''Autogeddon'' is the eleventh solo album by

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

, released in 1994 on

The Echo Label The Echo Label was a British record label started by Chrysalis Group in 1994, and linked with Pony Canyon in Japan. The Chrysalis Group were the original owners of Chrysalis Records, which they sold to EMI. In 2005, The Echo Label recorded a ...

. According to the album's sleeve notes, written by Cope, it was "inspired by

Heathcote Williams John Henley Heathcote-Williams (15 November 1941 – 1 July 2017), known as Heathcote Williams, was an English poet, actor, political activist and dramatist. He wrote a number of book-length polemical poems including ''Autogeddon'', ''Falling ...

' epic poem of the same name and a little incident concerning my pregnant wife (and myself) and £375,000 of yellow Ferrari in St. Martin's Lane, London, England". The album is largely a diatribe against car culture. Heathcote Williams' poem characterises the motor car's global death toll as "A humdrum holocaust, the third world war nobody bothered to declare". Cope's railing against car culture was symptomatic of his rejection of numerous aspects of Western consumerism.

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 databas ...

's album review reads in part: "Concluding the trilogy started by

Peggy Suicide ''Peggy Suicide'' is the seventh album by Julian Cope. It is generally seen as the beginning of Cope's trademark sound and approach, and as a turning-point for Cope as a maturing artist. Background ''Peggy Suicide'' was recorded and release ...

and

Jehovahkill ''Jehovahkill'' is the eighth album by Julian Cope, released in 1992. After the critical success of ''Peggy Suicide'' (1991), Cope's idea for ''Jehovakill'' was to incorporate a krautrock attitude into his music. He began recording the album wit ...

, Autogeddon, as the title gives away, targets cars, specifically as a metaphor for environmental destruction. Combined with the continuing focus on heathen religious practices and ancient monuments (the first part of 'Paranormal in the West Country' was, in fact, recorded in the West Kennet Longbarrow in Wiltshire), the album is almost a summation of Cope's current interests as well as standing on its own." The photograph on the front cover is of a now-defunct garage in the hamlet of Druid, near

Corwen Corwen is a town and community in the county of Denbighshire in Wales. Historically, Corwen is part of the county of Merionethshire. Corwen stands on the banks of the River Dee beneath the Berwyn mountains. The town is situated west of Llango ...

Denbighshire Denbighshire ( ; cy, Sir Ddinbych; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. Its borders differ from the historic county of the same name. This part of Wales contains the country's oldest known evidence of habitation – Pontnewydd (Bontnewy ...

Track listing

All songs written by

. #"Autogeddon Blues" – 5:14 #"Madmax" – 3:39 #"Don't Call Me Mark Chapman" – 5:21 #"I Gotta Walk" – 2:28 #"Ain't No Gettin' Round Gettin' Round" – 5:01 # "Paranormal in the West Country (Medley: Paranormal Pt.1; Archdrude's Roadtrip; Kar-ma-kanik)" – 8:29 #"Ain't But the One Way" – 4:30 #"s•t•a•r•c•a•r" – 11:29

Personnel

Musicians * Julian Cope * Michael "Moon-Eye" Watts *

Donald Ross Skinner Donald Skinner is a guitarist, songwriter and producer primarily known for his work with Julian Cope. Skinner is commonly known by the name Donald Ross Skinner with the addition of the middle name of ''Ross'' attributed to him by Cope after Glen ...

Thighpaulsandra Timothy Lewis – best known by the stage name Thighpaulsandra – is a Welsh experimental musician and multi-instrumentalist, known mostly for performing on synthesizers and keyboards. He began his career working with Julian Cope in the late ...

* Mark "Rooster" Cosby * Dorian Cope (credited as "Mavis Grind") * Jill Frost * Richard Frost (credited as "K-R Frost") Production * Julian Cope – producer, photography * Thighpaulsandra – mix, photography * Shaun Harvey – recording, mix on "Madmax", additional recording on "s•t•a•r•c•a•r" * Rob Carter – sleeve * Sebastian Shelton –

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

Chart positions

References

1994 albums Julian Cope albums {{1990s-indie-rock-album-stub