list of involuntary reactions to the new le tigre 'single'

Hopefully they both kill each other. I used to harbor a good deal of respect for Kathleen, but alas, Le Tigre is Teh Suck indeed.

It's tempting to tell emo boys to take a hint.

and anthony, if you can find a hook in this song's swamp of slogans and garbage, more power to you. me, i'm not so inclined to be soft on something just to be 'contrarian'

umm, are you saying I am?

fuckin' hell.

"PEACE."

Best case for "selling out" = "sucking" ever.

I still think the Julie Ruin album is fantastic.

i kind of liked it, but who would want to listen to this more than once??

oh shit, that's even worse? How is that possible? Is it a backwards loop of a song from Reveal with Stipe screaming "Bush is a poopie" over it? Cuz even that'd be better than "New Kicks."

on the plus side, it made the gravy train!!! record i listened to shortly after sound almost palatable

and believe me, this and Gravy Train Chk Chk Chk Chk are like [insert individual godhead here] compared to Scream Club, who have made the absolute end-of-discussion worst album of 2004. why do I say this? because if I hear a worse one I will fucking kill myself.

Yeah, Steve Earle might be as good as it gets right now. I'm pissed that Desaparecidos couldn't get it together to make their sophomore album. It was supposed to be out by april but evidently Conor's too busy reliving The Rolling Thunder Revue and CSN tours.

bikini kill classics: 'new radio'/'rebel girl,' side a of 'pussy whipped,' and 'carnival'

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/universalmotown/universal/le_tigre/video/00_newkicks.asx

THIS IS THE VIDEO

http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg http://img49.photobucket.com/albums/v151/bettymariebarnes/summertimefun/4.jpg

http://www.trekconnection.com/pictures/ST_2/PICTURES/other/09122002113601.jpg

TELL ME U FUCKS?!!!!

If you're saying this about Wolf Eyes, then you're as clueless as I thought.

Dude, I'm dedicating my first yuengling tonight to Jess! PA's finest!

fuck you "stence."

night all.

damn, well, okay jess, sorry brody. "Don't take it personal."

what is funny is that a major label PAID for this.

The new Le Tigre single reminds me of that not-gonna-play-Sun-City song. Or a commercial for acne cream or Doritos or something. (Seeing it with the visuals really feels that way). Are they acting dumber on purpose because they're on a major label?

I do like the dresses in the video though, except mine would say "Douches and Asshattery" all over it.

(ironically enough, the show tonight - rather brief - featured an SY/Blonde Redhead type combo)

haha the second I start posting something on a board that has nothing to do with me the noisefool contingent blows things apart, how appropriate.

Overall, it was far too non-threateningly dorky to spill hateorade all over. Still, throughout the video I wanted to see Hanna and co. interact with the gentleman featured in the link below...
http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/07.18.02/activist-0229.html

then allow me to just say....waaaaah.

LE TIGRE'S "PEACE! WAR!" BRINGS BACK THE SA-SA-SA-SA-SAMPLER S-S-S-SAMPLER OF POLI-POLI-POLITICAL AWARENESS-NESS-NESS-NESS!

1985 IZ BACK AND STRONG! SISTERS ARE DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES!

Le Tigre No Lie and let me introduce you to my good friend Mayor Armstrong.

http://www.cityofdefiance.com/

Okay, so, finally I now hear this thing.

*listens*

Hahahah. It's Tommy Stone's "People Rocking People" song crossed with a Bugle Boy ad from 1993! This should be the opening credit theme for the world's worst Afterschool Special.

I want to rub this song's face in crunchy underwear.

Or maybe the really tragic thing is how all the criticisms of Le Tigre anyone ever made that were borderline, a little bit harsh or even way out of order, pretty much hold true for this song.

except it's not subtle at all. sigh.

2004 - "Peace! Now! Peace! Now!"

I suspect the Le Tigre single will not get to number two in the charts.

That said, I still like the Julie Ruin album.

So, I'm not feeling any extreme hatred for this track. It sounds like a sequel to "Dyke March 2001" with big/clean mainstream production. The political rhetoric? This isn't really a surprise coming from Kathleen Hanna. Bizarre choice for a single, though.

