― Huckadelphia (Horace Mann), Friday, 6 February 2004 15:22 (twenty years ago) link
They started out as a group of amateur filmmakers who wanted to do a Mansonesque movie about a Satanic cult; their first EP was supposed to be the soundtrack. As it turns out, they had so much fun doing the music that they chucked the movie idea out the window (although the original idea still echoes throughout their obsession with image). The first album (_I See Good Spirits, I See Bad Spirits_) is a fairly oppressive experience; it's actually the only album that I've listened to where I've thought "Ooh, maybe it isn't a good idea to listen to this too much." They had ties into the Chicago industrial dance scene from the beginning, but things really started to pay off with "Kooler Than Jesus" and "Nervous Xians" from the "Kooler Than Jesus" EP, which mixed a lot more house into the pot while playing up the campier side of their image. This EP also has "Devil Bunnies" on it, a song that seems to be about Satanic female mechanics who want to sex you mightily. So YAY TO THAT.
_Confessions Of A Knife_ is their best balancing act; they get the menacing camp pose down to perfection on this album and, as a result, decide their somewhat tired of that entire avenue of presentation. Their next album is _Sexplosion_, an effort best described as the spirit of Studio 54 channelled through a pentagram dipped in Esquivel. Unrelentingly disco and largely inspired by the _Confessions..._ track "Waiting For Mommie", most of the overt Satanic references are ditched in favor of all-out sexathons in the back of a leopard-print lounge.
_13 Above The Night_ was their nod to the rave scene and seen as some as their "return to form" album; the gothy mopeheads who scribbled "AND THIS IS WHAT THE DEVIL DOES" all over their spiral notebooks during study hall weren't sure what to make of _Sexplosion_'s "All we want is sex and cocaine!" vibe and welcomed the jagged synths and thumping beats. TKK took this as an indication that they should turn into the B-52's and released _Hit And Run Holiday_, an Athens-influenced surf-rock album inspired by beach party movies and almost universely despised by everyone in their fanbase who isn't me.
They've since released a film noir album (_A Crime For All Seasons_) and another EBM-goth album (_The Resurrection of Luna_) in addition to the aforementioned live album. I think there's merit to everything they've released but the true power is in their live show.
― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Friday, 6 February 2004 15:35 (twenty years ago) link
"I live for drugs!"
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 6 February 2004 15:35 (twenty years ago) link
― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Friday, 6 February 2004 15:43 (twenty years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 6 February 2004 15:45 (twenty years ago) link
― rainman (rainman), Friday, 6 February 2004 15:46 (twenty years ago) link
― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Friday, 6 February 2004 15:48 (twenty years ago) link
― mark e (mark e), Friday, 6 February 2004 15:54 (twenty years ago) link
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 6 February 2004 16:06 (twenty years ago) link
― mark e (mark e), Friday, 6 February 2004 16:23 (twenty years ago) link
― Chief Boabab (Chief Boabab), Friday, 6 February 2004 18:00 (twenty years ago) link
OTM. What a stunner.
What's your name?Secret! What's yours?
I was lucky enough to catch TKK live once, eleven or twelve years ago. They were the support act on an EMF tour, implausibly enough. Seeing their crew of Leather Goddesses and mincing drama queens burst onto the stage of a grotty cavern in pre-economic boom Dublin was... unexpected. As Mr Clean remarked in Apocalypse Now, "this sho nuff is a bizarre sight in the middle o' this shit".
― Palomino (Palomino), Friday, 6 February 2004 18:54 (twenty years ago) link
― ara, Friday, 6 February 2004 19:13 (twenty years ago) link
― tricky disco (disco stu), Friday, 6 February 2004 20:29 (twenty years ago) link
― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 13:31 (twenty years ago) link
― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 14:57 (twenty years ago) link
― Baaderist (Fabfunk), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 15:22 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 21:47 (nineteen years ago) link
― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 21:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 21:53 (nineteen years ago) link
― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 3 November 2004 21:54 (nineteen years ago) link
God, that disco bassline.
I've been searching for an mp3 of the version of "A Daisy Chain 4 Satan" that was on the CASSINGLE, without success -- all I can find is the "Acid & Flowers Mix." ;_;
― xero (xero), Friday, 20 October 2006 02:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― Baaderonixx in the year of the locusts (baaderonixx), Friday, 20 October 2006 07:08 (seventeen years ago) link
― Matt #2 (Matt #2), Friday, 20 October 2006 08:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― xero (xero), Friday, 20 October 2006 17:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:31 (seventeen years ago) link
Dug out Confessions and am really grooving on it. I've never heard a lick post Sexplosion! but everything up till then was amazing. Worth tracking down the last twenty-odd years worth of stuff? Anyone kept up with them, or heard the new remixes of the early EPs called Sinister Whisperz?
