Start Something

Start Something
Studio album by Lostprophets
Released 2 February 2004 (2004-02-02)
(See release history)
Recorded March–September 2003 at Bigfoot Studio in Los Angeles, CA[1]
Genre Nu metal, alternative metal, alternative rock
Length 56:48
Label Visible Noise (United Kingdom)
Columbia (United States)
Producer Eric Valentine[1]
Lostprophets chronology
The Fake Sound of Progress
(2000)		 Start Something
(2004)		 Liberation Transmission
(2006)
Singles from Start Something
  1. "Burn Burn"
    Released: 3 November 2003
  2. "Last Train Home"
    Released: 26 January 2004
  3. "Wake Up (Make a Move)"
    Released: 3 May 2004
  4. "Last Summer"
    Released: 23 August 2004
  5. "I Don't Know"
    Released: 26 October 2004 (radio airplay)
  6. "Goodbye Tonight"
    Released: 22 November 2004

Start Something is the second studio album by the Welsh alternative metal band Lostprophets, released on 2 February 2004 through Visible Noise in the United Kingdom and South Korea. The album was released internationally on 5 February 2004. The band began work on the album in 2003 after touring for support of their previous album, The Fake Sound of Progress. This is the last album featuring the original drummer Mike Chiplin.

Start Something was a critical and commercial success and became the band's international breakthrough album. It peaked at number 33 on the Billboard 200 selling over 500 thousand copies in the United States alone and reached high positions on charts worldwide. Six singles were released from the album: "Burn Burn", "Last Train Home", "Wake Up (Make a Move)", "Last Summer", "Goodbye Tonight" and the radio single "I Don't Know". These singles helped Lostprophets reach mainstream popularity. In 2004, the album was certified platinum by the BPI in the United Kingdom.

Recording

The album was produced by Eric Valentine who has also produced albums by Queens of the Stone Age and Good Charlotte. MTV reports that the band chose the album name for two reasons. Firstly, the band wanted to motivate people they had met who stated that they would "love to do this and that" but never had the drive to do it. The second being that the band viewed Start Something as their first "musical step", as they felt The Fake Sound of Progress, originally intended as only a demo, "did not accurately reflect their ability".[2]

Lostprophets cancelled their show at Reading and Leeds Festival in 2003 to continue their work on the album. Lead singer Ian Watkins said they did it because "We want to make the best record possible and did not want to rush anything" and continued with "unfortunately these shows are at the final stages of making the record and we felt it was more important." The Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro replaced Lostprophets at the festival.[3]

Billy Martin & Benji Madden of Good Charlotte appear in additional vocals on "Last Train Home".

Artwork

The album cover, designed by Ian Watkins and Jamie Oliver, features a new gothic style logo with German blackletter typeface, replacing the old logo used for Fake Sound Of Progress. It would in itself be replaced for the band's next album, but featured on several of the band's singles taken from this album. Sometimes the lyrics "but even through your doubts, we will still be here", taken from We Still Kill The Old Way,[4] are written below the logo.[5] The figure at the front of the artwork wears blue jeans, a black hoodie and a baseball cap and is meant to resemble lead singer Watkins [6] (however, the person actually depicted in the photograph is Justin Timberlake [7] ).

At the time, Oliver was also an acclaimed artist with his work being displayed in exhibitions depicting Rhondda life.[8] There are slight variations with the cover in different territories with some showing the shadow of the figure with wings - either angels wings or more likely bird wings. This is best depicted in an official promotional colour wallpaper the band released for fans.[9] Whilst it has never been clarified, the city in the background is believed to depict Los Angeles in the United States where the album was recorded and mixed. Ian Watkins said that he regarded artwork as "just as important as the music", and in January 2010 reflected back on some of the Lostprophets' artwork saying "I remember doing the ‘Start Something’ record and compiling the inlay which is a collage of two years of our lives. It was so much fun. I’d sit there for hours looking at the booklet and all the little pictures. I did that to all the albums I bought."[10]

The album was titled Start Something for two reasons. Firstly it was meant to motivate people out of complacency with Ian Watkins saying "We spent the last three years touring and meeting loads of people who were like, 'I'd love to do this and that', but they never had the drive to get up off their asses and do it. Start something. Start anything." Secondly it stood in contrast to their first album which was meant to be just a demo and thus the band saw this album as their first musical step and the first to accurately reflect their ability.[11]

