''Satellite Rides'' is the fifth studio album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

country/

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

Old 97's, first released in the second quarter of 2001 (see

2001 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2001. Specific locations * 2001 in British music * 2001 in Norwegian music * 2001 in South Korean music Specific genres * 2001 in classical music * 2001 in country music * ...

). Though track 9, "Weightless", refers to outer space while the chorus croons "ride on, ride on" to an unspecified audience, the album's title does not appear in the lyrics but was later used for the song "In The Satellite Rides A Star" on the band's follow-up album, 2004's ''

Drag It Up ''Drag It Up'' is a studio album by American country/ rock band Old 97's, released in 2004 (see 2004 in music). The album's title comes from the fourth track, "Smokers." The album peaked at #120 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Critical reception ...

''. Lyrically, the songs feature singer and songwriter

Rhett Miller Stewart Ransom "Rhett" Miller II (born September 1970) is the lead singer of the country rock band Old 97's. He also records and performs as a solo musician, and has been published as a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Early life Mille ...

writing about characters other than himself, although personal references remain. "Rollerskate Skinny" is a song about actress Winona Ryder, whom Miller very briefly dated; the title refers to Holden Caulfield's description of his sister in the novel '' The Catcher in the Rye'', while "Buick City Complex" refers to workers affected by

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' decision to close its failed mega-factory in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

. Miller wrote the song "Am I Too Late" for his grandmother, Ahnece Pugh. The album features two songs sung by bassist Murry Hammond, "Up The Devil's Pay" and "Can't Get A Line". "Question" is often performed live with a French verse. Miller re-recorded "Question" and "Singular Girl" with a full band for his 2006 solo album, ''

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''. "Satellite Riders" is also a pseudonym under which the band plays, including a show at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle, Washington on August 31, 2008.

Soundtrack appearances

"Question" was used in a commercial for Fuse TV network in the United States. It featured sock puppets. "Question" was also used in the season 2 episode 15, "His Story" of ''

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'', when Turk proposes to Carla, originally broadcast on January 16, 2003. "Question" was used in the season 1 episode 19, "Young Hearts Spark Fire" of '' Scorpion'', originally broadcast on March 23, 2015. "King of All the World" was used in the film '' Out Cold''.

Track listing

Original release

Bonus EP

Early pressings of the album included an EP of five songs recorded live at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California on September 25, 1999 for local radio station, KFOG, and one leftover studio track.

Personnel

*Ken Bethea – electric, acoustic, 6 string & 12 string guitars, slide guitar, lap steel,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

*Murry Hammond – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Can't Get a Line" and "Up the Devil's Pay" *

– electric, acoustic, 6 string & 12 string guitars,

mouth trumpet Mouth trumpet is a vocal technique that imitates the sound of the trumpet. The mouth trumpet sound is produced by using the vocal cords to produce the desired pitch and passing the sound through the lips that are held together with just enough ...

, vocals *Philip Peeples –

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 ...

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, maracas, tambourine

References

{{Authority control Old 97's albums 2001 albums Elektra Records albums