|

        Click here to expand and collapse the player

        The Agony of Laffitte

        Rate It! Avg: 4.5 (33 ratings)
        Sample Album
        The Agony of Laffitte album cover
        01
        The Agony of Laffitte
        		 3:28 $0.99
        02
        Laffitte Don't Fail Me Now
        		 3:47 $0.99
        Album Information
        EDITOR'S PICK

        Total Tracks: 2   Total Length: 7:15

        Find a problem with a track? Let us know.

        eMusic Review 0

        Avatar Image
        Ian Cohen

        eMusic Contributor

        Ian Cohen caused a minor uproar after panning the first Presidents of the United States of America LP in his high school newspaper, and not much has changed sin...more »

        07.11.11
        The stuff of minor legend
        1999 | Label: Saddle Creek

        In 1999 Spoon temporarily called Saddle Creek home for a 7-inch and, in retrospect, it’s sort of like seeing Ryne Sandberg in a Phillies uniform or Chauncey Billups in Celtics green — a temporary but undeniably crucial early shaming that ultimately directed their Hall of Fame trajectory. Spoon would certainly write better songs, but The Agony of Laffitte is the stuff of minor legend, a sarcastic attack on their former Elektra A&R in the vein of John Fogerty’s “Zaentz Can’t Dance” that temporarily salved Britt Daniel’s wounds during the last time his band was deemed a failure rather than a fixture amongst the indie elite. As the saying goes, comedy is tragedy plus time.

        Write a Review 0 Member Reviews

        Please register before you review a release. Register

        Recommended Albums

        eMusic Features

        eMusic Yearbook: 2005
        0

        eMusic Yearbook: 2005

        By Chuck Eddy, eMusic Contributor

        Indie-rock in the '00s was hardly the same animal as indie-rock two decades before, and much of the blame should probably go to Nirvana. In the '80s, labels like SST and Touch & Go were built on testosterone. But when grunge went multiplatinum in the '90s, rock bands brandishing palpable physicality suddenly qualified as mainstream again, and the bigger indies started adopting a more effete and introverted aesthetic. So if you skim down a list… more »

        They Say All Music Guide

        This CD single is Britt Daniel’s hostile response to betrayal at the hands of Elektra records’ alleged A&R man Ron Laffitte. The two tunes here utilize the wonderful technique of mismatching their components’ moods; that is to say, the music and melodies are downright beautiful while the lyrics are scathingly angry. They find Daniel wondering aloud about the unscrupulous rascal Laffitte, “it’s like I knew/two of you man/the one before and after we shook hands” and “all I want to know/is are you ever honest with anyone?” Gracefully executed and cathartic, The Agony of Laffitte is possibly the best double-cross retaliation single in the history of rock, so effective that it’s difficult to want to hear the villainized Laffitte’s side of the story. The only question is, why was it reserved for 5″ plastic and never pressed to wax? – Bryan Carroll

        more »