The Great Burrito Extortion Case


The Great Burrito Extortion Case is the sixth studio album by American rock band Bowling for Soup, released on November 7, 2006 under Zomba and Jive Records.

Background

According to the band on their official website "there are at least 12 verses' worth of total joy for every sort-of-sad chorus about an ex-girlfriend on this record."

Release

In June and July, the band were set to tour with Flashlight Brown, however Flashlight Brown pulled out of the tour due to parting with their label.
This album's first single to be released was "High School Never Ends", which is available on iTunes. It was released on November 7, 2006, through Jive Records. It was originally set to be titled All My Rowdy Friends Are Still Intoxicated or We're Not Fat, We Just Have Small Heads. The album's title originated from the news ticker on the bottom of a TV screen that the group saw when in a hotel bar. The headline said "Burrito Extortion Case," which intrigued the band members.
In July and August 2007, the group went on tour with Mêlée, Quietdrive and Army of Freshmen. They toured Australia in April 2008 with Pennywise, Sum 41, and the Vandals.

Reception

AllMusic senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that the record was "still proudly goofy, poppy punk, stuff that's fun without quite being memorable", but found the band's humor outdated with its '80s pop culture references, saying their "pandering a little bit, trying to deliver what they believe today's teens want," concluding that "even when they're coming across like Gen-X cranks, they're still nimble and melodic, so it's easy enough to listen to The Great Burrito Extortion Case and enjoy it – it sure is hard to get worked up about it, though." Gary Susman from Entertainment Weekly said the album "starts out fun but turns self-indulgent", concluding with, "Still, at least two tunes will lodge forever in your skull. One day, you’ll recall them fondly, and BFS, trafficking in insta-nostalgia, will be there to write a catchy number about that feeling." Rolling Stones Christian Hoard said that "between the we're-happy-to-be-happy "I'm Gay" and the laudatory "Val Kilmer," the dozens of not really clever jokes about crazy girls and John Mellencamp, and whined harmonies and chug-a-chug guitars that blend together, the songs wear out their charm with a quickness."
The album got an 'Honorable Mention' on Ultimate-Guitar's top ten albums of 2006, and debuted at number 88 on the Billboard 200.

Track listing

;Bonus tracks
Many of the bonus tracks were released in 2008 on the Japanese 2008 Re-Issue of Bowling for Soup Goes to the Movies.

Personnel

Musicians
Production
Additional musicians/backing vocals and all around swell dudes:
  • Russ-T Cobb — "Make Mine a Decaf," "So ugh...you got my money"
  • Casey Diiorio — "Someone drank my birthday present," "That's what happens man"
  • Zac Maloy — "you guys aren't going to be seeing much of me for the rest of the week," "pretty, pretty good!!!"
  • Butch Walker — Guitar, Keyboards, and Percussion on "When We Die"
  • Adam Schlesinger – Guitar and Vocals on "High School Never Ends"
  • Joey Huffman – Additional Organ, Piano and Moog
  • Lesley Roy sang her BUTT off on "Much More Beautiful Person" The "When We Die" Orchestra: Rob Mathes, Sandra Park, Tomas K. Carney, Michael Casteel, Vivek Kamath, Shmuel Katz, Lisa E. Kim, Maria Kitsopoulos, Elizabeth Lim-Dutton, Suzanne Ornstein, Larua J. Seaton, Sarah J. Seiver, Sharon H. Yamada, Jung Sun Yoo, Rebecca H. Young
  • Various gang vocals, whistling, drinking, laughing, poking and prodding in Tulsa, Oklahoma:
Greg Lobdell, Neal Tiemann, BRANDO, Bryan Jewett, Andy Skib, Alexis "Lyndsay" Skib, Josh Center, Davey Danger
  • Chicks that sing on "Friends Like You" and made the room NOT smell like boy:
Nikki Messing, Niki Smith, Kira Von Sutra, Lindsey Campbell, April Farmer
Bowling for Soup crew:
  • Greg Lobdell – Drum Technologist, Monitors and the Chiefs
  • Edo Levi – Front of House, Stage Manager, DJ and the Star of David
  • Sean Bailey – Tour Manager, One Liners and Bus Pooper
  • Bobby-Wayne – Guitar Tech, Bass Tech and Beelzebub
  • Dave "Mrs. Garrett" Hale – Merch, Taker Upper of Slack, Anxiety and Lifetime
  • A&R: Pablo Mathiason
  • Management: Mike Swinford, Paul Nugent and Randy Miller at Rainmaker Artists
  • Booking: Andy Somers for The Agency Group/Paul Bolton from Helter Skelter
  • Legal: Michael L. McKoy, Esq., for Serling Rooks and Ferrara