Also: I listened just long enough to hear K-Han quote Eleanor Roosevelt: "It's not enough to just talk about peace, you have to believe in it. And it's not enought to just believe in peace, you have to do something about it. And that's what we're doing: doing something about it!" What? By putting out a shitty, facile song?

also, as an aside, what does democracy smell like?

but yeah basketball, wtf??

http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Club/9440/wgafawgui.jpg

Well, one tries. ;-)

Still, bad call. Very bad call. I can think of a lot of records that got fucked over commercially by releasing a weak first single, and I predict that this will cripple the record's sales.

Le Tigre probably felt that it was important to get this song out there before the RNC. I can't think of any other rational motivation.

And oh god yes, this is going to be WBAI's friggin' theme song very soon.

We're talking about a band comprised of three women here. ZING!

As for creative reinterpretation, they said they covered it because it conveyed their general feeling playing a concert to their fans.

Hmmm.

Tonight I could be with you
Or waiting in the Wings
Lift your heart with soaring song
Cut down the puppet strings
Cut down the puppet strings

I wear a coat of drums
And dance upon your eyes
Turn the tables upside down
Change the lows to highs
Change the lows to highs

I fill you up with butterflies
Crown the heads of kings
Be glad of first night nerves
For fear gives courage wings
Fear gives courage wings

If I am on the sidelines
Chances are you'll miss
Wait alone and spotlit
For Doctor Theatre's kiss

The stage becomes a ship in flames
I tie you to the mast
Throw your body overboard
The spotlight doesn't last
The spotlight doesn't last

I could be with you
Or waiting in the wings
Lift your heart with soaring song
Cut down the puppet strings
Cut down the puppet strings

I may tap you on the shoulder
And whisper "go" in red
Strip your feet of lead my friend
Strip your feet of lead

Call the curtain
Raise the roof
Spirits on tonight

Call the curtain
Raise the roof
Spirits on tonight

Call the curtain
Raise the roof
Spirits on tonight

We love our audience

Dave Q I kiss you.

"lesbian wannabe"? what the hell are you talking about?

Man, you're bold.

i'm not a big kathleen hanna fan though. i was always more of a huggy bear fan. she was cute in that sonic youth video though. but even that: i mean she's no lung leg. but then sonic youth weren't the same sonic youth by then, so it makes sense that they would choose a 2nd gen toothless version of fierce female to hang their senior bus passes on. riot girl was too cutesy for me. i like freaks and geeks too much. most of those dilletantes weren't passionate enough to shine dawn crosby's boots. never heard of dawn crosby? yeah, i didn't think so. she wasn't pouty enough. (that cassavettes song was silly though! i'll bet sofia coppola liked that one.)

this means that le tigre's song should be judged especially for its political content?

(PS2: The video shows a banner that says 'Wars shouldn't be started by draft dodgers.' I'd just like to say that the last three words are redundant and cloud the message, and should have been left out, or pixellated, to erase the silly idea that someone who had served in the military would have the right to start a war.)

Politics and aesthetics can be tangled up, but a bad song is just this and nothing more. Some Eisenstein movies could have a disturbing Stalinist subtext, still they remain a good film (bad comparison, I know, but first thing I could made up).

John Lennon, author of 'Give Peace A Chance', a song I'm glad exists.

Two, one two three four
Ev'rybody's talking about
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, is-m, is-m, is-m.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

C'mon
Ev'rybody's talking about Ministers,
Sinisters, Banisters and canisters
Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes,
And bye bye, bye byes.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

Let me tell you now
Ev'rybody's talking about
Revolution, evolution, masturbation,
flagellation, regulation, integrations,
meditations, United Nations,
Congratulations.

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

Ev'rybody's talking about
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer,
Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna,
Hare, Hare Krishna

All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance

'Have you confessed your sins to Jesus?
My dear boy, get this:
The sin of your body was invented by a gang of holy quacks.
If you like their invention, that's your business.
I don't.
Practice of the common virtues of honesty, kindness, understanding, consideration for mankind
Has nothing to do with religion and never has
Had anything to do with it.
And religion as it is practiced is one of the curses of the race.'

