On Fire (Galaxie 500 album)

On Fire is the second studio album by American indie rock band Galaxie 500, released in 1989 on Rough Trade Records.

On Fire
Studio album by Galaxie 500
Released	October 20, 1989[1]
Recorded	1989
Studio	Noise New York
Genre	Slowcore[2] dream pop[3]
Length	40:13
Label	Rough Trade
Producer	Mark Kramer
Galaxie 500 chronology
Today (1988) On Fire (1989) This Is Our Music (1990)
Singles from On Fire
"Blue Thunder" Released: February 1990

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Chicago Tribune	[5]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[6]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[7]
Mojo	[8]
Pitchfork	10/10[2]
Rolling Stone	[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	8/10[11]
The Village Voice	B[12]

The Rolling Stone Album Guide called it Galaxie 500's "best album by far".[10] In 2002, Pitchfork placed it at number 16 on its "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s" list.[13] In 2013, Fact placed it at number 51 on its "100 Best Albums of the 1980s" list.[14] In 2018, Pitchfork ranked it fourth on its "The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums" list.[3]

In 2010, the album was re-issued and peaked at number 45 on the UK Independent Albums Chart[15] and number 10 on the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart.[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Galaxie 500, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Blue Thunder"	3:45
2.	"Tell Me"	3:50
3.	"Snowstorm"	5:10
4.	"Strange"	3:16
5.	"When Will You Come Home"	5:21
6.	"Decomposing Trees"	4:05
7.	"Another Day"	3:41
8.	"Leave the Planet"	2:40
9.	"Plastic Bird"	3:15
10.	"Isn't It a Pity" (George Harrison)	5:10
Total length:		40:13

1997 CD reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Victory Garden" (Steve Cunningham, Mayo Thompson)	2:48
12.	"Ceremony" (Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner)	5:55
13.	"Cold Night"	2:36
Total length:		51:32

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes.

Galaxie 500

• Damon Krukowski – drums
• Dean Wareham – guitar, vocals
• Naomi Yang – bass guitar, vocals on "Another Day"

Additional personnel

• Mark Kramer – production, engineering, "cheap organ" on "Isn't It a Pity"
• Ralph Carney – tenor saxophone on "Decomposing Trees"

Charts

Chart (2010)	Peak position
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[15]	45
UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC)[16]	10

Release history

Year	Label	Format	Region
1989	Rough Trade	LP, CD, cassette	UK
1989	Rough Trade US	LP, CD	US
1997	Rykodisc	LP, CD	US
2009	20/20/20	LP	US

References

1. McGonigal, Mike (2013). "On The Floor". Temperature's Rising Galaxie 500: An Oral and Visual History (1st ed.). Verse Chorus Press. p. 101. ISBN 978-1-8912-4156-7.
2. Richardson, Mark (March 30, 2010). "Galaxie 500: Today / On Fire / This Is Our Music". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
3. "The 30 Best Dream Pop Albums". Pitchfork. April 16, 2018. p. 3. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
4. Raggett, Ned. "On Fire – Galaxie 500". AllMusic. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
5. Kot, Greg (November 23, 1989). "Galaxie 500: On Fire (Rough Trade)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
6. alex_snax (March 26, 2010). "Album Review: Galaxie 500 – Today, On Fire, This is Our Music (reissued)". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
7. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
8. "Galaxie 500: Today / On Fire / This Is Our Music". Mojo (197). April 2010.
9. Azerrad, Michael (March 22, 1990). "On Fire: Galaxie 500". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 31, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
10. Sheffield, Rob (2004). "Galaxie 500". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 321. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
11. Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
12. Christgau, Robert (March 13, 1990). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved December 28, 2015.
13. "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s (page 9 of 10)". Pitchfork. November 20, 2002. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
14. "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s (page 51 of 101)". Fact. June 24, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
15. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50: 28 March 2010 - 03 April 2010". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
16. "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20: 28 March 2010 - 03 April 2010". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 15, 2018.

External links

• On Fire at Discogs (list of releases)
• On Fire at MusicBrainz (list of releases)