Release history

Country Release Date
Australia 12 January 2004[12]
South Korea 2 February 2004
United Kingdom
Canada 3 February 2004
United States
Worldwide 5 February 2004

The album was met with much attention in the UK and the US, thanks to the three first singles from the album: "Burn Burn", "Last Train Home" and "Wake Up (Make a Move)", which all met with high chart positions in the UK, US and in mainland Europe. The album was certified Silver and Gold by the BPI on 20 February 2004 and certified Platinum on 14 January 2005.[13] According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the album has sold more than 500,000 copies in the United States, earning a Gold certification.[14] The album has sold 2.5 million copies worldwide according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).[15]

In the mids of February 2004, Start Something reached its peak at #33 on the Billboard 200 which was the band's highest charting position in the United States at the time.[16] The album also reached #33 on the Billboard Comprehensive Albums chart in the United States.[17] The album first charted on the UK Albums Chart at #4 in 2004, in 2005 it peaked at its peak position #93 and after the release of Liberation Transmission in 2006 the album re-charted and peaked at #133.[18]

Two singles were released from the album. The first single was "Burn Burn, which peaked at #17 on the UK Singles Chart. The single later re-charted in 2004 and peaked at #110, becoming the first Lostprophets single to chart in Oceania and mainland Europe.[18] The follow-up single "Last Train Home" peaked at #8 on the UK Singles chart and #1 on the US Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, #10 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and #75 on the Billboard Hot 100.[18][19] "Wake Up (Make a Move)" peaked at #18 in the UK, #9 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart, and #16 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. "Goodbye Tonight" and "Last Summer" peaked in the UK at #42 and #13 respectively. "I Don't Know", released to American radio on 26 October 2004,[20] peaked at #11 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and #24 on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[18][19]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic70/100[21]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[22]
Drowned in Sound8/10[23]
entertainment.ie[24]
Entertainment WeeklyB[25]
IGN7.1/10[26]
Kerrang!
NME8/10[27]
Rolling Stone[28]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[29]

The album gained generally favorable reviews from music critics, At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 70, based on 13 reviews.[21]

Johnny Loftus from Allmusic said that they had too big of a resemblance to bands such as Linkin Park, Incubus, and Faith No More; Loftus gave the album 2 out of 5 stars.[22]

Rolling Stone reviewer Kirk Miller was more positive to the album and called it a "kick-ass tribute" again because of its resemblance to American rock band Faith No More and gave the album 3 out of 5 stars.[28] Justin Kownacki from Splendid said "this is one of those finely-polished discs that should have no trouble finding a huge audience" and was more over positive to the album.[30]

Drowned in Sound reviewer Gen Williams said "It's a really really really really really REALLY great pop-metal explosion." and continued to say "Burn Burn" boasted "the catchiest hook this side of Linkin Park" and that the alleged Adamski rip-off was justified because of the song's quality, and giving the album 8 out of 10 stars.[23]

Q called it "Unashamedly Epic." NME said "This is something genuinely fresh... here friends, is the real sound of progress" and Observer Music Monthly credited Start Something on being "A hybrid of big rock choruses, powerful rhythms and a neat pop edge to their rock artillery." Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B and said that Lostprophets "mostly live up to that high standard by juxtaposing gnarly metal riffs with quirky electronic interludes. Only the occasional lapse into Linkin Park-style self-indulgence drags them down."[21][25]

It was ranked seventh in Kerrang! magazine's Albums Of The Year 2004 list.[31] In a readers poll titled Top 100 British Rock Albums the album was ranked eighteenth, and was the third highest of the 2000s, however the poll was taken in February 2005 whilst the album was still fresh in the mind for many.[32]

In 2005, Start Something was ranked number 364 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[33] Rock Sound magazine ranked the album eighth on their Critics' Poll 2004, the highest placing for a British band.[34]

Tour

The first time songs from the new album were played live was on 17 August 2003 at Newport,[35] the first gig of three alongside a Birmingham date and a Manchester date, in preparation for the Reading and Leeds festival at the end of August.[36] For these gigs We Still Kill The Old Way became the regular opener, whilst sets closed with Burn Burn, with tracks from their previous album interspersed in between.[37] Kerrang noted in a live review from Manchester that We Still Kill The Old Way and To Hell We Ride were "well received" but that "the surfeit of new material leads to a comparatively muted response".[38][39] At the end of July though it was announced that the band had cancelled their appearance at Reading and Leeds, whilst still promising to play the three warm-up shows, citing that they wanted the recording of Start Something to take precedence. Ian Watkins said "Unfortunately these shows are at the final stages of making the record and we felt it was more important not to short change anyone."[40] The band did however support Linkin Park at Wembley Arena in London on 22 November 2003 playing eight tracks, including five from the soon to be released new album.[41] Therefore, the band played four dates altogether in 2003.

To promote the album, the band toured North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. Four months before the release of Start Something the band started the support tour for it. Their tour started in the United Kingdom.[42] The band also announced being Linkin Park's support act in their UK winter arena tour.[43] They later announced playing at the NME Award show in the London Astoria and then later announced UK dates in such places as Glasgow, Newcastle and Manchester among others.[44] The concert in the London Astoria ended up being sold out.[45]

On 15 July Lostprophets started their North America tour which included thirteen dates all put together, the American tour ended on 3 August 2004.[46] Lostprophets would also go on to be a part of the MTV's Campus Invasion Tour, the band was a supporting act for headliner Hoobastank, the tour kicked of in University of Tennessee.[47] In May 2004 the band visited Vancouver, Canada for a one night show.[48] Later on they went to play in New Zealand and Australia as part of the Big Day Out festival. They would also go down to Japan for their first time.[48] The band returned to the UK in November 2004 and for the first time they played big headline dates, because of this they extended their UK tour.[49][50]

As of 2012, Start Something is the most popular album played by the band with just over 35% of songs coming from that album across all the gigs they've ever played.[51] On top of this Last Train Home, Burn Burn and Last Summer are amongst the most popular songs the band play live.[52] With the exception of I Don't Know, Hello Again and A Million Miles the other tracks all featured at least a couple of times during The Betrayed tour of 2010 and the Weapons tour of 2012. Apart from once when the whole album was played in its entirety to a sell-out crowd at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena on 28 April 2012, the last time I Don't Know was played live was in 2008,[53] whilst Hello Again and A Million Miles were last played in 2004.[54] Recently British fans have regularly asked the band to play We Are Godzilla, You Are Japan by making a claw shape with their left hand and chanting "Godzilla!".[55] The band sometimes tease the audience by playing the first few notes but very rarely play the song in full.

Legacy

In June 2012 the album was entered into Rock Sound magazine's Hall Of Fame with features on how the band look back on the album and how it has influenced others.[56] Rock Sound said that the album made the band into "one of our greatest rock commodities" and called it a "defining record for the UK rock scene as a whole".[57] Lee Gaze stated "Start Something is the greatest hits of what Lostprophets do". Aled Phillips of Kids In Glass Houses said "it was a turning point for a lot of bands" but also that "everyone's jeans got tighter and started wearing Nike Dunks - it was a cultural shift. With them it was never just about the music, everybody got swept up in the whole aesthetic as well".[58] Five British rock records - All Our Kings Are Dead, We Are the Dynamite, World Record, Free and Hold Me Down - were all cited as being heavily influenced by Start Something.[57]

Also in 2012 the band announced a homecoming show at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena where the album was played in its entirety.[59][60][61] Stuart Richardson said "We wrote the record in Caerphilly. Start Something is when we kind of came into our own as a band, and Cardiff is where we came into our own as people". The gig sold out with a crowd of 10,000 people.[62]

BBC Wales called the album a "modern rock classic" in retrospect[63] and BBC Music called it a "UK rock classic".[64] Whilst WalesOnline noted how the album had been "a galvanising force in the Welsh rock scene".[65] The BBC also produced a radio programme with Bethan Elfyn that aired on BBC Radio 1 in May 2010, which featured the Stereophonics, Manic Street Preachers, Funeral For A Friend and The Blackout amongst others, and titled it "Start Something: The Story of South Wales Rock" in honour of the album.[66][67] The album was included in Rock Sound's 101 Modern Classics list at number 14.[68]

As of May 2012 the album has garnered 10.8 million plays by 640,000 listeners on Last.FM.[69]

Awards

Kerrang! Awards
Year Nominee/work Award Result
2004 Start Something[70] Best Album Nominated
2004 Last Train Home[71] Best Single Won
Metal Hammer Awards
Year Nominee/work Award Result
2004 Lostprophets for Start Something tour[72] Best Live Act Nominated