A final lesson of our comparison is this: the
Zen Buddhists do not think differently than the
Western philosophers. When it comes to defining
truth and articulating the metaphysical assumptions
behind the practieal application of
this theory, the difference between the traditions
is slight. The Zen and Aristotelian/Thomistic
traditions diverge only when they consider what the
purpose of thinking is and what the basic
relationship between man and world is.
Aristotle/Thomas and Hui-neng/Lin-chi/Dogen are not
sets of writers who think differently; they are
groups of philosophers who disagree about what we
should think about.
(B.P.Kasulis, Philosophy East and West)

heaven,
hell
countries,
things to kill or die for
religion
war
possesions
greed
hunger
property

Things affirmed by 'Imagine':

sky
living for today
peace
dreams
brotherhood
sharing
unity

in my opinion, lennon's nihilism is based on the refuse/repulsion of what is (or has been considered) the simple truth of human condition: war AND peace, heaven AND sky, property AND sharing etc. A world without the idea of god would be maybe better, surely wouldn't be human. utopia is nihilistic almost by definition.
by the way, i've always been surprised by the ecumenical (no pun here) success of this song, even at Republican conventions!, despite its content...

sorry my english isn't good enough so i cannot properly explain me...

Is it on SLSK at all?

The peoblem, maybe, is that people were taking them seriosuly before this came out.

But this song really isn't awful or anything, just not as good.
It's looking like the member they lost after the first LP was key, isn't it?

B-but it's the same rhythm used on 'We Didn't Start The Fire' by Billy Joel!

Momus, are you being "ironic" or is there something wrong with your brain?

until the NO BLOOD FOR OIL part

As far as this le tigre is concerned, I have access to a recording of Eleanor Roosevelt telling a racist joke about the Japanese while entertaining troops, if we're all curious about what democracy sounds like.

But for the video, hey: they're shootin' hoops, brah!

PLEASE!
I'M DESPERATE!!!

No wonder I loathe it so much.

download

streaming

now for my 2c., awfulness is partly due to an affected earnestness, faux-naif, purposefully artless, etc. approach that le tigre seems to be adopting more and more. I think this also applies to the beasties protest song a while back that was received with equal disdain and horror. (not that it mitigates against their bad-ness, just a hunch on the "why")

a little bit of background for you. not so long ago, straight white middle-class feminists were being criticised by other feminists for claiming to represent women when in fact they were espousing a straight white middle-class perspective on womanhood. Now when a woman supports lesbian politics, its a cromw cos apparently its "co-opting". perhaps some people around here think straight women should go back to their old heterosexist ways??

hey, and having a 16 year old girlfriend, while it might get you a bunch of envy round here, doesn't make your statement about "dumb 13 year old chicks" or whatever any less patronising and hateful.

By the way, I just heard TKO on a Universal sampler I got from the record store where I work and it's much better.

Sara

combat rock!? step aside!

it rolllllllllls, dig it!

As it stands, it's about as subversive as a Rage Against The Machine t-shirt.

oh wait, you meant GIRLS who want to be...never mind...

i don't know anyone who thinks KH is gay, i must be out of the loop. i guess what i meant was that your point seemed to be "you can only sing about 'lesbian stuff' (which KH hardly ever does anyway except as a gesture of support) if you're a lesbian and if you're not you can't be taken seriously," which seems more than a little dubious to me (do you hate DAVID BOWIE?). but i guess you'll just give me one of those "yeah whatever i don't care much PS have i mentioned this song SUCKS?" answers so hey, forget it.

well, i've never banged on about it but....

my opinion of the song has nothing to do with lesbians or kathleen hanna though (i like a lot of le tigre's other stuff). it just sucks.

-- arch Ibog (archibog...), August 20th, 2004.

But that link doesn;t work (for me) using WinXP and IE6.
Where is it here?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v360/morethanrats/universal2.jpg

Or is it somewhere here?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v360/morethanrats/universal1.jpg

because the scrollbar arrows don't work for me.
I'm bot stupid, I'm using a common browser and I've tried hard to find the video, but I can't. Universal need new web-designers!

Shame. Song's terrible, but I want to see the vid too.

