Auf der Maur 

(album)
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Auf der Maur

Studio album by 

Melissa Auf der Maur

Released February 2, 2004

Recorded 2001–2003

Genre Alternative rock

Length 55:11

Label Capitol

Producer Chris Goss, Melissa Auf der Maur

Melissa Auf der Maur chronology

Auf der Maur Out of Our

(2004) Minds
(2010)
 Alternative cover

Singles from Auf der Maur

1. "Followed the Waves"

Released: February 16, 2004

2. "Real a Lie"

Released: May 3, 2004

3. "Taste You"

Released: September 27, 2004

Auf der Maur is the eponymous debut studio album by the Canadian alternative
rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur, released on February 2, 2004 on Capitol
Records. Following her career as a bassist for Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins,
Auf der Maur recorded the album over the course of two years in various studios
through the United States and Canada with producer Chris Goss. The songs
featured on Auf der Maur were written over a ten-year period, from 1992 to 2002,
throughout her time in Tinker, Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Auf der Maur features a number of guest musicians and collaborators including
former bandmates Eric Erlandson and James Iha, Queens of the Stone
Age frontman Josh Homme, Mark Lanegan, Jeordie White and John Stanier. The
album's sound deviates significantly from Auf der Maur's previous work and
features a more experimental and progressive sound.
Upon its release, Auf der Maur received generally favourable reviews and was a
moderate commercial success, selling 200,000 copies worldwide. Following a
successful tour through Europe and United Kingdom prior the album's release, two
of the album's three singles—"Followed the Waves" and "Real a Lie"—charted in
the UK Singles Chart. A subsequent tour of North America and another tour in the
United Kingdom led the album to chart in both the United States' Billboard 200 and
the UK Album Chart at number 187 and number 31, respectively.
 Contents

 1Background
 2Recording
 3Release
o 3.1Tour
 4Reception
 5Track listing
 6Personnel
 7Chart positions
o 7.1Singles
 8References

Background[edit]
Following her departure from Hole in November 1999, Melissa Auf der Maur was
recruited as the replacement bassist for D'arcy Wretzky in The Smashing
Pumpkins in early 2000.[1] Auf der Maur toured with the band for the Sacred and
Profane tour[2] in support of Machina/The Machines of God (2000) and appeared in
the music videos accompanying its release. In May 2000, The Smashing Pumpkins
disbanded and Auf der Maur did not have plans to continue her music career. In an
interview with Jam!, Auf der Maur said: "one of the reasons why I took 2001 off is I
didn't even know what I was going to do with music. Maybe I was going to play in a
cover band the rest of my life" and that her "relationship to music had become very
army-oriented. I was a soldier, a hard worker who never got enough satisfaction
from the music. I didn't know if I was going to make my own record." [3] In late 2001,
Auf der Maur discovered "old demos" in her Montréal residence and "realized [she]
had an entire album's worth of material that had been sitting there for years."
Among the demos was "Real a Lie", a song written with frequent collaborator Steve
Durand, that was released as a single by the duo's former band Tinker in 1994. Auf
der Maur said that the decision to record an album "happened very naturally." [3]