Accolades

Publication Accolade Recording Year Rank
Kerrang! Albums of the Year[31] - 2004 7th
Kerrang! 666 Songs You Must Own[73] Burn Burn & Last Train Home 2005 *
Kerrang! The Rock 100[74] Last Train Home 2012 *
Kerrang! The 50 Best Albums of the 21st Century[75] - 2009 19th
Rock Sound Critic' Poll[34] - 2004 8th
Metal Hammer Albums Of 2004[76] - 2004 10th
Q Recordings of the Year[77] - 2004 32nd
Q Readers Best Tracks of the Year[78] Last Summer 2004 82nd
Q Ultimate Music Collection[79] Burn Burn 2005 *
Classic Rock End of Year Best Albums[80] - 2004 13th
Rock Sound Hall of Fame Records[81] - 2012 *

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Ian Watkins, all music composed by Lostprophets.

No. Title Length
1. "We Still Kill the Old Way"   4:20
2. "To Hell We Ride"   3:40
3. "Last Train Home"   4:35
4. "Make a Move" (titled "Wake Up (Make a Move)" in later editions) 3:56
5. "Burn Burn"   3:36
6. "I Don't Know"   3:57
7. "Hello Again"   4:56
8. "Goodbye Tonight"   3:54
9. "Start Something"   3:26
10. "A Million Miles"   4:32
11. "Last Summer"   4:07
12. "We Are Godzilla, You Are Japan"   4:05
13. "Sway...."   10:24
Total length:
 56:48

Personnel

Credits for Start Something adapted from liner notes.[1]

Lostprophets
Additional musicians
Production
Production (cont.)

Chart positions

Chart Position
Australian Albums Chart[83] 66
Austrian Albums Charts[84] 60
European Top 100 Albums[85] 15
Finnish Albums Chart[86] 46
French Albums Charts[87] 69
German Albums Chart[88] 51
Irish Album Charts[89] 61
Japanese Albums Chart[90] 34
New Zealand Album Charts[91] 14
UK Album Charts[18] 4
US Billboard 200[16] 33
US Billboard Comprehensive Albums[17] 33