― EZ Snappin, Monday, 4 October 2010 15:20 (thirteen years ago) link
13 Above The Night and The Resurrection of Luna are worth it; everything else is kind of only-for-completists
haven't heard Sinister Whisperz
― THE CHOMPING DUCK GETS HIS FATTY OUT FOR VADAR (HI DERE), Monday, 4 October 2010 17:17 (thirteen years ago) link
Thank you sir! I'll keep my eyes open for those two.
― EZ Snappin, Monday, 4 October 2010 17:56 (thirteen years ago) link
i will break out my old man with a cane routine for the umpteenth time ans say that they lost me forever with Sexplosion!
― the great aussie ballkicking vids (jjjusten), Monday, 4 October 2010 20:06 (thirteen years ago) link
my goal for jjj's wedding is to hijack the P/A and play a bunch of post-Sexplosion! TKK
― ancient, but very sexy (DJP), Wednesday, 16 March 2011 18:56 (thirteen years ago) link
Hit and Run Holiday is kind of hilarious in its all-out quest to be the tackiest-sounding album ever recorded.
― I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) (DJP), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 14:26 (thirteen years ago) link
Dare I ask for details.
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 April 2011 14:28 (thirteen years ago) link
Ha, there aren't really that many details to be had! It sounds like a B-52s album made on a &6.66 budget.
― I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) (DJP), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 14:35 (thirteen years ago) link
Hahahaha. Anything choice on YouTube?
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 April 2011 14:39 (thirteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWYiU4-hQjM
this is the second song on the album (ignore the random anime video)
― I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) (DJP), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 14:41 (thirteen years ago) link
(previous song is "Glamour is a Rocky Road" btw)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgAwH_fPv0A
the live version of "Hot Blood Risin'"
― I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) (DJP), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 14:44 (thirteen years ago) link
Okay and that first one isn't a demo recording but the actual thing?
― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 26 April 2011 14:47 (thirteen years ago) link
hahaha
yes, that is the actual song
unsurprisingly it is a much meatier song live (or at least it was in 1997)
― I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) (DJP), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 14:48 (thirteen years ago) link
I totally understand why people hate this album so much but I think it's about a bazillion times more charming than Sexplosion
― I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) (DJP), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 14:49 (thirteen years ago) link
so, um, they're touring this fall for their 25th anniversary. Coming to town in October. Any chance it'll be worth it?
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 13 July 2012 17:16 (eleven years ago) link
"Sex on Walkers"
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 13 July 2012 17:24 (eleven years ago) link
OW! Ba-baby.
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 13 July 2012 17:27 (eleven years ago) link
I fear for this tour but I'm not gonna lie; I kind of wanna go
― I see you, Pineapple Teef (DJP), Friday, 13 July 2012 17:45 (eleven years ago) link
Not coming to Boston though. Worth a road trip to NYC? Time a trip to the old homestead around Oct. 11?
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 13 July 2012 17:50 (eleven years ago) link
Full dates here if anyone's interested.
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 13 July 2012 17:52 (eleven years ago) link
the day I die will mean NOTHING to youTHE DAY OF SWINE AND ROSES
― PITILESS LIVE SHOW (DJP), Monday, 23 July 2012 15:08 (eleven years ago) link
It sounds like a B-52s album made on a &6.66 budget.― I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) (DJP), Tuesday, April 26, 2011 9:35 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― I just like… I just have to say… (Starts crying) (DJP), Tuesday, April 26, 2011 9:35 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I can't figure out if this supposed to be a bad thing or... it certainly piqued my interest! I'm listening to snippets now and digging the cheese. I saw them somewhere circa Sexplosion! and it was definitely more vinyl gear and Manic Panic hairjobs than I've ever seen in one place.
I lolled.
