''2'' is the third EP by the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

-based

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

band the

Smoking Popes Smoking Popes is an American pop punk band from the northwest suburbs of Chicago. They are composed of brothers Matt Caterer (bass), Josh Caterer (lead vocals/guitar) and Eli Caterer (guitar/backing vocals) and Mike Felumlee (drums). Histo ...

, released independently in 1993. It was recorded in 1992 at Solid Sound Studio in

Hoffman Estates, Illinois Hoffman Estates is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 52,530. The village previously served as the headquarters for Transform Holdco L ...

with

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproducti ...

Phil Bonnet, the same location and engineer used for their previous EP ''Break Up''. Singer and guitarist Josh Caterer has said that the lead track, "Writing a Letter", was influenced by the songwriting style of old

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

I thought it would be fun to write the kind of song that might have been sung by
Carmen Miranda Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda (), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature ...
in one of those old movies where she's wearing a hat made out of bananas. This is part of a larger experiment we've dabbled with, which is to take the classic songwriting style from Hollywood's golden age and combine it with the musical approach of a modern day punk band. I'm all for keeping up with current musical trends, but I still think the best way to learn how to write a good melody is by listening to the soundtrack from ''
The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...
''.

All four tracks from ''2'' were later reissued on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s ''1991–1998'' (1999) and ''It's Been a Long Day'' (2010). Reviewing ''1991–1998'', Ari Wiznitzer of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

remarked that ''2'' documents Josh Caterer's growth as a songwriter and guitarist, particularly in the track "Stars": "Tracks like these are the Smoking Popes at their best, as Josh Caterer's smooth vocals slide effortlessly over the band's distorted canvas." The Smoking Popes later re-recorded "First Time" in an acoustic style for their 2008 album '' Stay Down''.

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from the album's liner notes. Smoking Popes * Josh Caterer –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

*Matt Caterer –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Mike Felumlee –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Production *Phil Bonnet –

mix engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

References

{{Smoking Popes Smoking Popes EPs 1993 EPs Self-released EPs