Good Mourning

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Good Mourning
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 13, 2003 (2003-05-13)
RecordedNovember 2002- January 2003
StudioCello
Genre
Length39:07
LabelVagrant
ProducerJoe McGrath, Jerry Finn
Alkaline Trio chronology
Alkaline Trio / Hot Water Music
(2002)
Good Mourning
(2003)
BYO Split Series Volume V
(2004)
Singles from Good Mourning
  1. "We've Had Enough"
    Released: May 20, 2003
  2. "All on Black"
    Released: December 2, 2003

Good Mourning is the fourth studio album by American punk rock band Alkaline Trio, released May 13, 2003 on Vagrant Records.

Background and production[edit]

Towards the end of May 2002, the band recorded their next album; they "decided that waiting until after Warped Tour would be too long."[1] Recording sessions were held at Cello Studios with producers Joe McGrath and Jerry Finn. The album marks the first appearance of drummer Derek Grant, described by vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba as "a whole new influence."[2] During recording, both Skiba and vocalist/bassist Dan Andriano were ill.[2] Alkaline Trio had planned a tour with One Man Army in early 2003,[3] but the tour was cancelled due to Skiba having strained vocal chords; the album's recording was subsequently delayed.[4] Brian Gardner mastered the recordings at Bern Grundman Mastering.[5] Skiba describes the album as sounding "bigger, deeper and rawer" than its predecessor, From Here to Infirmary.

In a 2003 interview, Matt Skiba gave his thoughts on the album:

[Good Mourning] is pretty good. I mean it took us a long time to do and I think most of the people that I talk to that make records and stuff, there's always stuff that you wish you did better or maybe a little differently. I've never been able to avoid that, even with this. There's things that I wish I had done maybe a little differently. But that also comes with just listening to it and living with it for so long that until it's done you won't really hear things in that way until it's like too late I guess. But I would say for the most part that I'm really happy with it.[2]

Composition[edit]

Good Mourning has been described as a punk rock,[6][7] pop-punk,[8] and hardcore punk record, with a focus on aggression.[9] Discussing the title, Skiba said he was having breakfast near the studio, and his waiter said "'good morning' to me and it's just kinda like the double meaning/spelling kinda registered and I just called everyone and I was like, 'How about Good Mourning with a U?' and everybody liked it equally as much so we used it."[2] He said the Ramones and the Damned served as big influences on the album.[10] "We've Had Enough" features backing vocals from Keith Morris of Circle Jerks.[10][5]

Release[edit]

On January 23, 2003, the album's title was revealed as Good Mourning.[11] On February 11, Good Mourning was announced for release in three months' time; alongside this, the album's track listing was posted online.[10] On March 18, the album's artwork was revealed.[12] Between April and June 2003, the band toured across the US and Canada, with One Man Army, Pretty Girls Make Graves, and Avoid One Thing.[12][13][14] Good Mourning was made available for streaming on May 1, 2003, before being released through Vagrant Records on May 13.[15] The UK version of the album included two bonus tracks: "Dead End Road" and "Old School Reasons".[5] Also on May 13, the band appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.[15] "We've Had Enough" was released to radio on May 20; the song's music video was posted on MTV's website nine days later.[16][17] In August and September, the band toured Europe as part of the Reconstruction Festival, and appeared at the Terremoto Festival.[18] Following this, the band went on a tour of the UK with Hot Water Music.[19] Between October and December, the band went on the Vagrant Tour 2003, which featured several acts on the label.[20] The stint included appearances on IMX and Late Show with David Letterman.[21][22] In February 2004, the band went on an Australian tour with Thrice and Hot Water Music.[23] In March and April, the band toured the West Coast as part of the Punkvoter.[24]

Reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[25]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunkFavorable[26]
AllMusic [27]
Blender[28]
Drowned in Sound[29]
LAS MagazineFavorable [30]
Melodic [31]
Punknews.org [32]
Rolling Stone [33]
Spin8/10 [34]
Tiny Mix Tapes[35]

The album debuted at number 20 on the Billboard 200, selling 40,000 copies on its first week of release. By August 2008, the album had sold 258,000 copies.[36] Reception from critics was mixed to positive.[37] Within the band, the retrospective reception of Good Mourning varies. When asked to rank Alkaline Trio's first eight studio albums, Dan Andriano put Good Mourning in the top spot whereas Matt Skiba ranked it second to last in place 7.[38][39] Alternative Press ranked "We've Had Enough" at number 100 on their list of the best 100 singles from the 2000s.[40]

Track listing[edit]

Original release[edit]

All songs written and performed by Alkaline Trio.[5]

