Something to Write Home About

Something to Write Home About
Something to Write Home About
Studio album by The Get Up Kids
Released	September 28, 1999
Recorded	June–July 1999
Studio	Mad Hatter, Silverlake, California
Genre	Emo; pop-punk;
Length	45:26
Label	Vagrant, Heroes & Villains
Producer	The Get Up Kids; Chad Blinman; Alex Brahl;
The Get Up Kids chronology
Singles from Something to Write Home About
	"Action & Action"; Released: March 24, 2000;

Something to Write Home About is the second studio album by American rock band the Get Up Kids, released on September 28, 1999, through Vagrant Records and the band's own label Heroes & Villains Records. Following the promotional tours for their debut album Four Minute Mile (1997), the band were in discussion with Mojo Records. During this period, James Dewees joined as the band's keyboardist. As negotiations with the label eventually stalled, they eventually went with Vagrant Records. They recorded their next album at Mad Hatter Studios in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California, co-producing it with Chad Blinman and Alex Brahl. Described as an emo and pop-punk album, Something to Write Home About expands on the harder edge of its predecessor, with frontman Matt Pryor citing the works of the Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World and Wilco as influences.

Something to Write Home About received generally favourable reviews from music critics, with many praising the songwriting, while others criticized the lyrics. The album was a commercial success, selling over 100,000 copies, and peaking at number 31 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart in the United States. The band promoted it with a European tour and a US tour with At the Drive-In until the end of 1999. "Action & Action" was released as the lead single from the album. Later that year, the band toured across Australia, Japan, Europe, ending with a headlining US tour; in early 2001 they supported Green Day and Weezer.

The success of Something to Write Home About made Vagrant Records one of the major players in the fledgling emo scene, attracting bands like Dashboard Confessional, Saves the Day, and Alkaline Trio to sign with the label. It is often cited as one of the best albums of the second-wave movement of emo, and is cited as an influence on third wave acts like Coheed & Cambria. Publications such as Kerrang!, LA Weekly and NME, among others, have included the album on best-of lists for the emo and pop-punk genres. It was re-released as a CD and DVD set in 2008, and has been re-pressed on vinyl in 2015 and 2016; the 2015 version charted at number 16 on the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart.