HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets'' is the debut studio album by American
dance-rock Dance-rock is a dance- infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and dis ...
band
Cobra Starship Cobra Starship is an American dance-rock band from New York City, New York, formed in 2005 by Gabe Saporta. He recorded the first album as a solo project, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets''. Saporta later enlisted guitarist Ryland Bl ...
. It was released on October 10, 2006 in the US, and on October 17, 2006 in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. A rough clip of "Send My Love to the Dancefloor, I'll See You In Hell (Hey Mister DJ)", a finished version of " Snakes on a Plane (Bring It)", and "The Church of Hot Addiction" were uploaded onto Cobra Starship's
PureVolume PureVolume (formerly Unborn Media) was a website for uploading and streaming of music files, the first independently run of its type. PureVolume was created by Unborn Media, Inc; Mitchell Pavao; Brett Woitunski; and Nate Hudson, all from the Univer ...
site. "The Church of Hot Addiction" was also used as the
theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
for the
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
's Great American Bash
2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
. It has sold more than 69,000 copies to date.


Background

Cobra Starship was formed in 2005 after Midtown bassist Gabe Saporta took a trip to the deserts of
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
. During this time, Saporta went on a "vision quest", spending time with Native American tribes and smoking
peyote The peyote (; ''Lophophora williamsii'' ) is a small, spineless cactus which contains psychoactive alkaloids, particularly mescaline. is a Spanish word derived from the Nahuatl (), meaning "caterpillar cocoon", from a root , "to glisten". p. ...
. He began to create his vision for a new band, a melodic style of music heavily influenced by
synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...
and
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
. Upon returning home, Saporta rented a house in the
Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...
and began writing what would become ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets''. He posted a parody response to
Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton ( ; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani rose to fame as a member and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose hit singles include " Just a Girl", " Spiderwebs", an ...
's "
Hollaback Girl "Hollaback Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004). It is a hip-hop song that draws influence from 1980s hip-hop and dance music. The song was written by ...
" titled "Hollaback Boy" on
Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...
. The song gained Saporta notoriety on the internet and he eventually signed to
Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...
bassist
Pete Wentz Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born June 5, 1979) is an American musician who is the bassist and lyricist for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Before the band's formation in 2001, Wentz was a fixture of the Chicago hardcore scene and was the lead si ...
's label,
Decaydance Records DCD2 Records, formerly known as Decaydance Records, is an independent record label owned by Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and partners, based in New York City. It was founded as an imprint of Fueled by Ramen. The first band Wentz ...
. Gabe Saporta stated that most of the songs from this recording particularly concern his personal life and career: "Being from Jersey Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry" centers on feelings of emptiness and hopelessness, regarding the area he was (partly) brought-up in, while "The Ballad of Big Poppa and Diamond Girl" concerns a quiet young girl he met at a disco in Los Angeles.


Composition

On ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets'' Saporta abandons the "voice-quivering drama and super-intense rock" of Midtown in favor of "a more lighthearted, groove-oriented style". The album begins with an acoustic intro entitled "Being from Jersey Means Never Having to Say You're Sorry". The opening of "Send My Love to the Dancefloor, I'll See You in Hell (Hey Mister DJ)" has been compared to U2, while the Glenn Gamboa of the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' likened the song's chorus to
Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...
's "
Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
". The song features "'70s synth whistles and an '80s new wave bass line". The tracks "Keep It Simple" and "It's Amateur Night at the Appollo Creed" are described as hip-rock, featuring electronic beats.


Critical reception

''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets'' was met with positive reviews from music critics. Tony Pascarella of
AbsolutePunk ''AbsolutePunk'' was a website, online community, and alternative music news source founded by Jason Tate (the most recent CEO). The website mainly focused on artists who are relatively unknown to mainstream audiences, but it was known to featu ...
stated the album, "should please many longtime Midtown fans, partly because many of the songs are not bubbly dance numbers. Gabe has decided to pursue the Cobra Starship tangent to his career to the fullest, even at the expense of big-money success. He reportedly turned down a six-figure advance from a major label to sign with
Pete Wentz Peter Lewis Kingston Wentz III (born June 5, 1979) is an American musician who is the bassist and lyricist for the rock band Fall Out Boy. Before the band's formation in 2001, Wentz was a fixture of the Chicago hardcore scene and was the lead si ...
's Fueled By Ramen imprint, illustrating Saporta's dedication to his music and this release. This could certainly be a better-stacked album from start to finish, but as long as he's having fun with Cobra Starship, who can truly fault him?" Corey Apar of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
remarked, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets'' embodies both the giddy highs and winding-down lows that come from a carefree night out on the town with friends. It's nothing more and nothing less. But that's just fine—that's really all it wants to be anyway." Ed Thompson of
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
noted how the band took "a very
Panic! at the Disco Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band formed in Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2004 by high school friends Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (musician), Spencer Smith (drums), who recruited classmates Brendon Urie (vocals and ...
-esque approach" and described the album as "entertaining" and "worth a listen." Kevin O'Donnell of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' gave a negative for the album stating, "Following in the tracks of Panic! at the Disco and Fall Out Boy, Cobra put out high-energy, techno-fied emo songs with exhausting song titles such as 'Send My Love to the Dance Floor I'll See You in Hell (Hey Mister DJ)'. But without Fall Out Boy's innocent charm or Panic!'s cabaret theatricality, Cobra Starship just seem like some punks crashing a make-out party. On the creepy 'It's Warmer in the Basement', frontman Gabe Saporta comes across as a perv when he intones in a nasally voice... And on the vaguely funky 'Keep It Simple', he promises to make a girl's dreams come true." Trevor Kelley of ''Spin'' gave a mixed review remarking, "Gabe Saporta wanders rather smugly through this knowing collection of dance-punk workouts and plaintive electro-pop ballads. 'Snakes' is here, but the only other song that's as fun or dumb is 'Pop-Punk is Sooooo '05', a giddy mall sing-along."


Track listing


Charts


References


External links


Cobra Starship's PureVolume page
{{Authority control 2006 debut albums Cobra Starship albums Albums produced by S*A*M and Sluggo Fueled by Ramen albums