― David Allan Cow (Dan Peterson), Monday, 23 July 2012 17:13 (eleven years ago) link
I can't figure out if this supposed to be a bad thing or... it certainly piqued my interest! I'm listening to snippets now and digging the cheese.
omg
I've found the one other person besides my wife who likes Hit & Run Holiday
hi-5
― PITILESS LIVE SHOW (DJP), Monday, 23 July 2012 17:30 (eleven years ago) link
grr besides my wife and me, obv
― PITILESS LIVE SHOW (DJP), Monday, 23 July 2012 17:31 (eleven years ago) link
love the t-shirt .. would totally wear that out and about
― mark e, Sunday, 5 April 2015 18:15 (nine years ago) link
It is not a bootleg, it is an official shirt. TKK recently re released it. I have a copy of the old one and the new one.This is my first time on this site. I just registered because I saw this post. I'm not sure on how to post a picture of the back of the shirt, but on the back, it has the first 7 circles of hell. That's the "official name" of the shirt. On the back, it starts with the "gate of hell" and has a line map of / layout of hell. Pretty cool shirt imo. I have almost 100 TKK shirts dating all the way back to the first tour! I have not read thru all the posts on this shirt so if this has already been answered - my apologies. I'm just a mega fan of the genre. Any other TKK questions, feel free to drop me a line under my screen name at gmail dot com. I've known the band for decades.
― lookin4you2xist, Friday, 17 April 2015 17:24 (nine years ago) link
thanks! i knew that the shirt itself is old because the tag on mine dates it somewhere from the late 80s up through the mid 90s. it's the same one as in the picture i posted, fruit of the loom 100% cotton, with a bit of the american flag across the bottom edge. of course people print modern fakes on old blanks but the plastisol print shows signs of aging so it seems legit. also there was no copyright printed on the shirt but i looked at other tkk shirts online and there didn't seem to be any on those either.
you are correct about the back of the shirt.
do you have a good guess as to when it was first produced/ with which album or tour it is associated? the occult imagery suggests it was early, compared to the acid disco bacchanal imagery of sexplosion! and later, but i don't really know. i like knowing the particulars because this shirt is an artifact of a specific place and time; it represented something to the person who originally bought and wore it. to me it makes a difference if that point in the culture is 89 or 93; my associations and the aesthetic sensation i derive just from looking at it or wearing it will be different.
― slugbuggy, Saturday, 18 April 2015 03:07 (nine years ago) link
The shirt is from the 2nd tour I believe.
― lookin4you2xist, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 18:08 (nine years ago) link
@Moka the Hit and Run Holiday single is pretty good as is the Hit and Run cd - well in my opinion ... it is good driving music
― lookin4you2xist, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 18:10 (nine years ago) link
Another rare remix is the Vinyl of Blue Buddha My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult – Blue BuddhaLabel:Interscope Records – DMD 2048
A1 Blue Buddha (Housewarming Mix)Remix – Mike Filly, Rob Sherwood5:24A2 Blue Buddha (Last Minute Dubstramental)Remix – Mike Filly, Rob Sherwood5:17B1 Blue Buddha (Soundshock's Funky Oskillator Mix)Remix – Graflin Booth, Rick Phifer9:22B2 Blue Buddha (PK Trance Dub)Remix – Graflin Booth, Rick Phifer6:00Some people do not like it as it is more of a club mix than My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult – Blue BuddhaLabel:Interscope Records – DMD 2042A1 Blue Buddha (Master Of The Ultra Flesh Mix)Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Buzz McCoy4:35A2 Blue Buddha (World's Greatest Lover Mix)Producer [Additional Production], Remix – Buzz McCoy6:09B1 Blue Buddha (3rd Floor Mix)Remix – DJ EFX & DJ Digit, Marc "Funkyman" Paley*4:36B2 Blue Buddha (Ba Baloo Extended Mix)Producer [Additional Production], Remix – John Ficarrotta, M.C. Shan*7:02
― lookin4you2xist, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 18:14 (nine years ago) link
Sorry to blow up the post but I do own every cd, 12 inch and cd singles including the Rustblade Ultra Limited tin box with cd singles etc. Same with LoA and the B-52's, huge fan of all three groups. Also have the solo Ruth stuff / Cherrie Blue and Darling Nikkie stuff from Loa I do not have all of the Jade 4 u Praga stuff, but I own over 90% of all of it. KMFDM was another group I bought all the singles of. I put a video of Cherrie Blue in Tampa on Youtube if anyone liked her in either Lords of Acid or with TKK https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_ueMUGAKR0 she was cool enough to let me copy the show I also have TKK from the same night - I did color correction them because I did not know I had shot it in night vision.Yes, she got bigger but she is still a doll imo.
― lookin4you2xist, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 18:32 (nine years ago) link
I'm finding you to be a treasure trove of information and am greatly enjoying your posts on the thread!
