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You'd Prefer an Astronaut

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{{Infobox album

| name = You'd Prefer an Astronaut

| type = studio

| artist = Hum

| cover = Hum - You'd Prefer an Astronaut.png

| alt = A zebra standing on a dark green background

| released = {{Start date|1995|4|11}}

| recorded = 1994–1995

| studio = *Playground, Chicago

| genre =

| length = {{Duration|m=45|s=53}}

| language = English

| label = RCA

| producer = {{hlist|Keith Cleversley|Hum}}

| prev_title = Electra 2000

| prev_year = 1993

| next_title = Downward Is Heavenward

| next_year = 1998

| misc = {{Singles

| name = You'd Prefer an Astronaut

| type = studio

| single1 = Stars

| single1date = 1995

| single2 = The Pod

| single2date = 1995

| single3 = I'd Like Your Hair Long

| single3date = 1995

}}

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev2 = Chicago Tribune

| rev2score = {{Rating|3|4}}{{Cite news|last=McKeough |first=Kevin |date=June 22, 1995 |title=Wry Guy |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |page=F8 |id={{ProQuest|2074903572}}}}

| rev3 = Kerrang!

| rev3score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{Cite magazine |last=Brannigan |first=Paul |date=March 30, 1996 |title=Albums |magazine=Kerrang! |publisher=EMAP |page=45 |issue=590}}

|rev4 = MusicHound Rock

|rev4score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=566}}

}}

You'd Prefer an Astronaut is the third studio album by the American alternative rock band Hum, released on April 11, 1995, by RCA Records as their major label debut. The title of the album is a lyric lifted from the song "I'd Like Your Hair Long".

The album has sold over 250,000 copies since its release, mostly due to the second single from the album, "Stars". It became Hum's highest charting song, reaching 11 on Hot Modern Rock Tracks and 28 on Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks; it regained popularity a decade later after being featured in a Cadillac commercial with actress Kate Walsh. The song and its video were also featured on the television show Beavis and Butt-Head.

The album spawned two other singles, "The Pod" and "I'd Like Your Hair Long", although neither received the commercial success of "Stars".

Legacy

Discussing You'd Prefer an Astronaut, Deftones frontman Chino Moreno said, "This is a heavy record, and it's where Deftones get a big part of our influence from, tone-wise."

In 2016, Sam Blum of The A.V. Club listed the album as an overlooked masterpiece.

Track listing

  1. "Little Dipper" – 4:44
  2. "The Pod" – 4:38
  3. "Stars" – 5:09
  4. "Suicide Machine" – 5:58
  5. "The Very Old Man" – 2:45
  6. "Why I Like the Robins" – 4:58
  7. "I'd Like Your Hair Long" – 5:26
  8. "I Hate It Too" – 5:59
  9. "Songs of Farewell and Departure" – 6:16

Personnel

Hum

  • Jeff Dimpsey – bass guitar
  • Tim Lash – guitar
  • Bryan St. Pere – drums
  • Matt Talbott – guitar and vocals

Technical

References

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite web|website=AllMusic|last=Raggett|first=Ned|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/youd-prefer-an-astronaut-mw0000628272|title=You'd Prefer an Astronaut - Hum}}

{{cite magazine|last=Turner|first=Luke|title=Bakers Dozen: Deftones' Chino Moreno Chooses His Top 13 Albums |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/05329-deftones-chino-interview-favourite-records?page=7|magazine=The Quietus|access-date=25 November 2010|date=2010-11-23}}

{{cite news|newspaper=The A.V. Club|last=Blum|first=Sam|url=https://www.avclub.com/hum-s-you-d-prefer-an-astronaut-is-an-overlooked-master-1798246456|title=Hum's You'd Prefer An Astronaut is an overlooked masterpiece|date=April 19, 2016|access-date=October 20, 2018}}

}}

External links

  • [http://playgroundstudio.com/studio-secrets/hum-guitar-sounds/ Cleversly on getting the guitar sound for the album]
  • {{Discogs master|46990}}

{{Hum}}

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Category:1995 albums

Category:Hum (band) albums

Category:RCA Records albums