Recording[edit]
The album was recorded during 2001, 2002 and 2003 at various studios
throughout the United States and Canada, including Stagg Street Studios in Los
Angeles, Stratosphere Sound in New York City, Rancho De La Luna in Joshua
Tree, California, Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank, California, The Sound
Factory in Hollywood, Sound City Studios and Kevin Augunas's residence in Van
Nuys, California, and French Kiss Studios in Montréal, Canada.[4] Recording
sessions began in October 2001 and initially she intended to record in Chicago,
Illinois, but those plans were later abandoned. [5] Although each session had
individual engineers, Auf der Maur and Chris Goss were primary producers of the
project. Auf der Maur also financed the recording sessions herself, [3][6] as she was
not signed to a record label at the time. She also self-financed the sessions to
"secure creative control" as she "wanted the foundation of it to be really
pure."[6] Describing the recording process, Auf der Maur said: "The L.A. section of
the record is the prettier, more ethereal stuff [and] the dark, rock stuff actually ––
which is really my main route and the muscle of the record –– was recorded in
Canada. And then in Chicago we're recording some songs with James and Chris
that are more mid-dissonant pop –– mid-tempo, mid-volume." [7]
"Those two sides – the heavy and the feminine put together – is what does it for
me. What moves me when I play bass is a guttural, kind of masculine,
heavy, Viking thing. I picture fields and galloping horses. And then there's the
dream girl in me who writes in a diary and used to sing in a choir. But I would never
want one without the other. Life is good and evil, man and woman. And I want to
embrace both."[8]
Upon the completion of the recording sessions, Auf der Maur's budget ran out. She
did not have funds to mix the album[9] but was signed to Capitol Records soon
afterwards.
Various musicians collaborated during the recording of Auf der Maur. Former
bandmates Eric Erlandson and James Iha performed guitar on "Would If I Could"
and "Skin Receiver," respectively, Mark Lanegan provided additional vocals to
"Taste You," and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme played guitar on
four songs and backing vocals on "Skin Receiver." Speaking of the contributions,
Auf der Maur said: "I am so lucky I have all these talented friends. It is not too hard
to find musicians who are available to play. It just so happens the most generous
people are also the best and were willing to play." [3] During the earlier stages of
recording, a duet with Rufus Wainwright was also considered.[7]

Release[edit]
Auf der Maur was released worldwide on February 2, 2004,[10] May 4 in the United
States[10] and June 1 in Canada.[11] Although the album was distributed
internationally on Capitol, EMI managed distribution of the album in Canada. [12] For
initial promotion upon its American release, Auf der Maur appeared on Late Night
with Conan O'Brien on June 17[13] and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 6.[13]
[14]

Three singles from the album were lifted. The lead single, "Followed the Waves,"
was released on February 16, 2004 to accompany the worldwide release. It
charted in both the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in the United States and the UK
Singles Chart, peaking at number 32[15] and number 35,[16] respectively. "Real a Lie"
was released on May 3 to accompany the American release of the album,
however, the song only charted in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 33.
[16]
 The album's final single, "Taste You", was released on September 27 and
peaked at number 51 in the United Kingdom. All three singles had accompanying
music videos which were made available for download on Auf der Maur's official
web site in Windows Media Video, QuickTime and RealVideo formats.[17]
Tour[edit]
Melissa Auf der Maur performing on-stage in France during her 2004 tour.

Auf der Maur promoted the album with an almost-constant tour across Europe, the
United Kingdom and North America during 2004. The seven-leg tour commenced
on January 30, 2004 and concluded on December 4. The 151-date tour included
support from A Perfect Circle, Mínus, The Living Things, The Offspring, The
Polyphonic Spree, The Von Bondies, Matthew Good and H.I.M. amongst others.
[18]
 During the tour, Auf der Maur performed at various summer festivals
including Curiosa in the United States,[19] Pukkelpop in Belgium,[20] Lowlands
Festival in the Netherlands,[21] Reading Festival,[22] Leeds Festival[23] in the United
Kingdom, and Independents Day Festival in Italy.[24] During the entire tour, Auf der
Maur published photography from the shows on her official web site. [24]
Following the tour, Capitol Records was taken over by EMI. All of the material that
had been recorded for Auf der Maur, including outtakes, demos and rehearsal
recordings, were seized by EMI's red tape. Following months of negotiations, Auf
der Maur won the rights to the recordings and was subsequently dropped from
Capitol/EMI in 2006. Reflecting on the experience, Auf der Maur said there is "a
gross feeling when you merge your heart with a corporate structure." [25] Auf der
Maur took the experience into consideration when considering labels to
release Auf der Maur's follow-up, Out of Our Minds (2010), which was self-
released.