KG

When listening to a KORN track brings you back to some semblance of balance, you know you've been exposed to an awful song. I mean, the simple sloganeering and all don't bother me nearly as much as the feeling that I've heard this song about 500 times since 1988, only it was called "Def Con One"/"Touched By The Hand Of Cicciolina"/"You And Me And Everything"/"Cocaine Sex"/"Psyche-Out"/"World In Motion"/etc.

it sounds like EBN trying to "go positive" - not as bad as people here have been saying, for exactly the reasons Dan points out in his last sentence, but just as bad as a positive-thinking, slow-tempo EBN record would be

i think some "show, don't tell" might be in order here

oh, Nelly!

Also FOR THE RECORD another listen shows that this song is, um, really really embarrassing. It's like they listened to On-U Sound System and said, "You know what would really make this style great? MAKING IT SUCK LIKE VACUUM!"

I am all for facile sloganeering but this doesn't work for me (largely because it is shit). Following it up with Limited Warranty's "The Man In The Can" is giving me great pleasure, though.

Also Consolidated had much better beats what with the Jack Dangers influence.

the only thing that lends his opinion any interest here is that fact that it's contrary to the general tone of the thread. but the actual reasoning behind it is pathetic: politics and aesthetics are inextricable; the song opposed u.s. entry into a war that momus rightly opposed as well; hence, it is a good song. i don't think he would brave this "logic" elsewhere would it not have allowed for a "controversial" opinion.

women be shopping

One thing I'll say for this piece of garbage, it makes Ministry sound as hard as they did in 1989. "Thieves" and "Burning Inside" are real palette-cleansers.

WE ARE LENE LOVICH UND NEEEEEEEENNA XXXXHHHHAAGEN

AND WE ASK YOU TO...

DON'T KEEL THE ANEEMALZ
DON'T KEEL THE ANEEMALZ
THE ANEEMALZ ARE FREE
FREEEEE, FREEEEE, FREEEEE, FREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

And this album cover is pretty classic:

This is what democracy looks like; this is what democracy sounds like!

On February 15, 2003, Le Tigre members JD Samson, Johanna Fateman and Kathleen Hanna joined hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in chanting this refrain to protest the impending US war on Iraq. Though it was a massive march, one that mirrored hundreds of others around the world that day, it ended up barely a soundbite in the news later that evening. But J.D. captured it all on her mini-disc recorder, and the refrain became the rallying cry on "New Kicks," the first single off of Le Tigre's major-label debut, This Island.

"New Kicks" is constructed from samples of dissenting voices at that rally, layered over jagged guitar riffs and a kick-up-your-heels drumbeat. It's a buoyant exercise in radical documentation, a tribute to resistance, and a reflection of Le Tigre's deep convictions that it's within their artistic scope to hold policy-makers--and the media interests that represents them--accountable for their actions.

The idea of democratic process speaks volumes about how Le Tigre work together, and why it is so difficult to ascribe fixed roles to the band-mates. They work on every track as a team, picking out samples, making beats, adding keyboard lines, guitar parts, and vocals, passing their hard-drives back and forth. JD explains, "After our 2002 summer tour, we each got identical Protools setups for our apartments. We became totally compatible, able to pick up where the other left off in the song-writing process." Adds Kathleen, "This time we had so much more control, so many more options because we were able to do non-linear editing in our home studios – it was like going from a typewriter to a computer."

Le Tigre co-produced This Island with Nicholas Sansano, renowned for his studio work with Sonic Youth and Public Enemy, and the band says he was instrumental in tailoring much of This Island for the dancefloor. But Le Tigre still write all of their material and each is a innovative producer in her own right. "I think just 'cuz we're women, people tend to think that somebody else is writing all our songs. But we do it all ourselves. We don’t have The Matrix over here, or a team of male DJs making our beats for us," says Kathleen.

The result of Le Tigre's collaboration is a deliriously addictive, hybrid sound the band calls "feminist punk electronic music." It's a mix of drum-machine samples, synth hooks, buzzing guitar loops, gang vocals, and foolproof bass-lines. "TKO" and "After Dark" -- which will be released as the first radio singles off the album -- are the irresistibly danceable, anthemic tracks with thought-provoking lyrics that fans worldwide have come to expect from the band. But this time Le Tigre's signature style has been taken to the next level -- their underground aesthetics are thrown into relief by a strategic pop sheen, and the sonic richness of This Island matches the band’s ambition to, as Kathleen says, "make our message something you can feel in your body."

