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As Cruel as School Children

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As Cruel as School Children
Studio album by
Gym Class Heroes
ReleasedJuly 25, 2006 (2006-07-25)
Genre
Length49:19
LabelFueled by Ramen, Atlantic
Producer
Gym Class Heroes chronology
The Papercut Chronicles
(2005) 		As Cruel as School Children
(2006) 		The Quilt
(2008)
Singles from As Cruel as School Children
  1. "The Queen and I"
    Released: August 28, 2006
  2. "New Friend Request"
    Released: October 28, 2006
  3. "Cupid's Chokehold"
    Released: November 7, 2006
  4. "Shoot Down the Stars"
    Released: May 11, 2007
  5. "Clothes Off!!"
    Released: July 27, 2007

As Cruel as School Children is the third studio album by American rap rock band Gym Class Heroes, released by Fueled by Ramen/Atlantic Records on July 25, 2006. It was produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump.

A second version of the album, released on November 4, 2006 additionally contains the single "Cupid's Chokehold" (a different recording of the song was featured on their previous album The Papercut Chronicles). Both versions of these albums have the Parental Advisory sticker on them. As Cruel as School Children shows a significant departure from the style of their previous work such as the use of a drum machine, acoustic guitar, synthesizers and the band dabbling in many genres such as electronica, funk and soul.

The album received generally favorable reviews, and it has since been certified gold by the RIAA.[1] The title of the album is a lyric from "Scandalous Scholastics", one of the album's tracks. The band later re-released this album, with the inclusion of a new remix of "Cupid's Chokehold".[2]

Background

[edit]

The lead singer of the band, Travie McCoy, talked about working on the album during a 2021 interview with HotNewHipHop:

When we did As Cruel as School Children, we had signed to Fueled by Ramen and we got upstreamed to Atlantic Records so we had a bigger budget. The goal for me with that record was to show how much the 80s had an effect on me musically. We were four kids from four different walks of life who had all kinds of different musical inspirations and heroes, and all that shit came into play. The main goal was to throw the 80s love in there and I feel like it definitely fucked a lot of people's heads up but it was also conducive to how we didn't give a fuck about fitting into a box or chasing a lane. We built one.[3]

Appearances and influences

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A number of notable musicians appear on this album. "Clothes Off!" features Fall Out Boy vocalist Patrick Stump, who was also the album's producer. The hook for the song is from Jermaine Stewart's 1986 song "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off". "Biters Block" features Speech of Arrested Development. The chorus for "Cupid's Chokehold" comes from the single "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp and is sung by Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy.

A number of tracks have been used in other media. Track 3, "New Friend Request" and track 8, "It's OK, but Just this Once!" were used in the film Snakes On A Plane. Travis McCoy also guest stars on the films theme tune, "Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)", whilst the song "It's OK, But Just This Once" was briefly featured on HBO's hit series Entourage in episode 319 - "The Prince's Bride". The chorus of "Shoot Down The Stars" is briefly heard in Never Back Down.

Release and reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk79%[4]
AllMusic[5]
Alternative Press(positive)[6]
Drowned in Sound6/10[7]
Entertainment.ie[8]
God Is in the TV3.5/5[9]
RapReviews[10]
Spin(favorable)[11]
Sputnikmusic3.5/5[12]

As Cruel as School Children debuted at number 93 on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the group's first album to reach the chart, it then peaked number 35.[13][14] On August 9, 2007, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[15]

Since its release, As Cruel as School Children has received generally positive reviews. Alternative Press called the album "nothing short of a classic", also heavily praising the use of live instrumentation. In a less enthusiastic review, Victoria Durham of Drowned in Sound stated that the band needed to "get rid of the filler" in order to be more successful. Though, she also noted the group's potential, referring to their creative rhyming as what could set them up to be "the OutKast of the rock world".

Track listing

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Standard Edition

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All songs written by Gym Class Heroes, Sam Hollander and Dave Katz, except Clothes Off, written by Gym Class Heroes, Sam Hollander, Dave Katz, Preston Glass and Narada Walden and Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast In America, written by Travis McCoy, Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies.

