The Art of Losing

The Art of Losing is the second studio album by the American alternative rock band American Hi-Fi. Recorded Sunset Sound Studio 2, Hollywood, California, it was released in February 2003 by Island Records. The album featured the singles "The Art of Losing" and "The Breakup Song" neither of which charted. The album itself peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200. "A tougher, harder-edged sound--with intense guitar licks by Arentzen and a beefed-up rhythm section by Parson and Nolan--distinguishes The Art of Losing from the band's debut album, as does its live, spontaneous feel and lack of computer production tricks."

Reception

The album received mixed reviews, and didn't particularly impress critics. It received 2/5 stars from Rolling Stone and 2.5/5 stars from Allmusic. Shortly after the album's release, American Hi-Fi was dropped by their record company by Island Records around 3 months later. The band was told they were simply not making enough money despite having sold upwards of 600,000 albums due to having short length and so had to be sold cheaper. The band finished their remaining tour dates and afterwards returned home to begin work on a new album.BuzzFeed included the album at number 29 on their "36 Pop Punk Albums You Need To Hear Before You F——ing Die" list.

The Art of Losing (song)

"The Art of Losing" is the first single from American Hi-Fi's second album The Art of Losing. It has appeared in the movies Freaky Friday and American Wedding and in one episode of Malcolm in the Middle. It was also used in trailers for the films The Perfect Score, Fever Pitch, Hot Rod, Mr. Woodcock, and Speed Racer. It was also featured in a Shane Dawson YouTube video entitled, "Crazy Girlfriend From Hell."

Tracklist

US single

Japan single

Content

"The song is about being the underdog, but learning to do things your way...People say, ‘Hey, you could do it this way or that way to be more successful.’ But the song is about telling them, ‘I’ll do it my way."

Music video

The video (directed by Chris Applebaum) features American Hi-Fi visiting the house of a fan in Hays, Kansas, where the band is seen performing the song in the living room, with the house surrounded by hundreds of partying locals. The video was deliberately less slick than the normal polished rock production, filmed with normal fans in a normal town in the 'middle of nowhere'. "It was great because we don't think of ourselves as these f---in' rock star dudes. I don't like there to be a line drawn between the band and the fans" said Jones.