Artificial Heart

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Artificial Heart
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Artist: Jonathan Coulton
Tracks: 18
Release date: September 2, 2011

Artificial Heart is Jonathan Coulton's eighth studio album, produced by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants. The CD packaging and related merchandise were designed by graphic designer Sam Potts.

History

In 2010, Jonathan Coulton announced that his long hiatus from recording new material was ending. After Coulton opened for They Might Be Giants earlier that year, John Flansburgh suggested working together on Coulton's new material. The collaboration helped push Coulton outside his comfort zone, and he frequently commented on being excited and terrified by the process. As a result, Artificial Heart represents a significant departure from Coulton's earlier albums. Not only is it the first Coulton album to be produced by someone besides Coulton himself, it's the first to be recorded in an "actual studio" (owned by They Might Be Giants' long time producer, Patrick Dillett), and the first to be written for a full band. In addition to the drummer and bassist who frequently appear in Coulton's live shows, Artificial Heart features over a dozen guest musicians and several tracks with guest lead vocals.

Coulton and his collaborators recorded Artificial Heart between September 2010 and June 2011. The album was released in late August 2011, with an official release party on September 2.

Live versions of some tracks debuted as early as July 2010, so there are many concert recordings that predate the official release date. Fans on the JoCo Forums compiled some of the best bootlegs into a project called Artificial Artificial Heart while waiting for the studio version to be released.

Track Listing

  1. Sticking It To Myself (2:19)
  2. Artificial Heart (2:33)
  3. Nemeses (3:01)
  4. The World Belongs to You (2:11)
  5. Today With Your Wife (2:57)
  6. Sucker Punch (1:42)
  7. Glasses (2:47)
  8. Je Suis Rick Springfield (2:28)
  9. Alone at Home (2:02)
  10. Fraud (3:00)
  11. Good Morning Tucson (2:27)
  12. Now I Am An Arsonist (2:53)
  13. Down Today (2:22)
  14. Dissolve (2:58)
  15. Nobody Loves You Like Me (2:19)
  16. Still Alive (4:15)
  17. Want You Gone (2:22)
  18. The Stache (3:00)

Credits

Production

Additional musicians

Availability

Artificial Heart CDs were first made available to the public at PAX Prime 2011, but the official release party was September 2, 2011, at a show in Atlanta. Online pre-orders and digital downloads of the album are available from his website as of August 30, 2011, though it temporarily became unavailable at midnight PST on October 5, 2011.

In addition to the album itself, the pre-order page offers several merchandise packages featuring t-shirts, posters, USB keys and other extras. The ordering experience features graphics and copy text to match the album's theme.

The Diagnostic Metrics

The artwork for the content and promotional materials for Artificial Heart prominently features a collection of symbols called the Diagnostic Metrics designed by Sam Potts.

The interpretation of the graphics is not given, but it may be possible to infer their meaning from context. For possible interpretations of the meaning of the symbols, see the Interpretation of the Diagnostic Metrics page.

References

Artificial Heart
1. Sticking It To Myself · 2. Artificial Heart · 3. Nemeses · 4. The World Belongs to You · 5. Today With Your Wife · 6. Sucker Punch · 7. Glasses · 8. Je Suis Rick Springfield · 9. Alone at Home · 10. Fraud · 11. Good Morning Tucson · 12. Now I Am An Arsonist · 13. Down Today · 14. Dissolve · 15. Nobody Loves You Like Me · 16. Still Alive · 17. Want You Gone · 18. The Stache