Skelethon
2012 studio album by Aesop Rock
Skelethon is the sixth studio album by American hip hop artist Aesop Rock . It was released through Rhymesayers Entertainment on July 10, 2012.[ 12]
Music
The album is entirely produced by Aesop Rock himself.[ 13] Guest appearances include Allyson Baker, Hanni El Khatib , Rob Sonic , Kimya Dawson , Murs , and Blueprint .[ 14] The album's artwork was done by Aryz.[ 15]
Aesop has described death as a recurring motif on the album, stating:
It felt like everything around me was dying: people, relationships, all plant life in my apartment, you name it—it's dead. That's where the Skelethon title came from, and imagery associated with shit dying is prevalent. That said, I don't think there are many "sad" songs. It's more just like "ahhh I'm exploding"—I want it to sound urgent.[ 16]
Release
Music videos were created for "Zero Dark Thirty",[ 17] "ZZZ Top",[ 18] and "Cycles to Gehenna".[ 19] A music video for "ZZZ Top" features the martial arts master Patti Li .[ 20]
The album debuted at number 21 on the Billboard 200 with 14,000 copies sold in its first week.[ 21] It has sold over 52,000 copies as of April 2016.[ 22]
Critical reception
At Metacritic , which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Skelethon received an average score of 79% based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[ 1]
It was listed by HipHopDX as one of the "Top 25 Albums of 2012".[ 23]
Track listing
Title 1. "Leisureforce" (featuring Allyson Baker and Hanni El Khatib ) 4:43 2. "ZZZ Top" (featuring Allyson Baker) 4:15 3. "Cycles to Gehenna" 4:00 4. "Zero Dark Thirty" (featuring Rob Sonic ) 3:21 5. "Fryerstarter" 3:28 6. "Ruby '81" 2:33 7. "Crows 1" (featuring Kimya Dawson ) 4:19 8. "Crows 2" (featuring Rob Sonic and Murs ) 2:30 9. "Racing Stripes" (featuring Kimya Dawson) 3:23 10. "1,000 O'Clock" 3:58 11. "Homemade Mummy" (featuring Rob Sonic) 2:46 12. "Grace" (featuring Hanni El Khatib) 3:38 13. "Saturn Missiles" 3:37 14. "Tetra" 4:41 15. "Gopher Guts" 3:58 16. "Dokken Rules" (deluxe edition bonus track; featuring Rob Sonic[ 24] ) 3:59 17. "BMX" (deluxe edition bonus track; featuring Blueprint and Rob Sonic[ 24] ) 3:34
Charts
References
^ a b "Skelethon by Aesop Rock" . Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Jeffries, David. "Aesop Rock - Skelethon" . AllMusic . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Kennedy, Adam (2012). "Aesop Rock - Skelethon - Review" . BBC . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Freed, Nick (July 17, 2012). "Aesop Rock – Skelethon" . Consequence of Sound . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Thomas, Sean (November 23, 2012). "Aesop Rock - Skelethon" . Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Cooper, Roman (July 18, 2012). "Aesop Rock - Skelethon" . HipHopDX . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Cashmore, Pete (July 8, 2012). "Aesop Rock - 'Skelethon' " . NME . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Weiss, Jeff (July 10, 2012). "Aesop Rock: Skelethon" . Pitchfork Media . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Small, Colin (August 27, 2012). "Aesop Rock: Skelethon" . PopMatters . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Reeves, Mosi (July 10, 2012). "Aesop Rock, 'Skelethon' (Rhymesayers)" . Spin . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Rag, Ben. "Aesop Rock - Skelethon" . Tiny Mix Tapes . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Horowitz, Steven (July 10, 2012). "Aesop Rock "Skelethon" Album Stream" . HipHopDX . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ "Q&A: Aesop Rock Worked Harder Than Ever for Sixth Album, 'Skelethon' " . Rolling Stone . Retrieved 2017-01-15 .
^ "Aesop Rock Announces Album Details | Pitchfork" . pitchfork.com . Retrieved 2017-01-15 .
^ "Juxtapoz Magazine - ARYZ for Aesop Rock "Skelethon" Album Cover" . Retrieved 2017-01-15 .
^ Cohen, Ian (May 16, 2012). "Aesop Rock - Interview" . Pitchfork . Retrieved November 13, 2023 .
^ Norwood, Charlie (May 1, 2012). "Video Premiere: Aesop Rock, 'Zero Dark Thirty' " . MTV . Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Suarez, Jessica (June 29, 2012). "Aesop Rock Gets Revenge in "ZZZ Top" Video" . MTV . Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Weiss, Sam (August 22, 2012). "Video: Aesop Rock "Cycles To Gehenna" " . Complex . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Eakin, Marah (June 29, 2012). "Today in music videos: Aesop Rock calls on kung fu master Patti Li for "ZZZ Top" " . The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ Kaufman, Gil (July 18, 2012). "Frank Ocean's Channel Orange Album Sales Land Him At #2" . MTV . Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ "Upcoming Releases" . Hits Daily Double . HITS Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016.
^ "HipHopDX's Top 25 Albums Of 2012" . HipHopDX . December 26, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2012 .
^ a b "Skelethon (Deluxe Edition) by Aesop Rock" . Bandcamp . Retrieved July 26, 2016 .
^ "Aesop Rock Chart History (Billboard 200)" . Billboard . Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ "Aesop Rock Chart History (Independent Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved May 10, 2016.
^ "Aesop Rock Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)" . Billboard . Retrieved May 10, 2016.
External links