Reception[edit]
Auf der Maur entered the US Billboard Heatseekers chart at number 8 and
remained there for two weeks and also peaked at number 187 on
the Billboard 200.[26] As of 2006, the album had sold 35,000 copies in the United
States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[27] The album sold an additional 165,000
copies worldwide, bringing the total sales to 200,000. [28]

Professional ratings
 Aggregate scores

Source Rating

Metacritic (62/100)[29]

Review scores

Source Rating

[30]
Allmusic

[31]
Alternative Press

The A.V. Club (3/10)[32]

BBC positive[33]

[34]
Blender

Drowned in Sound (7/10)[35]

Entertainment Weekly C+[36]

[37]
The Guardian

[38]
NME

[39]
Q

Auf der Maur was generally well received by music critics. At Metacritic, which
assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the
album received an average score of 62, based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally
favorable reviews."[29] Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine awarded the
album three out of five stars, noting that the album had "a certain nostalgic appeal"
and "it's a little slicker and more polished" than her previous work but added that
the album's themes were "little embarrassing and juvenile." [30] Alternative
Press awarded the album four out of five stars, adding that "the disc's bread and
butter is Auf Der Maur's smoking riffs."[31] Keith Phipps of The A.V. Club said that
"though Auf Der Maur is never objectionably bad, there's nothing the least bit
distinctive about it" and called it "Billy Corgan-inspired, arena-scale, guitar-driven
introspective musery" in his three out of ten review. [32] In his review for the BBC,
Matt Wicks described the album as "excellent" and "like the Pumpkins in their
prime" and compared Auf der Maur to other female contemporaries such as Shirley
Manson and PJ Harvey.[33] Blender gave a majorly positive review, awarding the
album three out of five stars, but criticized Auf der Maur's vocals, stating: "buffeted
by big guitars, her thin, untrained voice occasionally sounds listless." [34]
Tom Edwards of Drowned in Sound noted that the "opening trio of tracks are the
most convincing" and the album "still has all the hallmarks of the debut record [...] it
has the great songs that have been collected over years in the bedroom and on the
road" in his seven out of ten review.[35] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a C+
grade with reviewer David Browne describing the album as "professional,
commercial alt-rock that takes flight intermittently" but "the monolithic sound also
feels dated and drab" and summarised that Auf der Maur was "the perfect CD for
1995, released too late."[36] Adam Sweeting of The Guardian described the album's
songs as "powerful and finely crafted" and "soared", though adding that some were
"multi-layered", and awarded the album three out of five stars. [37] NME awarded the
album eight out of ten and said that " the mix of stingingly personal lyrics" and
"bruisingly heavy music just draws you in even further, while the crunchy
production is so massive, so physical, the music fills every in of space it comes into
contact with"[38] and Q referred to the album as "a revelation," awarding it four out of
five stars.[39]

Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Melissa Auf der Maur unless noted otherwise.
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Lightning Is My Girl"   4:09
2. "Followed the Waves"   4:48
3. "Real a Lie" Auf der Maur, Steve Durand 4:22
4. "Head Unbound"   3:58
5. "Taste You"   4:39
6. "Beast of Honor"   3:27
7. "I'll Be Anything You Want" Auf der Maur, Josh Homme 2:57
8. "My Foggy Notion"   4:48
9. "Would If I Could"   3:40
10. "Overpower Thee" Chris Goss, Josh Homme 2:35
11. "Skin Receiver" Steve Durand 3:35
12. "I Need I Want I Will[A]" Auf der Maur, Josh Homme 7:32
Total length: 55:11
US and Canadian  bonus track
[4]

No. Title Length

13. "Taste You" (French version, titled as "Te Goûter") 4:40
Total length: 59:51

 A ^ "I Need I Want I Will" contains a hidden track of Auf der Maur's
grandmother singing at 6:28 followed by a longer version of "Taste You" at 7:35
with some verses sung in French.

