American Girls
| "American Girls" | |||||
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| Album track by Homie | |||||
| Album | Meet the Deedles Soundtrack | ||||
| Released | March 24, 1998 | ||||
| Recorded | January 1998 in Boston, MA | ||||
| Length | 4:15 | ||||
| Label | Geffen | ||||
| Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | ||||
| RC# | 221 | ||||
| COR# | N/A | ||||
| Producer(s) | Matt Sharp | ||||
| Status | Officially released (rock version circulating) | ||||
| Live debut | October 8, 1997 in Cambridge, MA | ||||
| Last played | November 21, 1997 in Cambridge, MA | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
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| Rivers Cuomo song chronology | |||||
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"American Girls" is a song from the soundtrack to the 1998 film Meet the Deedles. It was the only song officially released by Homie, a side-project formed by Rivers Cuomo in 1997 after Weezer entered a period of hiatus.
Contents
Appearances
- Meet the Deedles: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1998)
- Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years (2020)
Overview
"American Girls" was first recorded by Rivers Cuomo on his DA-88 machine in September of 1997, while living in Boston. When asked about his songwriting structure in an e-mail correspondence in 2001, Cuomo responded: "Round about the time I wrote American Girls, I started getting interested in what one of my professors calls "Strophic" composition: where one verse is essentially the same as the last. I think this form produces less "emotional" music, but the masters of the form, including the Beatles and Nirvana, don't seem to let their listeners down with it. I'll admit I haven't found a way to pull it off yet." [1] On December 18, 2020 Cuomo mentioned in an article on Riverpedia that the song was originally conceived for the potential side-project Lovely.[2] In 2020, Cuomo released a demo of the song as part of the digital compilation Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years.
Following the departure of Matt Sharp from Weezer, Cuomo began performing shows around Boston as both Weezer "try-out" shows as well as shows under his new side-project, Homie. "American Girls" was first performed live at the first of these "try-out" shows at a club in Cambridge in October of 1997. At this show, Cuomo introduced the song by saying that it was about "how American girls can be kinda rough sometimes." Cuomo was joined by future Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh on bass, Kevin Stevenson (of the band The Shods) on guitar, and Zeph Courtney (of Chevy Heston and Stompbox) on drums. The group also played it at another show that same month, and one additional time at the second of two Homie shows on November 21. These live performances resemble the tone of Cuomo's original demo, and are sometimes referred to by fans as the "hard rock" or "rocked out" version of the song, in contrast to the slowed-down ballad form of the Meet the Deedles release.
Cuomo recorded additional demos of "American Girls" the following winter, including a demo at his home in Cambridge, as well as a "pro" demo engineered by Ross Humphrey. Cuomo subsequently recorded a full Homie album with Fred Eltringham (of Gigolo Aunts) and Drew Parsons (of Tracy Bonham's band) at a studio (most likely Fort Apache), but the album was never released, and it's not known if "American Girls" was among the songs recorded.
A new version of "American Girls" was recorded in Boston for the soundtrack to the film Meet the Deedles, released March 24, 1998. Though it is technically attributed to Homie, "American Girls" was the final recording, to date, to feature the Weezer line up of Rivers Cuomo, Matt Sharp, Brian Bell, and Pat Wilson. The recording also features instrumentation from Yuval Gabay and Sebastian Steinburg of Soul Coughing, guitar by Greg Brown of the band Cake, and additional vocals from Cuomo's childhood friends Justin Fisher and Adam Orth as well as Geffen A&R representative Todd Sullivan.
Reception
Weezer songblog Teenage Victory Songs gave "American Girls" a positive review, including it within the sites' "Grand Playlist," a grouping of Weezer's just-below-best work.
Audio
Personnel
Meet the Deedles
- Rivers Cuomo - vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, lyrics, and melody
- Yuval Gabay (of Soul Coughing) -- drum loops
- Matt Sharp - co-producer and background vocals
- Sebastian Steinburg (of Soul Coughing) -- upright bass
- Pat Wilson - miscellaneous, drum playing (what got looped)
- Greg Brown (of Cake) -- electric guitar (lead and solos)
- Brian Bell - backing vocals
- Justin Fisher (formerly of Avant Garde and Shufflepuck) - backing vocals
- Adam Orth (formerly of Shufflepuck)- backing vocals
- Todd Sullivan - backing vocals
Lyrics
Darling, I'm afraid to close my eyes when I'm going to bed
I'm afraid you'll crack the phone down over my head
Why are all American girls so rough?
Damn, the girl can't ever hurt you enough
Lady, you knocked me on my knees and I can't stand up
You got the look in your eye and you smack my butt
Why are all American girls so rough?
Why do all American girls act so tough?
Why are all American girls so rough?
Darling, I'm afraid to close my eyes when I'm going to bed
I'm afraid you'll crack the phone down over my head
Why are all American girls so rough?
Damn, the girl can't ever hurt you enough
Lady, you knocked me on my knees and I can't stand up
You got the look in your eye and you smack my butt
Why are all American girls so rough?
Why do all American girls act so tough?
Why are all American girls so rough?
Jackboot digging in my ribs
It ain't no real hoot
So baby, take it easy
Let's try to be friends
Why are all American girls so rough?
Damn! The girl can't ever hurt you enough
Lady, you knocked me on my knees and I can't stand up
You got the look in your eye and you smack my butt
Why are all American girls so rough?
Why do all American girls act so tough?
Why are all American girls so rough?
American girls, American girls
American girls, American girls
American girls, why are all American girls so rough?
American girls, American girls
American girls, why are all American girls so rough?
American girls, American girls
American girls, why are all American girls so rough?
Why are all American girls so rough?
See also
References
- ↑ Cuomo, Rivers. "Re: Another Rivers Voice Comment" Message to Matt (archived). 2 December 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20080603104847/http://www.members.shaw.ca/ridd2/correspondence/matt.html
- ↑ Cuomo, Rivers. “Lovely.” Mister Rivers' Neighborhood, 18 Dec. 2020, 1:41 PM UTC, http://www.riverscuomo.com/wiki/Lovely
