{{Infobox album | name = My Favourite Headache | type = studio | artist = [[Geddy Lee]] | cover = GL_My_Favorite_Headache.jpg | alt = | released = November 14, 2000 | recorded = April 2000<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Lee | first1 = Geddy | author-link1 = Geddy Lee | title = My Effin' Life | edition = 1st | publisher = HarperCollins | year = 2023 | pages = 409 | isbn = 978-0-06-315941-9}}</ref> | venue = | studio = The Peasant's Tent and Reaction Studios, Toronto,<br/>East and West and The Factory Studios, [[Vancouver, British Columbia]],<br/>[[Studio X]], [[Seattle, Washington]], [[Metalworks Studios]] in [[Mississauga, Ontario]] | genre = * [[Alternative rock]] *[[hard rock]] | length = 48:06 | label = [[Anthem Records|Anthem]], [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] | producer = {{Hlist|[[Geddy Lee]]|[[Ben Mink]]|[[David Leonard (record producer)|David Leonard]]}} | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = The Lost Demos | next_year = 2023 | misc = {{Singles | type = studio | single1 = My Favourite Headache | single1date = November 2000 | single2 = Grace to Grace | single2date = February 2001 | single3 = Home on the Strange | single3date = 2001 }} }}
'''''My Favourite Headache''''' (also published as '''''My Favorite Headache''''', especially in the United States) is the debut solo album by [[Geddy Lee]] of [[Canadians|Canadian]] [[rock music|rock]] band [[Rush (band)|Rush]]. The album was released on November 14, 2000, by Anthem Records in Canada and [[Atlantic Records]] outside of Canada. Both the title track and "Grace to Grace" received play on [[Mainstream Rock Chart|mainstream rock radio]].
==Background== Although Lee wrote the majority of the album on bass, he was not just writing melody lines; he was also playing chords. In some cases, he multi-tracked basses into different layers of the arrangements.<ref name= when>{{Cite web| url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/geddy-lee-my-favorite-headache|title = When Geddy Lee Went Solo with 'My Favorite Headache'| website= ultimateclassicrock.com| first= Jeff |last= Giles| date= November 14, 2015 |access-date= December 19, 2023}}</ref> Lee said of the album: "I think I backed into this project. I've never had a great desire to make an individual statement, and I certainly didn't want any more attention. I satisfy so much of my musical self in the context of Rush, so I don't have any great frustrations from that point of view. But once in a while, you'd wonder, 'What's it like out there? What's it like to work with other people?'".<ref name= when /> Lee explaining how he wrote the lyrics for ''My Favourite Headache'': "Most people are like this: They think of stuff during the day. The mind goes to certain places, they remember things, and they try to figure things out. To remind yourself to write that stuff down is a great benefit. Then you come back to it and you analyze it days later, and lyrically shape what you felt when you wrote it down. For me, how I feel about what I wrote down turns into a song."<ref name= when />
{{Album ratings | MC = 58/100<ref name="Metacritic">{{cite web | url = https://www.metacritic.com/music/my-favorite-headache/geddy-lee | publisher = | work= [[Metacritic]].com | access-date = 6 June 2020 | title = My Favorite Headache}}</ref> | rev1 = [[AllMusic]] | rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-favorite-headache-mw0000099689 |title=Geddy Lee - My Favorite Headache review |last=Prato |first=Greg |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=[[Rovi]] |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref> | rev2 = ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' | rev2Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 23, 2020 |title=Geddy Lee: My Favourite Headache album review |url=https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/geddy-lee-my-favourite-headache-album-of-the-week-club-review |access-date=January 24, 2024 |website=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]}}</ref> | rev3 = The Daily Vault | rev3Score = A<ref name=vault>{{cite web |url= http://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=2490 |title=The Daily Vault Music Reviews : My Favourite Headache |first=Bruce |last=Rusk |work=dailyvault.com |year=2019 |access-date=28 January 2019}}</ref> | rev4 = ''[[Martin C. Strong|The Essential Rock Discography]]'' | rev4Score = 5/10<ref name="Strong">{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Martin Charles |title=The Essential Rock Discography |edition=8th |year=2006 |publisher=Open City Books |isbn=1-84195-860-3 |page=938–939 |chapter=Rush }}</ref> }}
==Commercial performance== ''My Favourite Headache'' peaked at No. 52 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/my-favorite-headache-mw0000099689/awards |title=My Favorite Headache Billboard Albums |work=[[AllMusic]] |publisher=[[Rovi]] |access-date=2014-06-29}}</ref> The album also reached No. 10 on Canada's Metal Albums chart.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001219183800/http://www.jamshowbiz.com:80/JamMusicCharts/METAL.html|title=METAL : Top 50}}</ref>
==Track listing== All lyrics by [[Geddy Lee]], all music by Lee and [[Ben Mink]]. {{Track listing
| title1 = My Favourite Headache | length1 = 4:45
| title2 = The Present Tense | length2 = 3:25
| title3 = Window to the World | length3 = 3:02
| title4 = Working at Perfekt | length4 = 5:00
| title5 = Runaway Train | length5 = 4:30
| title6 = The Angels' Share | length6 = 4:33
| title7 = Moving to Bohemia | length7 = 4:25
| title8 = Home on the Strange | length8 = 3:46
| title9 = Slipping | length9 = 5:06
| title10 = Still | length10 = 4:30
| title11 = Grace to Grace | length11 = 4:59 }}
==Personnel== Personnel per booklet.<ref name=MFHbooklet>{{cite AV media notes|title=My Favourite Headache|others=Geddy Lee|year=2000|type=booklet|publisher=[[Anthem Records]]}}</ref> ===Musicians=== *[[Geddy Lee]] - bass guitar, vocals, guitar, piano, programming, percussion, string arrangements, producer, engineer *[[Ben Mink]] - guitars, violins and violas, programming, string arrangements, producer, engineer *[[Matt Cameron]] - drums *[[Jeremy Taggart]] - drums on "Home on the Strange" *John Friesen - cellos on "Working at Perfekt" *Ed Wilson - additional programming *Chris Stringer - additional percussion *Waylon Wall - steel guitar on "Window to the World" *Pappy Rosen - backing vocals on "Slipping"
===Production=== *[[David Leonard (producer)|David Leonard]] - producer, engineer, mixing at [[Metalworks Studios]] *Adam Kasper, Dennis Tougas - engineers *Sam Hofstedt, Sheldon Zaharko, Chris Stringer, Tom Heron, Jeff Elliot, Joel Kazmi, Ian Bodzasi - assistant engineers *Daniel Séguin - computer technical assistance *[[Howie Weinberg]] - mastering at [[Masterdisk]], New York
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Rush}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:2000 debut albums]] [[Category:Geddy Lee albums]] [[Category:Atlantic Records albums]] [[Category:Albums produced by David Leonard (record producer)]] [[Category:Anthem Records albums]]