The Stage Names
Encyclopedia
The Stage Names is the fourth full-length studio album by American indie rock
band Okkervil River, released on August 7, 2007. The album was recorded in Austin, Texas
, with longtime Okkervil producer Brian Beattie, and with mixing from Spoon
drummer and producer Jim Eno
. Like other Okkervil River albums, the accompanying artwork is the work of artist William Schaff
. The cover refers to a line from "Unless It's Kicks". The record was also released as a limited-edition 2-CD set that included a second disc of solo acoustic demos. A newly recorded version of "Love to a Monster", which appeared in rough demo form on the band's tour EP, Overboard and Down, was originally intended to appear on the album, but didn't make it on, and appears as a bonus track when the album is purchased through eMusic
. "Shannon Wilsey on the Starry Stairs", described by lead singer and songwriter Will Sheff
as "kind of a sequel to 'Savannah Smiles' and kind of a sister song to "John Allyn Smith Sails'", is included as a bonus track when the album is purchased through iTunes
.
An official music video was created for "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe" directed by Margaret Brown.
"A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene" describes the television shows in which Okkervil River's music has been featured. These include a 2006 episode of Cold Case ("One Night") and an episode of Breaking Bonaduce
.
"Savannah Smiles" is a song that deals with the life and death of Shannon Wilsey
, a pornographic actress known by her stage name, Savannah, which was taken from the 1982 film, Savannah Smiles
. The bonus track, "(Shannon Wilsey on the) Starry Stairs," is intended to be a sequel to "Savannah Smiles."
"Plus Ones" references several other songs with numerical titles by adding 1 to them. These include ? and the Mysterians' "96 Tears
," Nena
's" 99 Luftballons
," Paul Simon
's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
," The Byrds
' "Eight Miles High
," R.E.M.
's "Seven Chinese Brothers," David Bowie
's "TVC15," The Zombies
' "Care of Cell 44," Commodore's "Three Times a Lady
," and The Crests
' "Sixteen Candles
." The term is also used in reference to guest-lists at rock concerts.
"You Can't Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man" makes a passing reference to The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even
by Marcel Duchamp
. The title itself is taken from a line in the Joni Mitchell song, "Blonde in the Bleachers."
The song name "Title Track" is an openly self-reflexive gesture. The song also references Kenneth Anger
's book Hollywood Babylon
.
"John Allyn Smith Sails" concerns the life and suicide of confessional poet
John Berryman (originally John Allyn Smith). The song ends by reworking the traditional folk song "Sloop John B
" (made famous by The Beach Boys
), likening death to a journey back home.
In addition to these specific allusions, several songs on the album have subjects like television, film, and the experience of being in a rock band.
Will Sheff has stated that he originally intended the album to be a double-album and that he wrote twice as many songs for it then were used, many of which were completed or nearly completed. He had also stated that the band intended to release an EP of the unused material similar to Black Sheep Boy
s companion album Black Sheep Boy Appendix
; however enough material exists for a full-length LP called The Stand Ins
, which was released on September 9, 2008.
labeling The Stage Names "Okkervil River's most emotionally devastating record yet, and without doubt one of the year's best." The Stage Names has a Metacritic
rating of 82. The album debuted at number 62 on the Billboard 200
with 10,000 copies sold. Harp Magazine listed the CD as the best of 2007. "Our Life is not a Movie or Maybe" was #81 on Rolling Stone
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
band Okkervil River, released on August 7, 2007. The album was recorded 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...
, with longtime Okkervil producer Brian Beattie, and with mixing from Spoon
Spoon (band)
Spoon is an American rock band formed in Austin, Texas. The band is composed of Britt Daniel ; Jim Eno ; Rob Pope and Eric Harvey .-History:...
drummer and producer Jim Eno
Jim Eno
Jim Eno is the drummer and one of the founding members of the Austin, Texas band Spoon. He is also a record producer and a semiconductor chip designer.-Overview:Eno was born in Rhode Island...
. Like other Okkervil River albums, the accompanying artwork is the work of artist William Schaff
William Schaff
William J. Schaff Jr. is a Providence, Rhode Island-based artistand musician, who has created the detailed art for all of the Jagjaguwar releases of Okkervil River and artwork for other music albums, including for the bands Songs: Ohia and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.-Art:Much of Schaff's art...
