAA Football 10
NCAA Football 10
NCAA Football 10 is a college football video game created by EA Sports. It was released on July 14, 2009 for the Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, and PlayStation 2 consoles. Brian Johnson, Brian Orakpo, Mark Sanchez, and Michael Crabtree were the cover athletes for the game.NOTHING-Demo:A demo was released June...
. Clips from this song appeared in a Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
commercial shortly before the single's release date, August 14 for the US and 24 September in the UK.
The band said they had recorded 20 to 30 songs (including seven recorded with super producers The Neptunes
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
) for this album from which they finally chose the best. Other tracks were produced by Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
and Dennis Herring
Dennis Herring
Dennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. Herring owns a 24-track recording studio, Sweet Tea Studios, which is located in Oxford, Mississippi...
. Sessions were held with Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, with whom the band produced the song "Throw It On Me
Throw It on Me
"Throw It on Me" is a collaboration between Timbaland and The Hives from the album Timbaland Presents Shock Value. The Hives recorded vocals and guitar for the song. Timbaland played the song when he was a guest on Elliot in the Morning on DC 101. This song has also been on Verizon advertisements...
", but took place too late for any of the resulting tracks to be on the album. They hoped to use these songs as B-sides.
The album's track listing was confirmed on the band's German website on 13 September 2007, and later through NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
.
By 9 October, "Tick Tick Boom", "Try It Again", "You Got It All... Wrong", "Well All Right!", "Won't Be Long" and "Fall Is Just Something Grownups Invented" were available on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
.
On 17 December 2007, "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." was confirmed as the album's next single on the band's website.
Sound
The band revealed in an NME interview that one song, "Puppet on a String", has just "piano and hand claps".The song "A Stroll Through Hive Manor Corridors" is an instrumental using just a 1960s organ and a drum machine.
The song "Fall Is Just Something Grownups Invented" was written and was being used for autumn promotions on the US television channel Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
. This song appears as a bonus track on the United Kingdom version of the album.
"Well All Right!" and "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." were produced by The Neptunes
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
.
"Try It Again" features the cheerleading squad from the University of Mississippi
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...
. It was also featured in a commercial for the film Get Him to the Greek
Get Him to the Greek
Get Him to the Greek is a 2010 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. The film was released on June 4, 2010. Get Him to the Greek is a spin-off sequel of Stoller's 2008 film Forgetting Sarah Marshall, reuniting director...
. "Try It Again" was used in an opening scene in the Chuck (TV series)
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
episode Chuck vs. The Third Dimension. "Try It Again" was part of the promotional trailers for the USA show White Collar
White Collar (TV series)
White Collar is a USA Network television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke. It premiered on October 23, 2009. In December 2009, White Collar was renewed for a second season that began on July 13, 2010...
.
The song "Tick Tick Boom" was the official theme song for WWE's Survivor Series 2007 and also featured in the Madden NFL 11
Madden NFL 11
Madden NFL 11 is an American football video game based on the National Football League published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the 22nd annual installment in the bestselling Madden NFL video game franchise. It was released on August 10, 2010 in North America, and on August 13 in...
soundtrack. "Tick Tick Boom" featured on a teaser trailer for the 2008 film Get Smart
Get Smart (film)
Get Smart is a 2008 American spy-fi comedy film based on Mel Brooks and Buck Henry's 1960s spy parody television series of the same name. The film stars Steve Carell as Maxwell Smart and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99...
and was also used in a video for the 81st Oscars Awards. In 2010 the 12 contestants in American Idol made a Ford video including this song.
"Well, All Right" has been featured on Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears, officially named Sears, Roebuck and Co., is an American chain of department stores which was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in the late 19th century...
' spring and summer commercials and a playable track of NBA Live 08, as well as part of the official trailer of The Pink Panther 2.
A video for "Won't Be Long" was released on The Hives MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
on 26 August 2008.
"Hey Little World" is featured in trailers for the film Kick-Ass
Kick-Ass (film)
Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman...
and in Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
commercials.
Track listing
All songs by Randy FitzsimmonsRandy Fitzsimmons
Randy Fitzsimmons is the supposed sixth member of The Hives. He is said to have formed the band in the band members' adolescence in 1993 by sending all five members—Howlin' Pelle Almqvist , Nicholaus Arson , Vigilante Carlstroem , Dr...
- "Tick Tick BoomTick Tick Boom (song)"Tick Tick Boom" is a single by Swedish rock band The Hives, released in 2007. It is the opening track to The Black and White Album and is the first single taken from that album. "Tick Tick Boom" was released on 8 October 2007...
" - 3:25 - "Try It Again" - 3:29
- "You Got It All... Wrong" - 2:42
- "Well All Right!" - 3:29
- "Hey Little World" - 3:22
- "A Stroll Through Hive Manor Corridors" - 2:37
- "Won't Be Long" - 3:46
- "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." - 3:37
- "Return the Favour" - 3:09
- "Giddy Up!" - 2:51
- "Square One Here I Come" - 3:10
- "You Dress Up for Armageddon" - 3:09
- "Puppet on a String" - 2:54
- "Bigger Hole to Fill" - 3:37
Bonus tracks
- "Hell No" (Best Buy Bonus Track) - 2:22
- "I Can't Give It to You" (Indie Exclusive Track) - 3:37
- "Fall Is Just Something Grownups Invented" (UK Bonus Track) - 2:41
Personnel
- Pelle AlmqvistPelle AlmqvistHowlin' Pelle Almqvist is the lead singer of Swedish garage rock band The Hives. Like the rest of the band, Almqvist hails from Fagersta, a small town in central Sweden with about 11,000 residents....
– vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Nicholaus Arson – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Vigilante CarlstroemVigilante CarlstroemMikael Karlsson, or Vigilante Carlstroem as he is better known, is the guitarist of the Swedish rock band The Hives, which formed in 1993 and was one of the most important bands in the garage rock revival.-Biography:...
– rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together... - Dr. Matt DestructionDr. Matt DestructionDr. Matt Destruction is a Swedish musician. He is the bassist of garage rock band The Hives.-Career:...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Chris Dangerous – 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 ....
- Pelle Gunnerfeldt – mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Serban GheneaSerban GheneaSerban Ghenea is a four-time Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award-winning mixer. He has mixed songs for such artists as Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Jewel, Santana, Ozomatli, Shakira, Jill Scott, R. Kelly, Rod Stewart, and Dave Matthews Band...
– mixing - Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Dennis HerringDennis HerringDennis Herring is an American record producer, engineer, mixer, and musician. Herring has produced for The Hives, Elvis Costello, Counting Crows, Modest Mouse, Camper Van Beethoven, and Jars of Clay. Herring owns a 24-track recording studio, Sweet Tea Studios, which is located in Oxford, Mississippi...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - The NeptunesThe NeptunesThe Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
– producers - Garret "Jacknife" LeeJacknife LeeGarret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
– producer - Thomas Öberg – producer
- Matt RadosevichMatt RadosevichMatt Radosevich is an American record producer, songwriter, mixer, and musician from Oakland, CA. He has produced artists such as Andy Grammer, The Parlor Mob, dredg, Hot Chelle Rae, The Matches, and Audrye Sessions...
- engineer