Personnel[edit]
All personnel credits adapted from the album's liner notes. [4]
Musicians

 Melissa Auf der Maur – vocals, bass, guitar, keyboard

 Brant Bjork – drums (2, 8)
 Steve Durand – guitar (1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11), backing vocals (11)
 Eric Erlandson – guitar (9)
 Chris Goss – guitar (2, 7, 11), backing vocals (4, 12), piano (10)
 Josh Homme – guitar (2, 7, 8, 12), drums (12), backing vocals (11, 12)
 James Iha – ebow (4), guitar (11), backing vocals (11)
 Mark Lanegan – backing vocals (5)
 Ana Lenchantin – strings (8)
 Paz Lenchantin – strings (8)
 Nick Oliveri – bass (7, 11, 12), backing vocals (11)
 Kelli Scott – drums (6)
 John Stanier – drums (1, 3, 7, 11) [40]
 Jeordie White – guitar (1)
 Atom Willard – drums (4, 9) [40]
 Fernando Vela – strings (8)
 Jordon Zadorozny – guitar (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9), drums (5)

Chart positions[edit]
Peak
Chart (2004)
position

Austrian Top 40[41] 50

Belgian Albums Chart (Vl)[42] 38

Belgian Albums Chart (Wa)[42] 74

Dutch Top 40[43] 54

French SNEP Albums Chart[44] 47

German Albums Chart[45] 32

 Peak
Chart (2004)
position

Swedish Albums Chart[46] 59

Swiss Hitparade Chart[47] 54

UK Albums Chart[16] 31

US Billboard 200[26] 187

US Billboard Heatseekers[26] 8

Singles[edit]
Peak positions

Year Single
US UK
[15] [16]

"Followed the Waves" 32 35

2004 "Real a Lie" — 33

"Taste You" — 51

"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Studio albums[edit]
Chart positions

Ye
Details Sales
ar AU BE FR GE GR NL SW S U US US
K Ma He
T L A R E D E WI
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8][9]
[10]
in at
[11] [12] [12]

Auf der Maur

 US:
 Released: ~35,0
February 1, 00[13]
20 2004 18
50 38 47 32 — 54 59 54 31 8  World
04 7
 Label: Capit wide:
ol 200,00
 Formats: CD 0[14]
, digital
download
Out of Our
Minds

 Released:
March 30,
2010
 Labels: PHI-
20 17 14 Worldwide
MAdM — — — 36 — — 52 — —
10 8 8 : 1,099[II][15]
Music, Inc.,
[I]
 Roadrunne
r
 Formats:
CD, LP,
digital
download
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

 I ^ PHI-MAdM Music, Inc. is the title of Auf der Maur's own label, a subsidiary of PHI,
based in Montréal, Canada.
 II ^ Sales figures based on online/non-retail sales from Auf der Maur's official web site from
March–June 2010.

Extended plays[edit]
Year Details
 ...This Would Be Paradise
200
8  Released: November 11, 2008
 Label: Urbinated Music
 Formats: 7", digital download
OOOM

200  Released: December 7, 2009

9
 Label: PHI-MAdM Music, Inc.
 Formats: CD, 7", digital download

Singles[edit]
Chart positions

Year Single Album

US
UK
Alt [10]
[16]

"Followed the Waves" 32 35

200
"Real a Lie" — 33 Auf der Maur
4

"Taste You" — 51

200
"Out of Our Minds" — —
9
Out of Our
Minds
201 "Meet Me on the Dark
— —
0 Side"

"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Other musical contributions[edit]

Year Album Chart positions Additional information
 U.S. UK

199
Troublizing - - with Ric Ocasek
7

199
Celebrity Skin 8 11 with Hole
8

200 with The Smashing Pumpkins, bass on

Judas O - -
0 track 12 only, "Rock On"

200 with Rufus Wainwright, bass and backing

Poses 117 132
1 vocals on track 11 only

200 with Indochine, vocals and bass on track 8

Paradize - -
2 ("Le Grand Secret") only

200 with Fountains of Wayne, backing vocals

Traffic and Weather 97 -
7 on track 1, "Someone to Love", only

200 Act 2: The Blood and with Neverending White Lights, vocals on

- -
7 the Life Eternal track 4, "The World Is Darker", only

Out of Our Minds

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For the 2009 film, see Out of Our Minds (film).

