The Agony of Laffitte

by

Spoon

Edit

"The Agony of Laffitte" is a single from indie rock band Spoon. It was released in 1999. The two tracks were later added to their 1998 album A Series of Sneaks when Merge Records reissued it in 2002.

Seeing the potential to sell records with an up-and-coming indie rock band, Elektra Records, along with A&R man Ron Laffitte, signed Spoon to their first major record deal, which produced their second LP, A Series of Sneaks. However, after four months of low sales, Laffitte was fired and Spoon was ultimately dropped from Elektra. Angry with Laffitte (who had promised promotional funding) and the rest of the executives at Elektra, Spoon recorded a vindictively written two-song EP at Saddle Creek Records, immortalizing their broken deal. The band addresses Laffitte with lyrics like:

while telling him later in the chorus that he's no better than label CEO Sylvia Rhone.

The song was covered by Nada Surf on their 2010 album "if I had a hi-fi".