As Cruel as School Children

As Cruel as School Children is the third studio album by Gym Class Heroes. It was released on July 25, 2006. It was produced by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump. A second version of the album, released on November 4, 2006 additionally contains the single "Cupid's Chokehold" (a different recording of the song was featured on their previous album The Papercut Chronicles). Both versions of these albums have the Parental Advisory sticker on them. As Cruel as School Children shows a significant departure from the style of their previous work such as the use of drum machine, Acoustic Guitar, Synthesizers and the band dabbling in many genres such as Electronica, Funk and Soul. Since its release, it has been certified gold by the RIAA.[5] The name of the album is a lyric from "Scandalous Scholastics", which is a track on the album. The band re-released this album, which includes the new remix of "Cupid's Chokehold".

As Cruel as School Children
Studio album by Gym Class Heroes
Released	July 25, 2006
Genre	Alternative rock alternative hip hop rap rock
Length	49:19
Label	Fueled by Ramen, Atlantic
Producer	Patrick Stump
Gym Class Heroes chronology
The Papercut Chronicles (2005) As Cruel as School Children (2006) The Quilt (2008)
Singles from As Cruel as School Children
"The Queen and I" Released: August 28, 2006 "New Friend Request" Released: October 28, 2006 "Cupid's Chokehold" Released: November 7, 2006 "Shoot Down the Stars" Released: May 11, 2007 "Clothes Off!!" Released: July 27, 2007

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk.net	79%[1]
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment.ie	[3]
RapReviews	[4]

Appearances and influences

A number of notable musicians appear on this album. "Clothes Off!" features Fall Out Boy vocalist Patrick Stump. The hook for the song is from Jermaine Stewart's 1986 song "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off". "Biter's Block" features Speech of Arrested Development. The chorus for "Cupid's Chokehold" comes from the single "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp and is sung by Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy.

A number of tracks have been used in other media. Track 3, "New Friend Request" and track 8, "It's OK, but Just this Once!" were used in the film Snakes On A Plane. Travis McCoy also guest stars on the films theme tune, "Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)", whilst the song "It's OK, But Just This Once" was briefly featured on HBO's hit series Entourage in episode 319 - "The Prince's Bride". The chorus of "Shoot Down The Stars" is briefly heard in Never Back Down.

Commercial performance

As Cruel as School Children debuted at number 35 on the US Billboard 200 chart, becoming the group's first album to reach the chart.[6] On August 9, 2007, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States.[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Gym Class Heroes, Sam Hollander and Dave Katz, except Clothes Off, written by Gym Class Heroes, Sam Hollander, Dave Katz, Preston Glass and Narada Walden and Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast In America, written by Travis McCoy, Roger Hodgson and Rick Davies.

1. 1st Period: "The Queen and I" – 3:15
2. 2nd Period: "Shoot Down the Stars" – 3:38
3. 3rd Period: "New Friend Request" – 4:14
4. 4th Period: "Clothes Off!!" (featuring Patrick Stump) – 3:55
5. Lunch: "Sloppy Love Jingle, Pt. 1" – 1:52
6. 6th Period: "Viva la White Girl" – 3:53
7. 7th Period: "7 Weeks" (featuring William Beckett) – 3:51
8. 8th Period: "It's OK, but Just This Once!" – 3:10
9. Study Hall: "Sloppy Love Jingle, Pt. 2" – 1:01
10. 10th Period: "Biters Block" – 3:48
11. Yearbook Club: "Boys in Bands" (Interlude) – 0:59
12. 12th Period: "Scandalous Scholastics" – 4:17
13. 13th Period: "On My Own Time (Write On!)" – 4:42
14. Intramurals: "Cupid's Chokehold/Breakfast In America" (featuring Patrick Stump) – 3:58
15. Detention: "Sloppy Love Jingle, Pt. 3" – 2:15

Limited Edition Bonus Disc

1. "Clothes Off!!" (Stress Remix) (featuring Ghostface Killah, Tyga and Patrick Stump) – 4:32
2. "Viva la White Girl" (Remix) (featuring Lil Wayne) – 4:46
3. "The Machine and I" (featuring Keith Buckley) – 4:22
4. "New Friend Request" (SK1 Ferrer Remix) (featuring Papoose) – 4:15

Personnel

• Travis McCoy (Schleprok) – vocals
• Disashi Lumumba-Kasongo – guitar
• Matt McGinley – drums
• Eric Roberts – bass guitar

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[8] 40 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] 68 French Albums (SNEP)[10] 191 UK Albums (OCC)[11] 19 US Billboard 200[12] 35 US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[13] 8

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position UK Albums (OCC)[14] 198 US Billboard 200[15] 139

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[16]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[17]	Gold	500,000^^
^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date
United States	July 25, 2006
United Kingdom	May 7, 2007

References

1. "chorus.fm". chorus.fm.
2. allmusic review
3. Entertainment.ie review Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
4. "Gym Class Heroes :: As Cruel as School Children :: Decay Dance/Fueled by Ramen". www.rapreviews.com.
5. RIAA Certifications Archived August 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
8. "Australiancharts.com – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
10. "Lescharts.com – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
11. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
12. "Gym Class Heroes Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
13. "Gym Class Heroes Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
14. "UK Year-End Charts 2007" (PDF). Official Charts Company. ChartsPlus. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
15. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
16. "British album certifications – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type As Cruel as School Children in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
17. "American album certifications – Gym Class Heroes – As Cruel as School Children". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.