File Under: Easy Listening

File Under: Easy Listening
File Under: Easy Listening
Studio album by Sugar
Released	September 6, 1994
Recorded	1994
Genre	Power pop
Length	39:58
Label	Rykodisc, Creation
Producer	Bob Mould
Sugar chronology
Singles from File Under: Easy Listening
	"Your Favorite Thing"; Released: 1994; "Believe What You're Saying"; Released: 1994; "Gee Angel"; Released: 1995;

File Under: Easy Listening (also known as F.U.E.L.) is the second (not counting the EP Beaster) and final studio album by Sugar.

Background

Primary songwriter Bob Mould discussed material written after Beaster in 1993: "It's pretty punk rock. Not real fast, just pretty basic. A lot of it's really vocal-y. Really beautiful and really harmonic, but it's real piledriving… Weird chord changes underneath real traditional vocal lines. So I think it'll be somewhere between these last two records. Also, I'm really starting to hate guitar solos, so I'm trying to avoid them. I'm bending a lot of strings, starting to sound like Johnny Thunders again."^[2]

Initial sessions for the album in Atlanta were suspended because the band was unhappy with the way the album sounded. Mould proceeded to erase the master tapes and "[recorded the album] in reverse, where I did all my stuff. Then I brought David back in, and we brought Malcolm in. We did drums last, and it turned out great."^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
The A.V. Club	B^[5]
Entertainment Weekly	A^[6]
The Guardian	^[7]
NME	9/10^[8]
Pitchfork	7.8/10^[9]
Q	^[10]
Rolling Stone	^[11]
Select	4/5^[12]
The Village Voice	A^[13]

"F.U.E.L. finds former Hüsker Dü man Bob Mould exorcising more demons over a structured barrage of pop noises," observed Steve Lamacq in Q. "The sounds and textures come from the dark, brooding Beaster while the melodies are lifted from the poppier Copper Blue."^[10]

"File Under Easy Listening is the kind of title that a third-rate death metal band would come with…" quipped Clark Collis in Select. "Also, there's the production. Where tracks like 'Changes' or 'Hoover Dam' off Copper Blue leapt out of the speakers with all the unrestrained force and tang of a nuclear-powered kipper, most of F.U.E.L. would probably ask your auntie's permission before even turning up… And then, slowly but surely, it all begins to make sense."^[12] The album peaked at No. 7 in the UK and No. 32 in Canada.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Bob Mould; except where indicated. "We've come to a realisation," said Mould. "For all intents and purposes, it's my deal."^[14]

Original album (2012 edition - Disc one)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gift"		4:14
2.	"Company Book"	David Barbe	3:45
3.	"Your Favorite Thing"		3:51
4.	"What You Want It to Be"		4:13
5.	"Gee Angel"		3:56
6.	"Panama City Motel"		4:07
7.	"Can't Help You Anymore"		3:29
8.	"Granny Cool"		3:33
9.	"Believe What You're Saying"		3:56
10.	"Explode and Make Up"		4:54

2012 edition - Disc one - B-sides
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
11.	"Mind Is An Island" (B-side of "Your Favourite Thing")		3:37
12.	"Frustration" (B-side of "Your Favourite Thing")	Barbe	5:18
13.	"Going Home" (B-side of "Your Favourite Thing")		2:40
14.	"In The Eyes Of My Friends" (B-side of "Believe What You're Saying")	Barbe	3:32
15.	"And You Tell Me" (B-side of "Believe What You're Saying")		5:02
16.	"Believe What You're Saying (Campfire Mix)"		3:53

2012 edition - Disc two - *The Joke Is Always on Us, Sometimes* (Live At First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2 November 1994)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Gift"		4:12
2.	"Company Book"	Barbe	3:28
3.	"Hoover Dam"		3:08
4.	"After All The Roads Have Led To Nowhere" (B-side of "Gee Angel")		3:42
5.	"Where Diamonds Are Halos"	Barbe	4:21
6.	"Slick"		4:04
7.	"Going Home"		2:13
8.	"Running Out Of Time"		2:29
9.	"Frustration"	Barbe	4:38
10.	"Changes"		3:44
11.	"Can't Help You Any More"		2:59
12.	"Helpless"		3:04
13.	"If I Can't Change Your Mind"		3:04
14.	"In The Eyes Of My Friends"	Barbe	3:12
15.	"Clownmaster" (B-side of "Gee Angel live")		2:43
16.	"Gee Angel" (A-side of "Gee Angel live")		4:17
17.	"Explode And Make Up" (B-side of "Gee Angel")		4:39
18.	"The Slim" (B-side of "Gee Angel")		8:36