Out of Our Minds

 Studio album by 

MAdM

Released March 30, 2010[1][2]

Recorded 2005-2007; French Kiss Studios, Montreal, Canada;[3] New

York and California, United States

Genre Alternative rock

Length 55:29

Label Roadrunner (outside North America)[4]

Producer Jordon Zadorozny, Chris Goss, Melissa Auf der Maur

MAdM chronology

Auf der Maur Out of Our

(2004) Minds
(2010)

Out Of Our Minds[5] is the second solo album from Melissa Auf der Maur released
on March 30, 2010.
Released six years after her self-titled debut, the album was also accompanied by
a feature film and comic of the same name. According to reports, the album had
been completed since 2007.[6]
 Contents

 1Background and production

 2Promotion
 3Track listing
 4Personnel
 5Chart positions
 6References
 7External links

Background and production[edit]

In a 2007 interview with Billboard magazine,[6] Melissa Auf der Maur confirmed she
had completed her second solo album which was "part of a multidisciplinary Viking-
themed project that includes a short film and comic book." It was also mentioned
that guest musicians, such as Ryan Adams, Vince Nudo and ex-Tinker member
Steve Durand, who had also written songs for and played guitar on Auf der Maur,
would also appear on the album. Glenn Danzig confirmed on August 18, 2008 that
he had recorded a song titled "Father's Grave" with Auf der Maur and claimed it
would be included "on a track for her new CD." [7] In the three years it took her to
record the album, Auf der Maur also stated that there were "many stops and starts
while I was exploring alternative creative outlets." [8] "I was the only one there for the
whole five years. I had 12 studios, 25 musicians, and 7 engineers but it wasn't like
anyone was with me for the journey", she told Kerrang! in May 2010. Asked about
inspirations for the album, she said:
I have endless, diverse inspirations that I pull from. I find that turn-of-the century
painters or Egyptian mythology are just as inspiring to me as, say, Mastodon, but I
can't say I have any peculiar role models or inspirations for this. I want people to
discover this their own way... This is your adventure and you can enjoy it however
you want".[9]
A website, xMAdMx.com, containing teasers of the projects, as well as a movie
trailer, was launched in August 2007. On November 11, 2008, MAdM released her
first EP, "This Would Be Paradise"[10] through her official website, and as well
digitally on iTunes. The EP was also released as a 7" vinyl edition, while the
download package includes the album art and the three songs, "The Key", "Willing
Enabler" and "...This Would Be Paradise." [11] Less than a year later, on November 9,
2009, MAdM released the first single from the album, the title track "Out Of Our
Minds" for free digital download on her website. On December 7, 2009, MAdM's
second EP, also titled OOOM, was released. The three song EP, which includes
"Out Of Our Minds", "Lead Horse" and "22 Below", was released in three different
forms. The first was a digital download package which also included the CD and 7"
version, the second included the same with an OOOM T-shirt, and the third
"deluxe" version included a signed copy of the OOOM comic book. On January 12,
2010, the "Out Of Our Minds" music video was also premiered on her website. [12]
MAdM has confirmed that all demos from the album were recorded on a 4-
track with the help of a drum machine. The demos were recorded in
northern Ontario with producer, Jordon Zadorozny.[13] In February 2010, MAdM also
confirmed that Out Of Our Minds will contain 12 tracks, and noted guest musicians
such as "members of NIN, Helmet/Battles and Priestess."
On March 11, 2010, MAdM issued a newsletter confirming that Out Of Our Minds is
set for release on March 30. It is also mentioned that "there are various
international album releases" but that deluxe versions of the album will be
"release[d] on my personal site."[14] On March 28, another newsletter contained
details on OOOM's release, and included links to a "secret OOOM page", which
includes deluxe versions of the album for purchase, as well as a complete
download of the album.
On October 4, 2010, Melissa Auf der Maur premiered her next music video "Meet
Me On The Dark Side" online.

Promotion[edit]
Professional ratings

Review scores

Source Rating

[15]
AllMusic

[9]
Kerrang!

