''So Jealous'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian indie pop duo
Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters, Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumentali ...
, released on September 14, 2004. It is their third album on Vapor Records. The album went gold in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and was nominated for a
Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year The Juno Award for Alternative Album of the Year is presented annually at Canada's Juno Awards to honour the best album of the year in the alternative rock and/or indie rock genres. The award was first presented in 1995 under the name Best Alternati ...
. Two singles were released, "Walking with a Ghost" and "Speak Slow", with videos for each. "Walking with a Ghost" became the title song of their
EP ''Walking with a Ghost'', and was later covered by
The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...
. The album art was created by designer
EE Storey.
On February 11, 2022, the duo released ''Still Jealous'', a completely acoustic reimagining of ''So Jealous''.
Critical reception
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a
weighted mean
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 70, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 20 reviews.
Writing for ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'',
Meredith Ochs praised the album for its "flashes of brilliance" and said that it probably marks the beginning of a successful career. She noted the progression from Tegan and Sara's previous "indie-folk" albums to a more "buoyant punk-pop" sound, inspired by 1980s pop. She cited "Where Does the Good Go" and "Speak Slow" as highlights.
In a review for
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 ...
,
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
gave the album a star rating of four out of five. He described it as ambitious and lively, and called it Tegan and Sara's "most satisfying album" yet. He noted a shift in sound from their previous recordings, with what he described as "a heavy dose of new wave sensibility". He commented that although ''So Jealous'' may be more accessible to a wider audience, Tegan and Sara may still be an "acquired taste".
Michael Endelman of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' gave the album a B+ rating and noted its new wave and rock influences.
In his 2005 book ''
Music Lust'',
Nic Harcourt called the album "a collection of hooky
power pop
Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...
songs that make good use of their vocal harmonies and show them maturing as songwriters and performers".
Marc Hogan of ''
Pitchfork
A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applie ...
'' gave the album a negative review, rating it 3.4 out of 10.
In December 2004, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' named ''So Jealous'' one of the Top 50 records of 2004.
"Walking with a Ghost" earned an iTunes "Discovery Download" spotlight.
In 2024, the album won the public vote for the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize at the
2024 Polaris Music Prize
The 2024 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 17, 2024 at Massey Hall.
The longlist was announced on June 11, and the shortlist was released July 12.
The award was won by Jeremy Dutcher for his album '' Motewo ...
.
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from the ''So Jealous'' credits.
Musicians
* Nick Blasko – violin
* Chris Carlson – bass
* David Carswell – guitar, piano
* Rob Chursinoff — percussion, drums
* John Collins – guitar, percussion
*
Howard Redekopp – guitar, keyboards
*
Matt Sharp
Matthew Kelly Sharp (born September 22, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Until 1998, he was the bassist for the Rock music, rock band Weezer, which he co-founded in 1992. He appears on their first two albums, the ''Weezer (B ...
– keyboards,
Moog synthesizer
The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...
* Tegan and Sara – organ, guitar, percussion, piano, keyboards
Design
* Dustin Rabin – photography
* Emily Storey – album cover
Production
* David Carswell – producer
* John Collins – producer
* Steve Hall – mastering
* Joel Livesey – assistant engineer
* Misha Rajaratnam – assistant engineer
* Howard Redekopp – producer, engineer, mixing
* Rob Stesanson – assistant engineer
* Tegan and Sara – producer
In popular culture
On April 10, 2005, "Where Does the Good Go" was played in the fourth episode of
season 1 of the
ABC drama ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'' titled "No Man's Land". It was played again in the
season 10 finale "
Fear (of the Unknown)" as the final scene between protagonist
Meredith Grey
Meredith Grey M.D., F.A.C.S., (born 1977 or 1978) is a fictional and titular character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was c ...
and
Cristina Yang
Cristina Yang, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which has aired for 20 seasons on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the ...
.
"Walking with a Ghost" appears on the soundtrack for the 2005 movie ''
Monster-in-Law
''Monster-in-Law'' is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed by Robert Luketic, written by Anya Kochoff and starring Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda, Michael Vartan and Wanda Sykes. It marked a return to cinema for Fonda, being her first film in 15 ...
'' and was used in the season 3 promo for ''Medium''. The song was covered by
The White Stripes
The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...
on an EP released six months after their album ''
Get Behind Me Satan
''Get Behind Me Satan'' is the fifth studio album by the American rock duo the White Stripes. It was released on June 7, 2005, through V2, XL and Third Man Records. It was recorded in Jack White's home between February and March 2005. Jack w ...
''.
In 2016, Tegan and Sara appeared on the parody talk show "
Comedy Bang Bang" and explained jokingly that the ghost in question was
Slimer
Slimer, originally referred to as "Onionhead" and sometimes "the Mean Green Ghost" and "Ugly Little Spud", is a character from the Ghostbusters (franchise), ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. He appears in the films ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), ''Ghostbuste ...
from the
Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, three eccentric ...
franchise.
In 2017, American rapper
Lil Yachty
Miles Parks McCollum (born August 23, 1997), known professionally as Lil Yachty, is an American rapper. He first gained recognition in August 2015 for his viral hit "One Night (Lil Yachty song), One Night", the lead single from his debut extend ...
released a song which sampled "Walking With A Ghost" called "Running With a Ghost" (featuring
Grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uni ...
). The song was released on his debut studio album
Teenage Emotions without crediting Tegan and Sara for the sample.
References
External links
Album info at fansite
{{Authority control
2004 albums
Tegan and Sara albums
Sanctuary Records albums
Vapor Records albums
Albums produced by John Collins (Canadian musician)
Albums produced by David Carswell