. The cover refers to a line from "Unless It's Kicks". The record was also released as a limited-edition 2-CD set that included a second disc of solo acoustic demos. A newly recorded version of "Love to a Monster", which appeared in rough demo form on the band's tour EP, Overboard and Down, was originally intended to appear on the album, but didn't make it on, and appears as a bonus track when the album is purchased through eMusic
EMusic
eMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. It is headquartered in New York City with an office in London and owned by Dimensional Associates. As of September 2008 eMusic has over 400,000 subscribers....
. "Shannon Wilsey on the Starry Stairs", described by lead singer and songwriter Will Sheff
Will Sheff
Will Sheff is the frontman for the Austin, Texas-based indie band Okkervil River . Originally from Meriden, New Hampshire, he is also a founding member and co-songwriter for Shearwater , another Austin band...
as "kind of a sequel to 'Savannah Smiles' and kind of a sister song to "John Allyn Smith Sails'", is included as a bonus track when the album is purchased through 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....
.
Overview
The Stage Names was originally conceived as a double album. Sheff said about the inspiration for the album,An official music video was created for "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe" directed by Margaret Brown.
"A Hand to Take Hold of the Scene" describes the television shows in which Okkervil River's music has been featured. These include a 2006 episode of Cold Case ("One Night") and an episode of Breaking Bonaduce
Breaking Bonaduce
Breaking Bonaduce is an American reality series on VH1 that starred former child actor Danny Bonaduce and his wife Gretchen. The series premiered in September 2005 and ended in December 2006.-Overview:...
.
"Savannah Smiles" is a song that deals with the life and death of Shannon Wilsey
Savannah (porn star)
Not to be confused with the pornographic actress Savanna SamsonShannon Michelle Wilsey , commonly known by her stage name of Savannah, was an American pornographic performer, starring in more than 100 pornographic videos during her career...
, a pornographic actress known by her stage name, Savannah, which was taken from the 1982 film, Savannah Smiles
Savannah Smiles
Savannah Smiles is a 1982 family comedy film starring Bridgette Andersen, Donovan Scott, Mark Miller, Peter Graves and Barbara Stanger.-Plot summary:...
. The bonus track, "(Shannon Wilsey on the) Starry Stairs," is intended to be a sequel to "Savannah Smiles."
"Plus Ones" references several other songs with numerical titles by adding 1 to them. These include ? and the Mysterians' "96 Tears
96 Tears
"96 Tears" is a popular song recorded by ? in 1966. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. and on the RPM 100 in Canada and is ranked #210 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.-History:...
," Nena
Nena
Gabriele Susanne Kerner , better known by her stage name Nena, is a German singer and actress. She rose to international fame in 1983 with the New German Wave song "99 Luftballons". In 1984, she re-recorded this song in English as "99 Red Balloons". Nena was also the name of the band with whom she...
's" 99 Luftballons
99 Luftballons
"99 Luftballons" is a protest song by the German pop-rock band Nena from their 1983 self-titled album. Originally sung in German, it was later re-recorded in English as "99 Red Balloons" for their album 99 Luftballons in 1984...
," Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" is a 1975 hit song by Paul Simon, from his album Still Crazy After All These Years. Backing vocals on the single were performed by Patti Austin, Valerie Simpson and Phoebe Snow.-Creation:...
," The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
' "Eight Miles High
Eight Miles High
"Eight Miles High" is a song by the American rock band The Byrds, written by Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, and David Crosby and first released as a single on March 14, 1966 . The single managed to reach the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 30 of the UK Singles Chart...
," R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
's "Seven Chinese Brothers," David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "TVC15," The Zombies
The Zombies
The Zombies are an English rock band, formed in 1961 in St Albans and led by Rod Argent, on piano and keyboards, and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group scored a UK and US hit in 1964 with "She's Not There"...
' "Care of Cell 44," Commodore's "Three Times a Lady
Three Times a Lady
* The song was also covered in the country genre by country singer Billy "Crash" Craddock on his 1986 album Crash Craddock and in 2007 by Cobra Starship as an iTunes bonus track for their album ¡Viva La Cobra!...
," and The Crests
The Crests
The Crests were a New York R&B doo-wop group of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their most popular song was "16 Candles", which rose to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1959. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc. The interracial group had three black members , one Puerto...
' "Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles
Sixteen Candles is a 1984 American film starring Molly Ringwald, Michael Schoeffling and Anthony Michael Hall. It was written and directed by John Hughes.- Plot :...
." The term is also used in reference to guest-lists at rock concerts.
