American Football (Band)
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About
American Football, sometimes stylized as americ anfootball, is an American indie-rock band formed in 1997 and signed to Polyvinyl Records. Originally consisting of Mike Kinsella, Steve Lamos, and Steve Holmes, the band garnered notoriety and praise for their self-titled debut album released in 1999, which would later become a cult classic among many music journalists and an essential album among 4chan's /mu/ board, and are regarded as icons in the Midwest emo genre. The band would later break up after the release of their first album, before reforming in 2014 with new member Nate Kinsella and have been active since.
History
In 1997, Mike Kinsella, then a university student who performed in bands such as Joan of Arc and Cap'n Jazz[1], formed the band The One Up Downstairs alongside Steve Lamos, Allen Johnson, and David Johnson.[2] Though the band was originally supposed to put out a single on Polyvinyl Records, the record was shelved as the band broke up shortly before its release, though it would later be released years later. Kinsella and Lamos would later be joined by Steve Holmes, who was Kinsella's roommate at the time, forming the original lineup for the band. This would lead to the release of American Football's self-titled debut EP on Polyvinyl on October 6, 1998 (shown below, left).[3] The band would release their self-titled debut album (shown below, right) on September 14, 1999[4], with the band later breaking up that year due to living in different cities and the end of their courses.[5][6] The album would spread through word-of-mouth[7], eventually becoming a cult classic and receiving critical acclaim.[13][14][15]
Reunion and LP2
On April 2, 2014, Polyvinyl revealed a website for the band with a countdown leading to April 21.[8] When the countdown finished, it was revealed that American Football would reunite and announced 2 tour dates at festivals, their first shows ever as a band in 2 decades.[9] The next month, on May 20th, Polyvinyl released a deluxe version of the band's self-titled debut with a second disc containing live recordings and never-before-heard old tracks and demos[10], originally announced in March of that year.[11] More tour dates would be added during this time. On August 23rd, 2016, the band, now with Mike's cousin Nate Kinsella on bass, announced their second self-titled album, which would release on October 21 (shown below). Alongside this announcement, the first song from the album, "I've Been So Lost For So Long" was premiered.[12] The album received positive reviews, though not to the degree of the first album, especially among some fans, who were lukewarm to the album.[16][17][18]
LP3
On December 10th, 2018, the band tweeted out a picture with the caption "iii" coupled with a link to sign up for their mailing list.[19] The next day, on December 11th, Polyvinyl uploaded a new American Football song, "Silhouettes," to YouTube (shown below), revealed to be the lead single off of the band's third self-titled studio album. Released on March 22nd, 2019, the album features Elizabeth Powell of Canadian indie rock band Land of Talk, Rachel Goswell of shoegaze band Slowdive, and Hayley Williams of Paramore fame.[20]
Online Relevance
Since the creation of the bands' social pages in April of 2014, the band's Twitter account[21] has received over 19,000 followers, with the band's Facebook page growing to over 133,000 likes[22] and their Instagram account accumulating over 34,000 followers.[23] On Spotify, the band has over 242,000 monthly listeners[24] whereas on Soundcloud, the group has over 3,500 followers.[25]
On the 4chan imageboard /mu/, American Football have a large following to the point where their first album is considered essential /mu/-core on the board.
Related Memes
Never Meant
Never Meant is the first song on American Football's first album, and the most popular song from the album and arguably the band, likely due to its placement at the beginning of the album. In later years, the song would be the subject of song mashups (examples shown below) and memes involving the first few seconds of the song which consists of a guitar intro after a few seconds of instrument tuning.
American Football House
The American Football House refers to the house seen on the cover art of the band's first album. The house, located off of University Of Illinois’ Champaign-Urbana campus, has since become a symbol for the band, with them incorporating the house into live shows in recent years, utilizing the interior of the house for the cover art for the band's second album, and in the official music video for Never Meant. The house has also become a tourist attraction and is available to rent at times.
Search Interest
External References
[1] Discogs – Mike Kinsella
[2] Polyvinyl – The One Up Downstairs
[3] Bandcamp – American Football EP
[4] Bandcamp – American Football
[5] Exclaim – Tim & Mike Kinsella
[6] The Line of Best Fit – Not So Emotional?: American Football’s Mike Kinsella on reflection, reminiscence and resurrection
[7] Clash – Spotlight: American Football – S/T
[8] Property of Zack – American Football Launch Countdown Clock
[9] Pitchfork – American Football Reunite for First Shows in 15 Years
[10] Polyvinyl – American Football
[11] Pitchfork – American Football to Reissue 1999 Self-Titled Album in Deluxe Edition
[12] Paste Magazine – American Football Announce New Album, Their First in 17 Years
[13] RateYourMusic – American Football
[14] AllMusic – American Football
[15] Pitchfork (Archive) – American Football Review
[16] AV Club – American Football’s second LP in 17 years is mostly worth the wait
[17] Consequence of Sound – American Football (LP2) Review
[18] RateYourMusic – American Football (LP2) Reviews
[19] Twitter – American Football Tweet
[20] Bandcamp – American Football (LP3) Album
[21] Twitter – @americfootball
[22] Facebook – American Football
[23] Instagram – American Football
[24] Spotify – American Football
[25] Soundcloud – American Football
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