GO BACK AND CHANGE

Well oh well, look who's back. If it isn't the fucking Hives. Top hats and all. I don't know how many of you remember when they first made their initial splash, with Veni Vidi Vicious, in 2000. It was right about the time the White Stripes and the Strokes broke, and the music press was heralding a garage revival. The Hives and the Strokes snoozed, and missed the boat. The only band that really harnessed the momentum was the White Stripes.

Here's an oldie but goodie for you.

The Hives didn't release a follow up LP for four years. A friend of mine, who was in a band with a similar trajectory, told me back then that they were holding out for more money. For whatever reason, they ended up in garage purgatory, which is fine. Save the odd one hit wonder, I'm of the opinion that most garage bands do better in the shadows. So I'll give it to the Hives for sticking with it. And, even after all these years, their "everybody else sucks" routine still gets me. It's almost comical. They're like this cartoon band.

Here's two from the new one (one is streaming only), and a link to the whole LP streaming at Brooklyn Vegan. I've only gotten to the third song, "I Want More," which I dig quite a bit. (Go there to hear "I Want More".) I've played it three times. If you can imagine all of this thrown in a blender: Joan Jett, "Memo From Turner," David Johanson (early Dolls), X's version of "Wild Thing," and a "Shakin' All Over" type lick. The words ain't bad either. "Go Right Ahead" sounds like they were listening to TRex. You'll see what I mean. This could take a while.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen (from the new one):
The Hives - These Spectacles Reveal the Nostalgics mp3 at Ace
The Hives - Go Right Ahead (streaming) at Rolling Stone
The Hives - Lex Hives (Entire new LP, streaming) at Brooklyn Vegan
Other stuff:
The Hives - Hate to Tell You I Told You So mp3 at Surf Atlantic
The Hives - Main Offender mp3 at Burning Heart
The Hives - You Dress Up For Armageddon mp3 at Why Prime
The Hives - Tick Tick Boom mp3 at Treeswingers
The Hives - Abra Cadaver mp3 at Tune the Proletariat
The Hives - Diabolic Scheme mp3 at Music Like Dirt
Visit:
The Hives at Wikipedia
The Hives - Official site