Come On Die Young

Come On Die Young
Studio album by Mogwai
Released	29 March 1999
Recorded	Tarbox Road Studios, Cassadaga, New York, USA, Cava Studios, Glasgow, Scotland
Genre	Post-rock
Length	67:32
Label	Chemikal Underground, Matador
Producer	Dave Fridmann
Mogwai chronology
Mogwai Young Team (1997) Come On Die Young (1999) Rock Action (2001)

Come On Die Young (also known as CODY), is the second full-length studio album by the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, released on 29 March 1999 by Chemikal Underground.

Overview

It is somewhat different from the rest of Mogwai's work because of its reserved tone. The album's second track, "Cody" is much more like a traditional pop song than most of the band's repertoire. Still slow and sinuous, it features an uncharacteristically distinct melody, slide guitar and relatively prominent vocals. Much of Come On Die Young consists of slow, quiet, drum-driven tracks containing tense, feedback-laden crescendos and occasionally ambient textures. Near the end of the album, the bombastic "Christmas Steps" breaks away from this quiet tension and displays a return to Mogwai's more well-known distortion-heavy dynamics. The album's title derives from a Glasgow gang of the same name.^[1]

Song information

• "Punk Rock:" samples a speech made by Iggy Pop during an interview with Peter Gzowski on the CBC, broadcast on 11 March 1977.^[2]
• The album cover, which features the face of Dominic Aitchison, was inspired by Captain Howdy from The Exorcist.
• The 'Aidan' mentioned in the title of "Waltz for Aidan" is presumably Aidan Moffat from fellow Scottish band Arab Strap. Moffat provided vocals for the songs "R U Still in 2 It" and "Now You're Taken" on Mogwai's debut album and EP, respectively.
• The song "Cody" featured in the second episode of the first series of teen drama Skins.
• The post-black metal band Deafheaven covered "Punk Rock" and "Cody" for the 2012 split EP Deafheaven / Bosse-de-Nage.
• The original version of the song "Helps Both Ways", commonly referred to as the "Madden version", featured John Madden's commentary on the first quarter of the American Football National Football Conference championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers, played on January 11, 1998, at 1pm PST at San Francisco's Candlestick Park. As its use was unauthorized, the commentary track was replaced by another American Football commentary track, difficult to identify, though probably a high school game.

Critical reaction

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Drowned in Sound	10/10[4]
NME	8/10[5]
Pitchfork Media	8.3/10[6]
Q	[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
Spin	7/10[9]
The Village Voice	C[10]

It received a somewhat muted reception when compared to Mogwai Young Team. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for AllMusic, wrote that "perhaps Come On Die Young wouldn't have seemed as disappointing if it hadn't arrived on the wave of hype and expectation, but the truth is, it pales in comparison to their own work."^[3]

Track listing

All songs and music were written by Mogwai.

1. "Punk Rock:" – 2:08
2. "Cody" – 6:33
3. "Helps Both Ways" – 4:53
4. "Year 2000 Non-Compliant Cardia" – 3:25
5. "Kappa" – 4:52
6. "Waltz for Aidan" – 3:44
7. "May Nothing But Happiness Come Through Your Door" – 8:29
8. "Oh! How the Dogs Stack Up" – 2:03
9. "Ex-Cowboy" – 9:09
10. "Chocky" – 9:23
11. "Christmas Steps" – 10:39
12. "Punk Rock/Puff Daddy/ANʇICHRISʇ" – 2:14

2014 re-issue extra tracks (Vinyl + CD releases).

1. "Nick Drake" – 3:16
2. "Waltz For Aidan (Chem19 Demo)" – 3:40
3. "Christmas Steps (Chem19 Demo)" – 6:41 (available on LP version only)
4. "Rollerball (Chem19 Demo)" – 3:51
5. "7-25 (Chem19 Demo)" – 6:37 (available on LP version only)
6. "Untitled" – 6:07
7. "Quiet Stereo Dee" – 4:07
8. "Arundel" – 2:59
9. "Cody (CaVa Sessions)" – 5:58
10. "Ex-Cowboy (CaVa Sessions)" – 9:12
11. "Spoon Test (CaVa Sessions)" – 6:29
12. "Punk Rock: (CaVa Sessions)" – 2:12
13. "Helicon 2 (CaVa Church Live)" – 3:05
14. "Satchel Panzer (CaVa Church Live)" – 1:24
15. "Kappa (CaVa Church Live)" – 4:38
16. "Helps Both Ways (Original Version)" – 5:22
17. "Hugh Dallas" – 8:31

Personnel

Mogwai

• Stuart Braithwaite – guitar, vocals on "Cody"
• Dominic Aitchison – bass guitar
• Martin Bulloch – drums
• John Cummings – guitar
• Barry Burns – piano, keyboard, guitar, flute

Additional musicians

• Richard Formby – lap steel guitar on "Cody"
• Luke Sutherland – violin
• Wayne Myers – trombone on "Punk Rock/Puff Daddy/Antichrist"
• Dave Fridmann - various instruments

Production

• Dave Fridmann – producer

References