Those who recall Hanna, and her former band Bikini Kill, as an influential voice in the early '90s feminist punk-rock riot grrrl movement, won't be surprised that songs like "New Kicks" and the hair-raising anti-Bush screed "Seconds" are blistering indictments of the current administration. But what may raise eyebrows is how deep This Island delves into the personal lives of the band members such as the hauntingly beautiful "Tell You Now," (produced by the legendary Cars frontman Ric Ocasek) and "Don't Drink Poison," which pairs a sped-up guitar riff and frenetic beat to a "story about feminist espionage." Johanna explains that the lyrics refer to " the coded way we communicate with each other, and how we survive together as a band through bizarre and alienating situations. " There is also "Viz" (an abbreviation for "visibility") which is both an intimate narration of J.D.'s experience as a butch in the public eye, and a hooky club track celebrating lesbian cultural presence and queer community.

Le Tigre's roots go all the way back to a Bikini Kill show in Portland, Oregon: Johanna, in the audience, was impressed and intrigued, and approached Kathleen to give her a copy of her feminist art zine, Snarla. The two became fast friends, and when Kathleen moved to New York soon after producing her first solo venture, Julie Ruin, she asked to Johanna to help her produce it for the stage. The two ended up writing new songs altogether, along with their friend video-maker Sadie Benning. Shortly after the release of Le Tigre's self-titled debut, Sadie left the band to pursue her art career, and JD Samson, formerly a technician/roadie with the band, became a full-fledged member of Le Tigre.

Since then, they have released the EP From the Desk of Mr. Lady, the album Feminist Sweepstakes, and a collection of remixes. And while Le Tigre has garnered much praise for their catchy and risk-taking recordings, their electrifying stage show has won them a loyal and passionate following. With video accompaniment, choreography, and matching outfits they show their commitment to "putting on a show," and have established themselves as an unmatched live phenomenon. Le Tigre has toured extensively -- in the United States, Europe, and Japan -- and most recently performed at this past April's Coachella, the alternative music festival in the Southern California desert.

But Johanna holds firm that while Le Tigre has grown -- they are poised for the release of their most musically sophisticated record yet on the major label Strummer/Universal -- the band's values have not changed. They are keeping one foot firmly planted in the underground, evidenced by the launch of their own independent label, Le Tigre Records, on which they will re-release their entire back catalog. Says Johanna, "Our D.I.Y. background and our history with Mr. Lady, which was a small, radical-feminist lesbian label, is a really important part of who we are today. Without that history we wouldn't have the confidence and ambition to seek a wider audience."

"We want to kick the door open for more radical art to be better funded, and we want to have a greater influence on culture as a whole," she continues. To that end, each band member is involved in other projects and has strong ties to an overlapping feminist/art/music scene. Kathleen recently wrote the preface to Scheherazade, an all-women's comic book anthology edited by Megan Kelso, and curated a gallery show of work by conceptual photographer Tammy Rae Carland; Johanna co-wrote a catalog essay for the 2004 Whitney biennial; J.D. created a lesbian calendar in collaboration with photographer Cass Bird, and is also in a band called the New England Roses.

With pivotal issues like gay marriage, the right to choose, and a seemingly irresolvable war all coming to a head right now, Kathleen says, "It's incredibly important for us to have a presence in pop culture right now. JD adds, "We're excited to challenge mainstream media–I think people are ready for it."

hmmm

On 2 listens, it sounds like a punky Solex being produced by Ladytron.

But hell yeah, talk about lack of subtlety and humour.

Ned OTM:
This should be the opening credit theme for the world's worst Afterschool Special.

"frequently leaves you feeling like you're being harangued by Buffy the Vampire Slayer's right-on classmate" = "I can no longer be bothered to make any effort to hide my hatred of young women"

Should I see the Julie Ruin tonight?

The Hit Reset album has gotten some good reviews, but I haven't listened to it yet

Gig is sold out tonight. Will check the album out on Spotify and look for live videos. Pitchfork, Spin and Ann Powers (for NPR) rank it highly, but will see for myself.