2012 edition - Disc three - DVD
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Your Favourite Thing" (Promo video)
2.	"Believe What You're Saying" (Promo video)
3.	"Gee Angel" (Promo video)
4.	"MTV Sugar Feature" (TV appearance)
5.	"Believe What You're Saying - Bob Mould & Lou Barlow (Live On MTV 120 Minutes)" (TV appearance)

Personnel

Bob Mould – guitars, vocals
David Barbe – bass, vocals
Malcolm Travis – drums
James SK Wān – bamboo flute

Charts

Album

Chart performance for *File Under: Easy Listening*
Chart (1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[15]	72
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[16]	10
UK Albums Chart^[17]	7
US Billboard 200^[18]	50

Single

Chart performance for singles from *File Under: Easy Listening*
Title	Chart (1994)	Peak position
"Your Favorite Thing"	UK Singles Chart^[17]	48
"Your Favorite Thing"	US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks^[18]	14
"Believe What You're Saying"	UK Singles Chart^[17]	73

References

^ Gerard, Chris (April 15, 2024). "The 100 Best Alternative Songs of the 1980s". PopMatters. Retrieved December 23, 2024. ...a pair of acclaimed power pop LPs in the '90s with Sugar...
^ Cavanagh, David (July 1993). "Sidewalking". Select. p. 72.
^ Comaratta, Len (September 6, 2012). "Interview: Bob Mould". Consequence. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "File Under: Easy Listening – Sugar". AllMusic. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
^ Ryan, Kyle (July 24, 2012). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
^ Flaherty, Mike (September 9, 1994). "File Under: Easy Listening". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
^ Ellison, Mike (September 16, 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening (Creation CRECD 172)". The Guardian.
^ "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". NME. September 3, 1994. p. 50.
^ Harvey, Eric (July 30, 2012). "Sugar: Sugar Reissues". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Lamacq, Steve (October 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". Q. No. 97. p. 126.
^ Evans, Paul (October 6, 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". Rolling Stone. p. 87.
^ ^a ^b Collis, Clark (October 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". Select. No. 52.
^ Christgau, Robert (September 13, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
^ Mundy, Chris (November 3, 1994). "Sugar: Turning bitter into sweet". Rolling Stone. p. 72.
^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 271.
^ "Charts.nz – Sugar – File Under: Easy Listening". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "The Official Charts Company - Sugar". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "allmusic ((( Sugar > Awards )))". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2015.

External links

Great Expectations for Ryko's 2nd Sugar Album

[PopMatters_2024-1] Gerard, Chris (April 15, 2024). "The 100 Best Alternative Songs of the 1980s". PopMatters. Retrieved December 23, 2024. ...a pair of acclaimed power pop LPs in the '90s with Sugar...

[2] Cavanagh, David (July 1993). "Sidewalking". Select. p. 72.

[3] Comaratta, Len (September 6, 2012). "Interview: Bob Mould". Consequence. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2025.

[4] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "File Under: Easy Listening – Sugar". AllMusic. Retrieved May 29, 2020.

[5] Ryan, Kyle (July 24, 2012). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 29, 2020.

[6] Flaherty, Mike (September 9, 1994). "File Under: Easy Listening". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2020.

[7] Ellison, Mike (September 16, 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening (Creation CRECD 172)". The Guardian.

[8] "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". NME. September 3, 1994. p. 50.

[9] Harvey, Eric (July 30, 2012). "Sugar: Sugar Reissues". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 29, 2020.

[Q-10] Lamacq, Steve (October 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". Q. No. 97. p. 126.

[11] Evans, Paul (October 6, 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". Rolling Stone. p. 87.

[Select-12] Collis, Clark (October 1994). "Sugar: File Under: Easy Listening". Select. No. 52.

[13] Christgau, Robert (September 13, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved May 29, 2020.

[Mundy-14] Mundy, Chris (November 3, 1994). "Sugar: Turning bitter into sweet". Rolling Stone. p. 72.

[15] Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 271.

[ac_New_Zealand_Sugar-16] "Charts.nz – Sugar – File Under: Easy Listening". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 19, 2022.

[OCC-17] "The Official Charts Company - Sugar". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 10, 2015.

[allmusic-billboard-18] "allmusic ((( Sugar > Awards )))". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2015.

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v t e Sugar
Bob Mould David Barbe Malcolm Travis
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