The Teaches of Peaches
Encyclopedia
The Teaches of Peaches is the second studio album
by Canadian recording artist Peaches
, and her first under the stage name Peaches. It was released on September 5, 2000 by Kitty-Yo
. Her indie-singer roommate Feist contributed vocals for the album.
In 2002, XL Recordings
re-released the album and as well put out an "Expanded Edition" featuring a bonus disc.
" EP, Peaches moved to Berlin
, Germany. While visiting her old friend Jason Beck, who was enjoying modest European success as Chilly Gonzales
in Berlin, Peaches landed a one-night gig. On the merits of that show alone, Berlin's Kitty-Yo
label signed her on the spot. The label offered her the chance to record The Teaches of Peaches back home in Toronto
.
albums, draws from 1980s New Wave music
. It incorporates the Roland MC-505
and lo-fi beats in songs such as "AA XXX", which also features a roller-rink electro bassline. "Sucker" and "Rock Show" employ guitar and Runaways
-like singing.
Lyrically, many of the songs on The Teaches of Peaches deal with pro-sex
postfeminist
themes. "Felix Partz" is a tribute to Felix Partz
, a Canadian artist who was associated with the arts collective General Idea
.
. Heather Phares from Allmusic said ,"Funny, sexy, outrageous, and danceable (not to mention endlessly quotable) all at once, The Teaches of Peaches is a great introduction to a unique artist who defines herself by gleefully blurring boundaries." Likewise, Mark Desrosiers of Popmatters
described the album as "one of the year's defining albums."
The Guardian
included The Teaches of Peaches in its 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die. Slant Magazine
placed the album at #236 on its Best of the Aughts: Albums list. SPIN
placed The Teaches of Peaches at #10 on the Ten Memorable Albums From Forgotten Genres for electroclash
. The Village Voice
included The Teaches of Peaches in the Best Albums of 2000.
, The Teaches of Peaches sold 10,000 copies in its first three weeks. The Teaches of Peaches sold 50,000 copies worldwide.
band Elastica
. Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann
had personally invited Peaches and Gonzales
to open for Elastica's North American tour.
After "Set It Off"
became a top forty hit, Peaches appeared on the British TV show Top of the Pops
, but her performance was deemed too racy to be aired.
"AA XXX" was used in the 2003 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and in the 2004 HBO documentary Thinking XXX
.
The first track was used in the film Lost in Translation
, although it was not including on the soundtrack.
Source:
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by Canadian recording artist Peaches
Peaches (musician)
Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...
, and her first under the stage name Peaches. It was released on September 5, 2000 by Kitty-Yo
Kitty-Yo
Kitty-Yo is a German record label specializing in quirky pop and electronica. It was founded in 1994 in Berlin following the creation of an independent zine of the same name...
. Her indie-singer roommate Feist contributed vocals for the album.
In 2002, XL Recordings
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
re-released the album and as well put out an "Expanded Edition" featuring a bonus disc.
Writing and development
After creating a six-track "LovertitsLovertits
"Lovertits" is a song by electroclash singer Peaches. It was released with the Lovertits EP in 2000 after Merrill Nisker adopted the performing name Peaches.-Critical reception:...
" EP, Peaches moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany. While visiting her old friend Jason Beck, who was enjoying modest European success as Chilly Gonzales
Gonzales (musician)
Gonzales, , is a Grammy-nominated Canadian musician currently residing in Paris, France. Though best known for his first MC and electro albums, he is also a pianist, producer, and songwriter....
in Berlin, Peaches landed a one-night gig. On the merits of that show alone, Berlin's Kitty-Yo
Kitty-Yo
Kitty-Yo is a German record label specializing in quirky pop and electronica. It was founded in 1994 in Berlin following the creation of an independent zine of the same name...
label signed her on the spot. The label offered her the chance to record The Teaches of Peaches back home in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
.
Composition
Musically, The Teaches of Peaches, like many other electroclashElectroclash
Electroclash is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. It emerged in New York and Detroit in the later 1990s, pioneered by acts including I-F and those associated with Gerald Donald, and is associated with acts including Peaches, Adult, and Fischerspooner...
albums, draws from 1980s New Wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
. It incorporates the Roland MC-505
Roland MC-505
The Roland MC-505 is a combination of MIDI sequencer/arranger, synthesizer, and drum machine with built-in real-time Arpeggiator, LFO, VCF and Envelope Knobs for tweaking...
and lo-fi beats in songs such as "AA XXX", which also features a roller-rink electro bassline. "Sucker" and "Rock Show" employ guitar and Runaways
The Runaways
The Runaways were an American all-girl rock band that recorded and performed in the second half of the 1970s. The band released four studio albums and one live set during its run. Among its best known songs: "Cherry Bomb", "Queens of Noise", "Neon Angels On the Road to Ruin", "California Paradise"...
-like singing.
