"Dot" is a song by the American punk rock band

All All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All al ...

, written by singer Scott Reynolds and released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

and

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

from the band's 1992 album ''

Percolater ''Percolater'' is the fourth studio album by the American punk rock band All, released May 12, 1992 through Cruz Records. It was the band's first album recorded after their relocation from Los Angeles to Brookfield, Missouri, and their first stu ...

''. The single also includes the song "Can't Say", written by bassist Karl Alvarez and drummer Bill Stevenson, and a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "

A Boy Named Sue "A Boy Named Sue" is a song written by humorist, children's author, and poet Shel Silverstein and made popular by Johnny Cash. Cash recorded the song live in concert on February 24, 1969, at California's San Quentin State Prison for his ''At ...

", a 1969 song written by

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended universit ...

and made famous by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

Background

"Dot" was recorded with the rest of ''Percolater'' at Chapman Recording Studios in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

and at Nightingale Studio in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. Stevenson and guitarist Stephen Egerton served as

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

s and additional

recording engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

s. The recordings were mixed by John Hampton at

Ardent Studios Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. History Ardent Studios was founded by John Fry and were initially a studio in his family's garage, where he recorded his first 45s for the Arden ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. "Can't Say" and "A Boy Named Sue" were also recorded during the ''Percolater'' sessions but were left off of the album. "Dot" was released through

Cruz Records Cruz Records was an offshoot record label of SST Records, owned by the Black Flag guitarist Greg Ginn. The label was founded in 1987. Its roster consisted mainly of pop punk and grunge bands, along with Ginn's solo records. The label has rema ...

in 1992 as a 10-inch single,

cassette single A cassette single (CS), also known by the trademark cassingle, or capitalised as the trademark Cassette Single, is a music single supplied in the form of a Compact Cassette. The cassette single was first introduced in 1980. History The debu ...

, and

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

. The music video for "Dot" shows the band members performing the song on a

set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

made to resemble the interior of a house, with Reynolds using various

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

s related to the song's lyrics such as a

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

, and

mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

. Stevenson did not think "Dot" was the strongest choice of song for a music video. Reynolds later recalled that "When we went to record the 'Dot' video, it was really apparent that Bill was dissatisfied. He wasn't happy". "At that point I was idealizing we would put our foot forward visually with a song that maybe had more of an

eighth note 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...

drive to it," said Stevenson, "but on that record I didn't have really any good songs, so it's like 'Okay, a lot of lip from you, Stevenson. Where's your good song?' And it's like 'I don’t have any.

Reception

Deborah Orr of ''

CMJ New Music Report CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

'' said Dot' is classic All, whizzy and boiling over with happy punk sentiments." Mike DaRonco of

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 ...

focused his comments on the single's others songs, saying Can't Say' has the same heartfelt lyrics and all-around goofiness that All are known for. But what makes the single worthwhile is their rendition of Johnny Cash's 'A Boy Named Sue': just listening to the normally high-pitched voice of Scott Reynolds trying to do his best Man in Black imitation is a scream."

Track listing

Personnel

;Band * Karl Alvarez –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Stephen Egerton –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, additional

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, producer * Scott Reynolds –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

* Bill Stevenson –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, additional engineering, producer ;Production *E – additional engineering *Erik Flettrich – additional engineering *John Hampton –

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

*Rich Hanson – additional engineering *G.E. Teel – additional engineering

References

{{Authority control All (band) songs 1992 singles