View source for The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[The Streets]]
| cover      = The Streets-thehardestwaytomakeaneasyliving.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = 10 April 2006
| recorded   = October–November 2005
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      = [[Alternative hip hop]], [[electronic music|electronic]]
| length     = 37:18
| label      = [[Locked On Records|Locked On]]
| producer   = [[Mike Skinner (musician)|Mike Skinner]]
| prev_title = [[A Grand Don't Come for Free]]
| prev_year  = 2004
| next_title = [[Everything Is Borrowed]]
| next_year  = 2008
}}
'''''The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living''''' is the third studio album by [[Mike Skinner (musician)|Mike Skinner]], under the music project [[The Streets]]. It was released on 10 April 2006 in the United Kingdom and 25 April 2006 in North America. It is also the shortest The Streets album released so far, with a running time of just 37 minutes and 12 seconds. [[The Mitchell Brothers]] and [[Ted Mayhem]], two of Skinner's protégés, make guest appearances on the album.
==Content==
The album deals with the ideas of celebrity and success, partly in relation to Skinner's greater fame after the success of the first two The Streets albums.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-03-19 |title=The Streets, The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living |url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2006/mar/19/shopping.thestreets |access-date=2022-12-02 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> There are several references to recreational drug use.
The final track, "Fake Streets Hats", is about an incident that happened during the 2004 edition of the Dutch [[Lowlands festival]], where a drunk [[The Streets|Mike Skinner]] openly protested against the handing out of white hats with "The Streets" written on them, because he thought they were fake, and thus illegal merchandise. The hats actually were promotional material from his label, Warner.<ref>{{cite news|work=De Volkskrant|title=Een gelouterde Skinner|date=13 April 2006}}</ref> Mike Skinner also sees the song as a personal reflection on plagiarism in general.
==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
| MC = 72/100<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/the-hardest-way-to-make-an-easy-living|title=Reviews for The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living by The Streets|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r836018|pure_url=yes}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
| rev2Score = B−<ref name="avclub">{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/the-streets-the-hardest-way-to-make-an-easy-living-1798201634|title=The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living &middot; The Streets &middot; Music Review The Streets: The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living &middot; Music Review &middot; The A.V. Club|date=26 April 2006 |publisher=[[The A.V. Club]]|access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev3Score = A−<ref name="cduniverse">{{cite web|url=http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=7048665|title=The Streets Producer - Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living CD Album|publisher=cduniverse.com|access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev4Score = 8/10<ref name="nme">{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/streets/7903|title=The Streets: The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living |work=NME|date=7 April 2006 |access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev5Score = 7.0/10<ref>Pytlik, Mark. "[https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/7534-the-hardest-way-to-make-an-easy-living/ The Streets: The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living", Pitchfork.com, April 10, 2006.]</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev6Score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>May 2006, p.116</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Robert Christgau]]''
| rev7Score = A<ref name="robertchristgau">{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=13304|title=Robert Christgau: Album: The Streets: The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|publisher=robertchristgau.com|access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060423155106/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/9940887/rid/9961175/ Rollingstone] 05/04/06</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Slant Magazine]]''
| rev9Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="slantmagazine">{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=797|title=Music &#124; Slant Magazine|publisher=slantmagazine.com|access-date=2 August 2016}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[Under the Radar (magazine)|Under the Radar]]''
| rev10Score = 9/10<ref>Throughout, Skinner's production is more precise, his hooks more pointed and polished, and his writing more clever and poignant. [#13, p.89]</ref>
}}
Critical response for the album was generally positive, scoring 72/100 on [[Metacritic]]. However, this score is lower than his previous two albums, scoring 90/100 and 91/100 respectively. In a mixed review, Prefix Magazine said "With about half the tracks on this record falling short, Skinner would seem to be teetering on the edge of irrelevance. But even the failed tracks here sound interesting, and if he's lost his way somewhat thematically, it's all in the name of searching for his new voice." In a much more positive review, ''[[The Village Voice]]'' Consumer Guide said "His comic timing and mixture of slangs--not to mention his musical conception... are all so much more fully developed that he's actually made a record that's fun to play in the background." ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' named Skinner "the perfect poet for this snooze of a topic." In a negative review, ''[[Stylus Magazine]]'' described the album as "an exercise in empty nothingness. But it’s not Bacchanalian coked-out excess nothingness, it's the joyless hollow-eyed actions of a man who is waiting for the next fix and doesn't care what bullshit has to come out of his lips in order to get paid."
==Track listing==
All tracks are written by Mike Skinner
# "Prangin' Out" – 3:49
# "War of the Sexes" – 3:26
# "The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living" – 3:13
# "All Goes Out the Window" – 3:32
# "Memento Mori" – 2:36
# "Can't Con an Honest John" – 3:40
# "[[When You Wasn't Famous]]" – 3:18
# "[[Never Went to Church]]"  – 3:32
# "Hotel Expressionism" – 3:33
# "Two Nations" – 3:05
# "Fake Streets Hats" – 3:12
==Charts==
{{col-start}}
{{col-2}}
===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2006)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Australia|16|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Austria|42|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Flanders|19|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Wallonia|72|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Denmark|9|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|70|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|France|122|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Germany4|25|id=32355|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Ireland2|3|artist=The Streets|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|New Zealand|21|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Norway|16|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Scotland|1|date=20060416|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|19|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Switzerland|19|artist=The Streets|album=The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|UK2|1|date=20060416|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|Billboard200|68|artist=The Streets|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardDanceElectronic|1|artist=The Streets|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|-
{{album chart|BillboardIndependent|3|artist=The Streets|rowheader=true|access-date=18 July 2021}}
|}
{{col-2}}
===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! scope="col"| Chart (2006)
! scope="col"| Position
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums (OCC)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2006.pdf|title=2006 UK Albums Chart|publisher=ChartsPlus|access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref>
| 104
|-
! scope="row"| US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (''Billboard'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2006/dance-electronic-albums|title=Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2006|magazine=Billboard|access-date=18 July 2021}}</ref>
| 20
|}
{{col-end}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}
{{The Streets}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living, The}}
[[Category:2006 albums]]
[[Category:679 Artists albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Mike Skinner (musician)]]
[[Category:The Streets albums]]