The Rentals

The Rentals are a rock band fronted by Matt Sharp, former bass player for Weezer. Sharp is the band's only constant member.
==Overview==
===Formation===
Matt Sharp's concept for The Rentals began before his involvement in Weezer. The project, initially named That's Incredible! by producer Tom Grimley, was heavily influenced by late 70s/early 80s new wave, punk, and synth pop, particularly musician Gary Numan and his project Tubeway Army. Matt Sharp has cited the band That Dog as an inspiration for the band's formation.Heisel, Scott. "INTERVIEW: Matt Sharp talks about the Rentals’ rebirth, the challenge of ‘Songs About Time’ and the Weezer Cruise" Substream Magazine. 5 May 2015. Archived by Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20151029070239/http://substreammagazine.com/2015/05/interview-matt-sharp-talks-about-the-rentals-rebirth-the-challenge-of-songs-about-time-and-the-weezer-cruise/ from the original: https://substreammagazine.com/2015/05/interview-matt-sharp-talks-about-the-rentals-rebirth-the-challenge-of-songs-about-time-and-the-weezer-cruise/. Sharp initially - and only very briefly - used an ironic fictional backstory to market the band. As described in an 1995 Billboard interview, the band's press materials identified each member of the Rentals as "the sons and daughters of American embassy employees in Prague."Billboard interview with Matt Sharp - October 28, 1995 The interview further paraphrases the backstory:
Sharp introduced this persona as early as September of 1995, when he accepted an MTV Video Award for "Buddy Holly" in characterHistoric event: 09/07/1995. Sharp dropped this backstory the next month, however, telling the Toronto Sun that he "didn't have the energy for it... I think people get really offended when they don't understand your humor, and then you have to do interview after interview with all these people that are really put off by you because you're being sarcastic."Toronto Sun interview with Matt Sharp - November 25, 1995.
===Biography===
The Rentals are best known for their 1995 hit single, "Friends of P.". The group released two albums during their initial period of activity, 1995's Return of the Rentals and 1999's Seven More Minutes, on Maverick Records.
During the writing of Seven More Minutes, Matt spent time touring with British musicians including Blur and Ash. Musicians from Elastica, Blur, and Ash appeared on several tracks on Seven More Minutes. Matt has gone on to collaborate with Blur frontman Damon Albarn on several occasions. Along with Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, they recorded a cover of Gary Numan's "We Have a Technical" for a tribute album, and Albarn appeared with the Rentals on French television performing "Friends of P.".
The band quietly dissolved following the world tour for their second album but, in 2005, Sharp reformed the band with intentions of touring and recording a new record. The band went on tour with Ozma in 2006 and, in 2007, The Rentals released The Last Little Life EP under the label Boompa, containing three new tracks and a revamped version of "Sweetness and Tenderness", a track from their debut album. The band also toured with Goldenboy and Copeland.
The band released the single "Colorado", originally performed live as part of Sharp's solo project, in 2007. In 2009, the band announced a new self-produced project: Songs About Time. The first of three mini albums, titled The Story of A Thousand Season's Past, was released on April 7, 2009, with the second chapter (It's Time to Come Home) and third chapter (The Future) released in July and October, respectively. The fourth, all-instrumental chapter, titled Tokyo Blues, was later released as a standalone album in 2011 titled Resilience: A Benefit Album for the Relief Effort in Japan.
In December of 2013, Matt Sharp announced that the band had signed with the label Polyvinyl and would release a new album in 2014.Blistein, Jon. "The Rentals Sign to Polyvinyl for First Album in 15 Years " Rolling Stone. 5 December 2013. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/the-rentals-sign-to-polyvinyl-for-first-album-in-15-years-176783/ The album, titled Lost in Alphaville, was released on August 25, 2014. The Rentals subsequently went on tour with a lineup including members of the band Radiation City, who also opened for the band.
In 2017, Matt Sharp began tweeting about the next Rentals record, and unveiled a new song titled "Elon Musk is Making Me Sad" on October 5, 2017. As of October 20, 2018 the Rentals' fourth album, mixed by Pinkerton engineer Dave Fridmann, was finished.@_mattsharp "the final frontier, last day @sterlingsound" Twitter. 20 December 2018. https://twitter.com/_mattsharp/status/1075820765260472320 Matt Sharp announced on his Instagram account that the band was finished recording and mixing the album and would next be heading into the production phase. The album, titled Q36, was finally announced on November 5, 2019 alongside the new single "Spaceships".
==Discography==
Studio albums
Year
Title
Label
1995
Return of the Rentals
Maverick/Reprise/Warner Bros.
1999
Seven More Minutes
Maverick/Warner Bros.
2014
Lost in Alphaville
Polyvinyl Records
2020
Q36
Self-released
Other projects
Year
Title
Label
2009
Songs About Time
Self-released
2022
The Midnight Society Soundtrack
Death Waltz Recording Co.
EPs
Year
Title
Label
2007
The Last Little Life EP
Boompa
2020
Forgotten Astronaut Extended Play
Self-released
Singles
Year
Title
Label
1995
"Friends of P."
Maverick/Reprise/Warner Bros.
1996
"Waiting"
Maverick/Reprise/Warner Bros.
1999
"Getting By"
Maverick/Warner Bros.
2008
"Colorado"
Self-released
2014
"Thought of Sound"
Polyvinyl Records
2014
"1000 Seasons"
Polyvinyl Records
2017
"Elon Musk is Making Me Sad"
Self-released
2019
"Spaceships"
Self-released
2019
"Forgotten Astronaut"
Self-released
2019
"9th Configuration"
Self-released
2019
"Breaking and Breaking and Breaking"
Self-released
2019
"Invasion Night"
Self-released
2020
"Nowhere Girl"
Self-released
2020
"Great Big Blue"
Self-released
2020
"Above This Broken World"
Self-released
2020
"Teen Beat Cosmonaut"
Self-released
2020
"Another World"
Self-released
2020
"Conspiracy"
Self-released
2020
"Elon Musk Is Making Me Sad" (Q36 version)
Self-released
2020
"Information (and the Island in the Sky)"
Self-released
2020
"Machine Love"
Self-released
2020
"Goodbye, Steve"
Self-released
2020
"Shake Your Diamonds"
Self-released
Compilation appearances
Year
Title
Label
1995
The Poop Alley Tapes
W.I.N. Records
1995
How The _____ Stole Christmas KROQ cassette
Maverick/Reprise/Warner Bros.
2000
The Solution To Benefit Heal The Bay benefit
Mojo
Special releases
Year
Title
Label
2011
Resilience
Ernest Jenning Record Co.
Bootleg compilations
Year
Title
Label
1999
Live in Japan
1999
Live in Japan - Acoustic Opening Set
2001
Excellent Stocking Stuffer
Self-released
2005
For The Ladies
Self-released
?
Little Russell Street: Bootlegs from Seven More Minutes
Self-released
==Members==
==External links==
* Official site
* Myspace page
== See also ==
* List of Matt Sharp songs
* List of Rentals concerts
* Matt Sharp
==References==
Category: Matt Sharp
Category: Weezer-related bands