''Softcore Jukebox'' is a
compilation album put together by English
electronic music
Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...
band
Ladytron
Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synth ...
. It was released on 7 October 2003 through
Emperor Norton Records
Emperor Norton Records was a Los Angeles-based electronica, hip-hop, and dance-music record label. Among the artists featured on the label were Ladytron, Arling & Cameron, Money Mark, Ugly Duckling, and Fantastic Plastic Machine. Additiona ...
. It features different styles of music from
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
to
hip hop. It also includes two songs performed by Ladytron—the single
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
of "Blue Jeans" renamed "Blue Jeans 2.0" and a
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of cop ...
of
Tweet's "Oops Oh My".
Background
Regarding this compilation,
Daniel Hunt
Daniel Hunt (born 25 July 1974) is an English musician, songwriter and producer. He is a founding member, principal songwriter and producer of the electronic band Ladytron.
Biography
Hunt met Reuben Wu in Liverpool in 1995 and formed Ladytr ...
said: "We chose an unmixed format as the majority of these songs would be murdered if beat-matched... some of them are completely impossible to do so, best to leave the tracks as nature intended. From around 40 speculative selections, 18 were cleared by the labels/artists concerned for the final release. The cover photo was taken at 3am while the band were staying in a
Swedish chateau during the
Hultsfred Festival
The Hultsfred Festival ( sv, Hultsfredsfestivalen) was an annual music festival held in Hultsfred, Sweden. It took place at the lake Hulingen during three days in the June or July, from Thursday to Saturday. Since the first festival in 1986, ...
". Featuring band members
Mira Aroyo
Mira Aroyo ( bg, Мира Аройо, ; born 11 July 1977) is a Bulgarian singer, musician, songwriter, DJ, and geneticist. She is best known as the keyboardist, co-lead vocalist, and co-songwriter of the electronic band Ladytron, which she co- ...
and
Helen Marnie
Helen Marnie (born 21 February 1978) is a Scottish musician, known as the lead vocalist and one of the keyboardists and songwriters of the electronic band Ladytron. In 2012, she started a solo career as Marnie and released her debut solo album ' ...
, it references the cover art for
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone and ...
's 1974 album ''
Country Life''.
Reception
''Softcore Jukebox'' has received generally positive reviews from music critics.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...
rated the album 3 and half stars and mentioned that "while Softcore Jukebox is rather lengthy at 77 minutes, this multi-tasking collection -- which manages to be a mix album, an Invicta Hi-Fi mini-sampler, and a brief history of post-punk, dream pop, and dance -- is consistently entertaining".
In an A− review, ''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' mentioned that "this painfully stylish electroclash quartet could have sprung fully formed from a coolhunter's forehead, but the role of DJ-mix tastemaker is one they were born to play".
Andrew Unterberger of the
Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
gave an A rating and wrote "so no, Ladytron themselves might not have composed most of the music here, but they did compile 18 great songs, several of which you've probably never even heard of before, into an impeccable party mix which might be the best single disc of music you'll hear all year. And for that, Ladytron's efforts should be rewarded".
According to Rob Mitchum from
Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...
, "they've created a fantastic dance-party playlist, but one that could just as easily have been posted on their website as a guide-map through the
Soulseek
Soulseek is a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing network and application. The term Soulseek might refer to (1) one of the two networks, or (2) one of the three official user client interfaces. Soulseek is used mostly to exchange music, although user ...
wilderness". The compilation was rated 7.0 out of 10.
''Softcore Jukebox'' has been described by Carleton Curtis from ''
XLR8R
''XLR8R'' (pronounced "accelerator") is a website that covers music, culture, style, and technology. It was originally also a print magazine.
History and profile
''XLR8R'' was founded as a newsprint zine in 1993 by publisher Andrew Smith in Sea ...
'' as "a veritable user's guide to good taste".
Track listing
# "Soon" –
My Bloody Valentine
# "Hit the North, Part 1" –
The Fall
# "
What's a Girl to Do
What or WHAT may refer to:
* What, an interrogative pronoun and adverb
* "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism
Film and television
* ''What!'' (film) or ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava
* '' What ...
" –
Cristina
Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
*Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess
* Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American ...
# "Peng" – Dondolo
# "
The 15th
The 15th is a song from the 1979 album ''154'' by the English rock band Wire, written by Colin Newman.
Fischerspooner cover
The electroclash
Electroclash (also known as synthcore, retro-electro, tech-pop, nouveau disco, and the new new ...
" –
Wire
Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm
A wire is a flexible strand of metal.
Wire is co ...
# "
Blue Jeans
Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and pate ...
2.0" –
Ladytron
Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synth ...
# "Saviour Piece" – Snap Ant
# "Big" –
New Fast Automatic Daffodils
New Fast Automatic Daffodils (later shortened to New FADS) were an alternative rock group from Manchester, England, active between 1988 and 1995.
History
The band was formed in 1988 by former members of the punk rock group Pariah.Strong, Mart ...
# "Feel Good Hit of the Fall" –
!!!
!!! ( ), also known as Chk Chk Chk, is an American rock band from Sacramento, California, formed in 1996 by lead singer Nic Offer. Members of !!! came from other local bands such as the Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Pope Smashers. They are curre ...
# "Teenage Daughter" –
Fat Truckers
# "Hey Mami" (Sharaz Mix) –
Fannypack
# "Manila" (Headman Remix) –
Seelenluft
Beat Solèr, (born 8 July 1971) better known by his stage name Seelenluft, is a Swiss record producer of electronic music.
Career
Seelenluft is Beat Soler from Zürich. He has been playing music since he was seven. He made a number of records ...
# "You Got the Love" – The Source featuring
Candi Staton
Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton (, ) (born March 13, 1940) is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 remake of Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper "Young Hearts Run Free". In E ...
# "Crazy Girls" – Codec and Flexor
# "
Oops Oh My" –
Ladytron
Ladytron are a largely British electronic band formed in Liverpool in 1999. The group consists of Helen Marnie (lead vocals, synthesizers), Mira Aroyo (vocals, synthesizers), Daniel Hunt (synthesizers, guitar, vocals), and Reuben Wu (synth ...
# "
Send Me a Postcard" –
Shocking Blue
Shocking Blue was a Dutch rock band formed in 1967 in The Hague. It was part of the music movement in the Netherlands that was generally known by the name Nederbeat. The band had a number of hits throughout the counterculture movement during ...
# "Twins" –
Pop Levi
# "
Some Velvet Morning
"Some Velvet Morning" is a song written by Lee Hazlewood and originally recorded by Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra in late 1967. It first appeared on Sinatra's album '' Movin' with Nancy,'' the soundtrack to her 1967 television special of the sa ...
" –
Lee Hazlewood
Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...
and
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.
Nancy Sinat ...
Charts
References
{{Authority control
Ladytron albums
2003 compilation albums