No.TitleLength
1."This Could Be Love"3:47
2."We've Had Enough"2:51
3."One Hundred Stories"3:40
4."Continental"3:28
5."All on Black"4:00
6."Emma"2:42
7."Fatally Yours"2:16
8."Every Thug Needs a Lady"3:18
9."Blue Carolina"3:28
10."Donner Party (All Night)"2:44
11."If We Never Go Inside"3:46
12."Blue in the Face"3:02

UK edition[edit]

Bonus tracks
  1. "Dead End Road" – 3:09
  2. "Old School Reasons" – 2:52

Personnel[edit]

Personnel per booklet.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ White, Adam (May 13, 2002). "Alkaline Trio In Studio, New Album This Fall". Punknews.org. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d "chorus.fm". 7 November 2023.
  3. ^ White, Adam (December 12, 2002). "One Man Army / Alkaline Trio Winter Tour". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  4. ^ Heisel, Scott (January 15, 2003). "Alkaline Trio cancels tour". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e Good Mourning (Booklet). Alkaline Trio. Vagrant. 2003. 980 123-8.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ "Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning". Sputnik Music. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  7. ^ Hoard, Christian (June 2, 2005). "Alkaline Trio: Crimson : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 21, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  8. ^ "Alkaline Trio, 'Good Mourning' (Vagrant)". Tinnitist. 23 May 2023. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  9. ^ "Alkaline Trio defies popular punk trend with new album". 28 May 2003. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  10. ^ a b c White, Adam (February 11, 2003). "Alkaline Trio Track List, Keith Morris Guest Appearance". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  11. ^ Heisel, Scott (January 23, 2003). "Alkaline Trio title upcoming record". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  12. ^ a b White, Adam (March 18, 2003). "A Few Trio Updates". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  13. ^ White, Adam (March 9, 2003). "Full Alkaline Trio Tour Dates". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  14. ^ White, Adam (April 15, 2003). "Avoid One Thing Plan Next Album". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  15. ^ a b White, Adam (April 10, 2003). "Upcoming Alkaline Trio Events". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  16. ^ "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  17. ^ Heisel, Scott (May 29, 2003). "Watch new Alkaline Trio video". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  18. ^ White, Adam (July 26, 2003). "European Dates: Reconstruction, Terremoto and more". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  19. ^ White, Adam (July 25, 2003). "Hot Water Music / Alkaline Trio In The UK". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  20. ^ White, Adam (August 28, 2003). "Vagrant Tour 2003 Bands & Dates". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  21. ^ Heisel, Scott (November 3, 2003). "Bands on TV - week of 11/3/03". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  22. ^ Heisel, Scott (December 5, 2003). "Alkaline Trio drops off Vagrant Tour for Letterman". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  23. ^ White, Adam (December 12, 2003). "Thrice / Alkaline Trio / Hot Water Music Australian tour". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  24. ^ Heisel, Scott (March 11, 2004). "Punkvoter Tour dates released". Punknews.org. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  25. ^ "Good Mourning by Alkaline Trio Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  26. ^ Tate, Jason. "AbsolutePunk - Alkaline Trio / Good Mourning". AbsolutePunk.net. Archived from the original on April 18, 2003. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  27. ^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r638190
  28. ^ Widerhorn, Jon. "Alkaline Trio Good Mourning". Blender. Archived from the original on August 11, 2004. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  29. ^ White, Peter (2003). "Good Mourning - Alkaline Trio". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on July 3, 2003. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  30. ^ "LAS Magazine review". Archived from the original on 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2017-02-12.
  31. ^ Roth, Kaj (June 23, 2003). "Alkaline Trio - Good mourning". Melodic. Archived from the original on February 7, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
  32. ^ Punknews.org (13 May 2003). "Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning".
  33. ^ Kot, Gret (May 29, 2003). "Alkaline Trio: Good Mourning : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  34. ^ "Alkaline Trio, 'Good Mourning' (Vagrant) - SPIN". 15 June 2003.
  35. ^ Tamec (December 14, 2006). "Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning | Music Review". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  36. ^ Caulfield, Keith (August 1, 2008). "Ask Billboard: Robin Sparkles, Garbage, Alkaline Trio, Bayside". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on May 16, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  37. ^ "Classic Album Review: Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning". SPIN. Retrieved June 15, 2003.
  38. ^ "Rank Your Records: Bassist Dan Andriano Rates All Eight Alkaline Trio Albums". 16 July 2015.
  39. ^ "Rank Your Records: Matt Skiba Plays Favorites with Alkaline Trio's Albums". 25 January 2018.
  40. ^ Paul, Aubin (November 20, 2009). "At The Drive-In's 'One Armed Scissor' tops AP's 'Haircut 100' singles countdown". Punknews.org. Retrieved October 13, 2022.

External links[edit]