References

  1. 1 2 3 Start Something (liner notes). Lostprophets. UK: Visible Noise. 2004.
  2. ↑ Joe D'Angelo (25 February 2004). "Lostprophets Ready To Start Something Orchestral With Second LP". MTV. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  3. ↑ "Lostprophets Pull Out of Carling Weekend". NME. 29 July 2003. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  4. ↑ Song Meanings - WSKTOW
  5. ↑ Logo sticker
  6. ↑ Dragon Ninja - FAQs
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 December 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-28.
  8. ↑ BBC News - LP Star Shows Off Art
  9. ↑ Start Something Wallpaper
  10. ↑ Drowned In Sound - LP Favourite Album Covers
  11. ↑ MTV US - Lostprophets On Second LP
  12. ↑ Dragon Ninja - SS Discography
  13. ↑ "BPI - Lostprophets". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  14. ↑ "RIAA Certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  15. ↑ James McLaren. "About rock music". BBC Wales. Retrieved 18 February 2009.
  16. 1 2 "Billboard 200 – Start Something". Billboard. 28 February 2004. Archived from the original on 22 September 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  17. 1 2 "Billboard Comprehensive Albums – Start Something" (PDF). Billboard. 22 May 2004. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chart Log UK 1994–2006 DJ Steve L. – LZ Love". Zobbel. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  19. 1 2 "Lostprophets singles Chart History". Allmusic. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  20. ↑ "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 "Critic Reviews for Start Something". Metacritic. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  22. 1 2 Loftus, Johnny. "Start Something - Lostprophets". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  23. 1 2 Williams, Gen (29 January 2004). "Lostprophets - Start Something". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  24. ↑ Lynch, Andrew (18 February 2004). "Lostprophets - Start Something". entertainment.ie. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  25. 1 2 Richardson, Sean (6 February 2004). "Start Something Review". Entertainment Weekly: 140. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  26. ↑ IGN Review
  27. ↑ NME Review
  28. 1 2 Miller, Kirk (14 January 2004). "Start Something". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  29. ↑ "Lostprophets - Start Something". Sputnikmusic. 9 February 2005. Retrieved 18 May 2012. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  30. ↑ Kownacki, Justin. "Start Something". Splendid.
  31. 1 2 Rock List Music - Kerrang
  32. ↑ Rock And Roll Report
  33. ↑ [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 64. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
  34. 1 2 Rock List Music - Rock Sound
  35. ↑ South Wales Argus - City Gigs For Lostprophets
  36. ↑ Tour Dates - LP Warm Up For Carling Weekend
  37. ↑ Setlist - Birmingham 2003
  38. ↑ Wake Up Make A Move Blog - Kerrang Scans #980 - November 2003 P1/2 Archived 10 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  39. ↑ Wake Up Make A Move Blog - Kerrang Scans #980 - November 2003 P2/2 Archived 10 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  40. ↑ Tour Dates - LP Cancel Carling Appearance
  41. ↑ Setlist - Linkin Park Wembley Arena 2003
  42. ↑ "Lostprophets Planning to 'Start Something'". NME. 2 October 2003. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  43. ↑ "Lostprophets Go to the Park". NME. 17 October 2003. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  44. ↑ "Lostprophets 'Start Something' in 2004". NME. 20 November 2003. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  45. ↑ "Feel My Pain!". NME. 10 February 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  46. ↑ Barry A. Jeckel. "Billboard Bits: Beastie Boys, Lostprophets, Authority Zero". Billboard. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  47. ↑ Todd Martens (24 February 2004). "Hoobastank, Lostprophets Head Back To School". Billboard. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  48. 1 2 "Lostprophets 'Start Something' in Japan". NME. 4 May 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  49. ↑ "Lostprophets Return". NME. 29 July 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  50. ↑ "Lost on the Road". NME. 1 September 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  51. ↑ Setlist - Lostprophets Tours Ranked By Albums
  52. ↑ Setlist - Lostprophets Tours Ranked By Tracks
  53. ↑ Setlist - 2008 Stats
  54. ↑ Setlist - 2004 Stats
  55. ↑ Clink Music - LP at Brixton Review
  56. ↑ Rock Sound #161 June 2012 p48
  57. 1 2 Rock Sound #161 June 2012 p51
  58. ↑ Rock Sound #161 June 2012 p50
  59. ↑ Setlist.fm - Cardiff Motorpoint Arena April 2012
  60. ↑ WalesOnline - Review of LP at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
  61. ↑ The Digital Fix - LP at Motorpoint Arena Review
  62. ↑ 247 Magazine - LP at Motorpoint Arena Review
  63. ↑ BBC Wales - LP at Cardiff 2012
  64. ↑ BBC Music - LP at Cardiff 2012
  65. ↑ WalesOnline - LP to unleash their heavy weaponry
  66. ↑ BBC Blogs - Story Of South Wales Rock
  67. ↑ BBC Radio 1 - Story Of South Wales Rock
  68. ↑ "Rock Sound's 101 Modern Classics: The Final Instalment!". Rock Sound Magazine. July 11, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  69. ↑ Last.fm - LP Start Something page
  70. ↑ BBC News - Kerrang Awards 2004 Nominees
  71. ↑ BBC News - Kerrang Awards 2004 Winners
  72. ↑ XFM - Metal Hammer Awards 2004 Nominees
  73. ↑ Rock List Music - Kerrang 666
  74. ↑ Kerrang TV - Rock 100
  75. ↑ Download Festival Forum - Kerrang 50 Best
  76. ↑ Rock List Music - Metal Hammer
  77. ↑ Rock List Music - Q Magazine
  78. ↑ Rock List Music - Q Magazine
  79. ↑ Rock List Music - Q Ultimate Collection
  80. ↑ Rock List Music - Classic Rock
  81. ↑ Rock Sound - Issue 161
  82. 1 2 "Japanese bonus material". CD Japan.
  83. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
  84. ↑ "Austrian Record Chart". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  85. ↑ http://books.google.ca/books?lr=&rview=1&id=gw8EAAAAMBAJ&q=lostprophets#v=snippet&q=lostprophets&f=false
  86. ↑ Finnish Charts at Blabbermouth
  87. ↑ "French Record Chart". lescharts.com. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  88. ↑ "German Albums Chart". charts-surfer.de/. Archived from the original on 2 February 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  89. ↑ "Irish Record Chart". irish-charts.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  90. ↑
  91. ↑ "New Zealand Record Chart". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
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