[16]
NME

[17]
Popmatters

Consequence of Sound {Favorable}[18]

In efforts to promote the album, MAdM has performed various shows since 2008
and has performed alongside screenings of the OOOM film. Her first performance
since 2004 was at Lion d'Or in Montréal on November 1, 2008 in which she
debuted songs from Out Of Our Minds as well as confirmed the upcoming album.
More shows were performed in Utrecht and Helsinki the same month. More
recently, MAdM has appeared at New York City's Knitting Factory on October 17,
2009. MAdM also performed at SPIN's annual SXSW music festival in March,
sharing the stage with Motörhead, and plans to tour Europe and United Kingdom in
April, 2010.
The album charted and peaked at #174 in France, #36 in Greece and #52 in
Switzerland.[19]
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Melissa Auf der Maur unless otherwise noted.
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "The Hunt"   3:18
2. "Out of Our Minds" Auf der Maur, Zadorozny, Nudo 4:32
3. "Isis Speaks" Auf der Maur, Sorensen, Tymn, 5:57
McChan
4. "Lead Horse" Auf der Maur, Zadorozny, Nudo 3:48
5. "Follow the Map"   5:17
6. "22 Below" Auf der Maur, Goss 4:15
7. "Meet Me on the Dark Side"   4:07
8. "This Would Be Paradise"   2:42
9. "Father's Grave" (featuring Glenn Danzig)   5:56
10. "The Key"   3:54
11. "The One"   3:59
12. "1000 Years" Auf der Maur, Durand 7:38
Total length: 55:29
Deluxe CD edition[20] bonus tracks
No. Title Writer(s) Length
13. "22 Below" (Piano version) Auf der Maur, Goss 5:17
14. "Whispers and Potions"   4:33
Total length: 65:09
Japanese CD[21] bonus tracks
No. Title Length
13. "My Body" 4:58
Total length: 60:27

This Would Be Paradise

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...This Would Be Paradise

 EP by 

MAdM (Melissa Auf der Maur)

Released 11 November 2008

Recorded 2008

Genre Alternative rock

MAdM (Melissa Auf der Maur) chronology

Auf der Maur ...This Would OOOM

(2004) Be Paradise (2009)
(2008)

Digital cover
...This Would Be Paradise is the debut EP by the Canadian alternative
rock musician Melissa Auf der Maur, released on November 11, 2008 on Urbinated
Music. It was Auf der Maur's first independent release following her departure
from Capitol Records in 2006. Two of the three songs featured on the EP—"The
Key" and "This Would Be Paradise"— were later released on Auf der Maur's
second studio album, Out of Our Minds (2010). The EP's second track "Willing
Enabler" was an EP-only track.
The EP was recorded during the sessions Out of Our Minds during 2007 and 2008
and produced by Auf der Maur, Jordon Zadorozny and Chris Goss. Auf der Maur
self-financed the recording and released the EP as a digital download package and
limited edition 7" record. Auf der Maur embarked on a six date North American and
European tour to support the EP's release. Upon its release, the EP received
positive reviews but failed to chart. Following its release, Auf der Maur was signed
to PHI, a multimedia production company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The title is a quote from Canadian Tommy Douglas, who said "...if only
[humankind] could walk the earth like a man, this would be paradise."

Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Melissa Auf der Maur.
No. Title Length
1. "The Key" 3:56
2. "Willing Enabler" 4:16
3. "This Would Be Paradise" 2:46
Total length: 10:58

Personnel[edit]
All personnel credits adapted from Out of Our Minds's liner notes.[1]
Musicians

 Melissa Auf der Maur – vocals (1, 2), guitar (1), bass (1,

2), autoharp, omnichord, keyboards (3), producer (1–3)
 Jordon Zadorozny – bass, producer, engineer (3)
 Jeordie White – guitar (1, 2)
 Josh Freese – drums (1, 2)
Technical personnel

 Chris Goss – producer (1)

 Edmund P. Monsef – mixing
 Adam Ayan – mastering