Lyrically, many of the songs on The Teaches of Peaches deal with pro-sex
Sex-positive feminism
Sex-positive feminism, also known as pro-sex feminism, sex-radical feminism, or sexually liberal feminism is a movement that began in the early 1980s...
postfeminist
Postfeminism
Post-feminism is a reaction against some perceived contradictions and absences of second-wave feminism. The term post-feminism is ill-defined and is used in inconsistent ways...
themes. "Felix Partz" is a tribute to Felix Partz
Felix Partz
Ronald Gabe , publicly known as Felix Partz, was a Canadian artist and cofounder of the artistic collective General Idea with Jorge Zontal and AA Bronson....
, a Canadian artist who was associated with the arts collective General Idea
General Idea
General Idea was a collective of three Canadian artists, Felix Partz, Jorge Zontal and AA Bronson, who were active from 1967 to 1994.As pioneers of early conceptual and media-based art, their collaboration became a model for artist-initiated activities and continues to be a prominent influence on...
.
Critical reception
The Teaches of Peaches received generally favorable reviews. The album holds a score of 73 out of 100 on the review aggregator website MetacriticMetacritic
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,...
. Heather Phares from Allmusic said ,"Funny, sexy, outrageous, and danceable (not to mention endlessly quotable) all at once, The Teaches of Peaches is a great introduction to a unique artist who defines herself by gleefully blurring boundaries." Likewise, Mark Desrosiers 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,...
described the album as "one of the year's defining albums."
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
included The Teaches of Peaches in its 1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die. Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
placed the album at #236 on its Best of the Aughts: Albums list. SPIN
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
placed The Teaches of Peaches at #10 on the Ten Memorable Albums From Forgotten Genres for electroclash
Electroclash
Electroclash is a style of music that fuses New Wave and electronic dance music. It emerged in New York and Detroit in the later 1990s, pioneered by acts including I-F and those associated with Gerald Donald, and is associated with acts including Peaches, Adult, and Fischerspooner...
. The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
included The Teaches of Peaches in the Best Albums of 2000.
Chart performance
After a glowing review in QQ (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
, The Teaches of Peaches sold 10,000 copies in its first three weeks. The Teaches of Peaches sold 50,000 copies worldwide.
Singles
- "LovertitsLovertits"Lovertits" is a song by electroclash singer Peaches. It was released with the Lovertits EP in 2000 after Merrill Nisker adopted the performing name Peaches.-Critical reception:...
" was released as the album's lead single on July 15, 2000 by Kitty-YoKitty-YoKitty-Yo is a German record label specializing in quirky pop and electronica. It was founded in 1994 in Berlin following the creation of an independent zine of the same name...
. The song was critically appreciated with reviewers complimenting its New WaveNew Wave musicNew Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
sound. "Lovertits" appeared on several Best Singles of 2000 lists.
- "Set It OffSet It Off (Peaches song)"Set It Off" is a song written and recorded by Peaches. The song was released as the lead promo single from her debut album The Teaches of Peaches...
" was released as the album's second single in 2001 by Kitty-Yo. It was later remixed by Tobi Neumann and re-released by Epic RecordsEpic RecordsEpic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...
. "Set It Off" became a top forty hit in the United Kingdom, peaking at number thirty-six.
- "Rock Show" was released as the third and final single in 2003.
Promotion
To promote The Teaches of Peaches, Peaches toured as the opening act for British alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Elastica
Elastica
Elastica were an English alternative rock band that played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica, which produced singles that charted in the US and the UK.-History:...
. Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann
Justine Frischmann
Justine Elinor Frischmann is an English singer and guitarist, best known for being the lead singer of the now defunct band Elastica...
had personally invited Peaches and Gonzales
Gonzales (musician)
Gonzales, , is a Grammy-nominated Canadian musician currently residing in Paris, France. Though best known for his first MC and electro albums, he is also a pianist, producer, and songwriter....
to open for Elastica's North American tour.
After "Set It Off"
Set It Off (Peaches song)
"Set It Off" is a song written and recorded by Peaches. The song was released as the lead promo single from her debut album The Teaches of Peaches...
became a top forty hit, Peaches appeared on the British TV show Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
, but her performance was deemed too racy to be aired.
"AA XXX" was used in the 2003 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and in the 2004 HBO documentary Thinking XXX
Thinking XXX
Thinking XXX is a 2004 television documentary about the process photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders went through to create his book XXX: 30 Porn Star Portraits...
.
The first track was used in the film Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation
Lost in translation may refer to:Film* Lost in Translation , a 2003 film directed by Sofia Coppola** Lost in Translation , the soundtrack accompanying the filmLiterature...
, although it was not including on the soundtrack.
Track listing
Personnel
- Peaches – lead and backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
, 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... - Alorenz Berlin – designGraphic designGraphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
- Steve Keeping – drums, 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...
- Bo Kondren – 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...
Source:
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 5, 2000 | Kitty-Yo Kitty-Yo Kitty-Yo is a German record label specializing in quirky pop and electronica. It was founded in 1994 in Berlin following the creation of an independent zine of the same name... |
KY55233 |
| Germany | September 8, 2000 | KY00033 | |
| United Kingdom | October 21, 2002 | XL Recordings XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire... |
XL 163 |
| Russia | 2003 | Soyuz Music, XL Recordings |
External links
- "Diddle My Skittle" (Promotional video) at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....