Holy Fuck-Frenchy’s-Holy Fuck
Although I have slagged Sisters of Mercy for not acting their age, this track is
definitely on the iPod because I am not immune to falling for childish names
for bands. I only downloaded this album for of the name of the band. I’d never
heard anything by them. I have also similarly fallen for Fuck Buttons, Fucked Up,
That Fucking Ocean and The Fucking Tanks. (Die, You Bastard!, a Japanese
hardcore punk band do not fall into the “fuck” category, but do have a sweary
name. Whilst I’d love to write about them as they are so over-the-top, I only
heard them after the iPod broke so I’ll have to forego that pleasure.) I
realise all this is not big or clever, but it is quite funny. Unlike Sisters of
Mercy.
Bands with
“fuck” in their name appear to fall into a number of fairly distinct camps.
Holy Fuck/Fuck Buttons-electronic/noise. That Fucking Ocean/The Fucking
Tanks/Fucked Up- thrash/punk/post punk/loud loud hardcore. It would be interesting to see the use of the
word in the context of a different genre of music; for instance how about The
Fucking String Quartet or Ray Suave and his Fucking Toreadors of Swing ?
Possibly not.
Of the noise
axis-Ocean/Tanks/Up, I must say I prefer the first of the three largely because
of their sub-early-Fall leanings, coming from New Zealand, having only released
one 4 track e.p and therefore more exotic and obscure than the other two….Tanks
are from London (I think) and therefore more mundane and …Up are a bit too
generically punk and therefore a bit boring.
That’s them
dealt with.
Between Holy
Fuck and Fuck Buttons I only hear a slight stylistic split when I listen to
them back -to- back for the purposes of this piece. Although both clearly owe a
debt to Faust/Can/ Neu! Etc, Holy Fuck are more at the dancey- rave end
(shorter tunes and repetitive beats) and Fuck Buttons tend towards the avant-garde
and ear-splitting noise. There isn’t that much between them in the end though.
What is not apparent is that Holy Fuck adopt a fairly puritanical position
regarding their music-no loops, sequencers, splicing-they want to make
electronic music without the latest technology. It’s electronic music made by
Luddites and what I guess the German bands would be possibly doing now if they
had grown older but the instruments remained the same as they were in the mid
70’s. Holy Fuck also use toy guns and toy synthesisers but real drums and
guitars. Their raison d’etre is that it can all be played “live” both in the
studio and on stage. I can say though, however good the music is, that I can’t
really tell. Doesn’t seem to make that much difference.
At Glastonbury in
2010 I missed the chance to see Holy F**k (as they were coyly printed on the
Glastonbury t shirts). I think they clashed with The Flaming Lips or MGMT or
someone else. I might have been disappointed-sometimes it’s better to imagine
what someone sounds like live rather than actually seeing them.
Well, that’s my
500 words. I’m fucking all typed out.
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