  1. 1st Period: "The Queen and I" – 3:15
  2. 2nd Period: "Shoot Down the Stars" – 3:38
  3. 3rd Period: "New Friend Request" – 4:14
  4. 4th Period: "Clothes Off!!" (featuring Patrick Stump) – 3:55
  5. Lunch: "Sloppy Love Jingle, Pt. 1" – 1:52
  6. 6th Period: "Viva la White Girl" – 3:53
  7. 7th Period: "7 Weeks" (featuring William Beckett) – 3:51
  8. 8th Period: "It's Ok, but Just This Once!" – 3:10
  9. Study Hall: "Sloppy Love Jingle, Pt. 2" – 1:01
  10. 10th Period: "Biters Block" – 3:48
  11. Yearbook Club: "Boys in Bands" (interlude) – 0:59
  12. 12th Period: "Scandalous Scholastics" – 4:17
  13. 13th Period: "On My Own Time (Write On!)" – 4:42
  14. Intramurals: "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast In America" (featuring Patrick Stump) – 3:58
  15. Detention: "Sloppy Love Jingle, Pt. 3" – 2:15

Limited Edition Bonus Disc

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  1. "Clothes Off!!" (Stress remix) (featuring Ghostface Killah, Tyga and Patrick Stump) – 4:32
  2. "Viva la White Girl" (remix) (featuring Lil Wayne) – 4:46
  3. "The Machine and I" (featuring Keith Buckley) – 4:22
  4. "New Friend Request" (SK1 Ferrer remix) (featuring Papoose) – 4:15

Personnel

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Gym Class Heroes

Additional musicians

  • S*A*M – programming (1-13, 15)
  • Sluggo – additional guitars (1-13, 15)
  • Patrick Stump – additional instrumentation and programming (1-13, 15), additional vocals (4, 14)
  • Lev aka The Ghost of Harlem – keyboards (1-13, 15)
  • Bob McLynn (Suge White) – additional vocals (1), bartender vocals (5, 9, 15)
  • William Beckett – featured vocals (7)
  • Speech – additional vocals (10)
  • Jake Cohen, Andrea Goetz, Brendon Katz, Carden Katz, Lauren Lachs, Noah Malale – kid vocals (10)
  • The Kids of Crush High – featured vocals (12)
  • Adam English – piano (14)
  • Rand Bellavia – background vocals (14)

Technical personnel

  • S*A*M – producer (1-15), engineer (14)
  • Sluggo – producer (1-13, 15)
  • Doug White – producer and engineer (14)
  • Patrick Stump – co-producer (1-13, 15)
  • Tim Latham – mixing (1-13, 15)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (14)
  • UE Nastasi – mastering (1-13, 15)
  • Chris Athens – mastering (14)
  • Joel Hamberger, Eric Ronick – engineers (1-13, 15)
  • Matt Green – additional mixing engineer (14)

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[28] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date
United States July 25, 2006
United Kingdom May 7, 2007

References

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  1. ^ RIAA Certifications Archived August 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Gym Class Heros". www.spin.com. 2006.
  3. ^ "Travie McCoy on Working with Drake & Lil Wayne, Tyga Relationship & the Future of Gym Class Heroes". HNHH. 21 September 2021.
  4. ^ "chorus.fm". chorus.fm.
  5. ^ allmusic review
  6. ^ "Gym Class Heroes — As Cruel as School Children". Alternative Press. October 5, 2006.
  7. ^ Durham, Victoria (September 5, 2006). "Album Review: Gym Class Heroes - As Cruel as School Children". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  8. ^ Entertainment.ie review Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Drummond, Ross (July 7, 2007). "Gym Class Heroes - As Cruel as Schoolchildren". God Is in the TV. Archived from the original on 2013-06-22.
  10. ^ "Gym Class Heroes :: As Cruel as School Children :: Decay Dance/Fueled by Ramen". www.rapreviews.com.
  11. ^ Caramanica, Jon (October 11, 2006). "Gym Class Heroes, 'As Cruel As School Children' (Decaydance/Fueled By Ramen)". Spin.
  12. ^ "Gym Class Heroes - As Cruel As School Children (album review)". Sputnikmusic. July 14, 2007.
  13. ^ Billboard 200 Week of August 12, 2006
  14. ^ "Billboard 200". Billboard. 2 January 2013.
  15. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  16. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  18. ^ "Lescharts.com – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  19. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Gym Class Heroes". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  20. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  22. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  23. ^ "Gym Class Heroes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  24. ^ "Gym Class Heroes Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  25. ^ "UK Year-End Charts 2007" (PDF). Official Charts Company. ChartsPlus. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  26. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  27. ^ "British album certifications – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children". British Phonographic Industry.
  28. ^ "American album certifications – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children". Recording Industry Association of America.
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