"You Can't Hold the Hand of a Rock and Roll Man" makes a passing reference to The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even
The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even
The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even , most often called The Large Glass , is an artwork by Marcel Duchamp....
by Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
. The title itself is taken from a line in the Joni Mitchell song, "Blonde in the Bleachers."
The song name "Title Track" is an openly self-reflexive gesture. The song also references Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger is an American underground experimental filmmaker, occasional actor and author...
's book Hollywood Babylon
Hollywood Babylon
Hollywood Babylon is a book by avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger which details the sordid scandals of many famous and infamous Hollywood denizens from the 1900s to the 1950s. First published in the US in 1965, it was banned ten days later and would not be republished until 1975...
.
"John Allyn Smith Sails" concerns the life and suicide of confessional poet
Confessional poet
Confessional poetry emphasizes the intimate, and sometimes unflattering, information about details of the poet's personal life, such as in poems about mental illness, sexuality, and despondence. The confessionalist label was applied to a number of poets of the 1950s and 1960s...
John Berryman (originally John Allyn Smith). The song ends by reworking the traditional folk song "Sloop John B
Sloop John B
"Sloop John B" is the seventh track on The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album and was also a single which was released in 1966 on Capitol Records. It was originally a traditional West Indies folk song, "The John B. Sails," taken from a collection by Carl Sandburg . Alan Lomax made a field recording of...
" (made famous by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
), likening death to a journey back home.
In addition to these specific allusions, several songs on the album have subjects like television, film, and the experience of being in a rock band.
Will Sheff has stated that he originally intended the album to be a double-album and that he wrote twice as many songs for it then were used, many of which were completed or nearly completed. He had also stated that the band intended to release an EP of the unused material similar to Black Sheep Boy
Black Sheep Boy
Black Sheep Boy is Okkervil River's third album, released on April 5, 2005. The title is inspired by the song "Black Sheep Boy" by '60s folk singer, Tim Hardin, and the album, which is loosely based around Hardin's struggle with heroin addiction, opens with Okkervil River's cover of the song...
s companion album Black Sheep Boy Appendix
Black Sheep Boy Appendix
-Personnel:* Will Sheff - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Harmonica, Toy Piano, Toy Guitar, Pump Organ, Wurlitzer, Hammond M1* Scott Brackett - Trumpet, Tambourine, Handclaps* Brian Cassidy - Vocals, String Arrangement* Howard Draper - Bass...
; however enough material exists for a full-length LP called The Stand Ins
The Stand Ins
The Stand Ins has received positive reviews. The album currently has a score of 78 out of 100 on the review aggregate site Metacritic, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."...
, which was released on September 9, 2008.
Reception
Reviews have been largely positive with Pitchfork MediaPitchfork 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...
labeling The Stage Names "Okkervil River's most emotionally devastating record yet, and without doubt one of the year's best." The Stage Names has a Metacritic
Metacritic
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,...
rating of 82. The album debuted at number 62 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
with 10,000 copies sold. Harp Magazine listed the CD as the best of 2007. "Our Life is not a Movie or Maybe" was #81 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
Bonus tracks
- "(Shannon WilseySavannah (porn star)Not to be confused with the pornographic actress Savanna SamsonShannon Michelle Wilsey , commonly known by her stage name of Savannah, was an American pornographic performer, starring in more than 100 pornographic videos during her career...
on the) Starry Stairs" – 3:54
- Bonus track available on iTunesITunesiTunes 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....
- "Love to a Monster" – 4:54
- Bonus track available on eMusicEMusiceMusic is an online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. It is headquartered in New York City with an office in London and owned by Dimensional Associates. As of September 2008 eMusic has over 400,000 subscribers....
Musicians
- Will Sheff - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Xylophone, Piano
- Scott Brackett - Coronet, Hammond Organ, Synthesizer, Mellotron, Percussion
- Brian Cassidy - Vocals, Electric Guitar, Pedal Steel, Xylophone
- Jonathan Meiburg - Vocals, Piano, Wurloutzer, Pump Organ, Mellotron, Electric Guitar
- Travis Nelsen - Drums, Maracas, Tambourine, Shells
- Patrick Pestorius - Bass, Piano, Woodblocks
- Zachary Thomas - Mandolin
- Caitlin Bailey - Cello
- Scott Jackson - Violin
- Katie Nott - Viola
- Kathleen Pittman - Violin
- Sarah Pizzicheni - Violin
- Frances Smith - French Horn, Clarinet
- Will Thothong - Viola
- Tammy Vo - Violin