― DJP, Tuesday, 21 April 2015 20:01 (nine years ago) link
Just remembering that Confessions of a Knife is a perfect album
― brigadier pudding (DJP), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 15:35 (four years ago) link
it really is
― sarahell, Wednesday, 21 August 2019 15:39 (four years ago) link
what's this about repping for Red Red Groovy?
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 16:09 (four years ago) link
Oh yes, they ruled
― brigadier pudding (DJP), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 16:21 (four years ago) link
we listened to that Red Red Groovy album so much when it came out! Siouxsie rave music
― the girl from spirea x (f. hazel), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 16:36 (four years ago) link
Best youtube comment on Confessions...
In the early 90s I was playing this cd for a friend (who's Buddhist) and after 2 songs he ask me to turn it off, because he thought it was polluting his house. Which I guess is a complement.
― confusementalism (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 16:48 (four years ago) link
lol that's great
― brigadier pudding (DJP), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 17:01 (four years ago) link
cntrl-f > vanity search reveals i have told my one and only TKK story.i have recently added the debut, and a weird somewhat crappy disco remix compilation ('dirty little secrets'), to my archive, the only TKK cds i have unfortunately.but not dived back in yet.
― mark e, Wednesday, 21 August 2019 17:21 (four years ago) link
presses play on the debut : ok, i now remember that this is possibly the best opening track of any album ever.
― mark e, Wednesday, 21 August 2019 17:23 (four years ago) link
Yeah, I See Good Spirits and I See Bad Spirits is just a beautiful piece of work, also a perfect album.
― brigadier pudding (DJP), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 17:26 (four years ago) link
hang on : the opening track of my cd edition of Confessions is : 'a daisy chain 4 satan' (acid and flowers)'
i am confused as there is no track re Good Spirits/Bad Spirits !?
(was Confessions not their debut !? I always assumed it was .. )
― mark e, Wednesday, 21 August 2019 17:30 (four years ago) link
Confessions is their second album! I See Good Spirits... is the debut.
― brigadier pudding (DJP), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 17:31 (four years ago) link
("A Daisy Chain 4 Satan" is amazing tho)
ahh just checked .. rookie error. sorry DJP.life before t'internet meant that for 30 years i had assumed Confessions was their debut.apologies.
[obvious xp]
― mark e, Wednesday, 21 August 2019 17:32 (four years ago) link
ok, i see why now.no cd edition of the debut released in the UK until the reissue in 2004.i have never seen the cover of the debut in any racks ever in the UK.
― mark e, Wednesday, 21 August 2019 17:34 (four years ago) link
I See Good Spirits and I see Bad Spirits is still my fave. I've listened to "These Remains" a lot recently; so lovely.
― stirmonster, Wednesday, 21 August 2019 18:16 (four years ago) link
KOOLER THAN JESUS!!
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 18:16 (four years ago) link
don't sleep on Cuz It's Hot, either
― brigadier pudding (DJP), Wednesday, 21 August 2019 18:17 (four years ago) link
Confessions is indeed so so good. Need to dig that back out soon.
― FUCK YOUR POTATO (Neanderthal), Thursday, 22 August 2019 00:00 (four years ago) link
Cuz it’s Hot single (EP?) is how I discovered them at the goth club night. Remains their absolute pinnacle
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Thursday, 22 August 2019 06:08 (four years ago) link
great band
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Thursday, 22 August 2019 08:44 (four years ago) link
kinda feel like they should be super on trend but somehow kids skipped them in favor of more obvious commercial touchpoints like NiN & manson
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Thursday, 22 August 2019 08:45 (four years ago) link
It didn't have that pent-up aggro vibe that pushes most teen's buttons, their whole hedonistic disco vibe always seemed more seedy and grown up
― licorice oratorio (baaderonixx), Thursday, 22 August 2019 08:58 (four years ago) link
... wow i love this band
― american bradass (BradNelson), Sunday, 8 December 2019 06:58 (four years ago) link
just heard confessions of a knife and sexplosion! for the first time recently and wow
― american bradass (BradNelson), Sunday, 8 December 2019 06:59 (four years ago) link
i'm probably not going to go any further but based on the first four albums and their contemporaneous singles, this is my favorite band of all time
― american bradass (BradNelson), Wednesday, 11 December 2019 03:37 (four years ago) link
Brad!! you should absolutely hear the 5th album, as well as this comp:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_Little_Secrets:_music_to_STRIP_by...
― ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Friday, 17 July 2020 01:17 (three years ago) link