''Helter Stupid'' is

Negativland Negativland is an American experimental music band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! track, while their record label (Seeland Records) is named after another Neu! track. The core ...

's fifth studio album, released in 1989. It is a concept album that focuses on a hoax that the band started, which claimed that the Negativland song "Christianity Is Stupid" inspired a teenager to murder his family with an axe.

Structure

The first half of the album is composed of the tracks "Prologue" and "Helter Stupid". The two together form an extended piece lasting over 22 minutes. The concept, and some of the sampled material, came from a

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

television news program that was duped by a media hoax perpetrated by Negativland while promoting its previous album, ''

Escape from Noise ''Escape from Noise'' is the fourth studio album by Negativland. It marked the band's first release on an established independent record label, SST Records. On the album, they continued to develop their experimental style, as well as incorporating ...

''. Other samples used included those from Rev.

Estus Pirkle Estus Washington Pirkle (March 12, 1930 – March 3, 2005) was an American Baptist minister, evangelist, and filmmaker. Early life Estus Washington Pirkle was born in Vienna, Georgia on March 12, 1930. He was one of ten children to Grover Wa ...

(further samples from the same sermon used in "

Christianity Is Stupid "Christianity Is Stupid" is a song from Negativland's 1987 concept album, ''Escape from Noise''. Background In the song, Negativland rearranges words and phrases to form a different meaning. They sampled phrases from a sermon by Estus Pirkle (fro ...

"), an interview with

Charles Manson Charles Milles Manson (; November 12, 1934November 19, 2017) was an American criminal and musician who led the Manson Family, a cult based in California, in the late 1960s. Some of the members committed a series of nine murders at four loca ...

, and what was the band's most brazenly unauthorized sample to date: " Helter Skelter" by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

. Parts of the "Perfect Cut" tracks on Side 2 draw from samples of ''"The Winning Score"'', a 1977 presentation by

TM Century Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such ...

, producers of radio

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually t ...

s and imaging. In 2000, the band

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () were a British rock band formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the 1998 Brit Awards. Other singles include "Amnesia", " Enou ...

, in reply to the EP ''

The ABCs of Anarchism ''The ABCs of Anarchism'' is an EP by American electronic group Negativland and British rock band Chumbawamba. A three-track collection, it incorporates samples of songs from Chumbawamba's ''Tubthumper'' (1997) as well as music by the then-curre ...

'', used this album as one of their main sampling sources of ''

WYSIWYG In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, is a system in which editing software allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed d ...

''.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' wrote that "as inspired propagandists coming to terms with an ability to manipulate the truth, Negativland shifted their mindfuck campaign to a higher plane with ''Helter Stupid''. '' The Rough Guide to Rock'' called ''Helter Stupid'' "probably

he band's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

best and most accessible album."

Track listing

#"Prologue" #"

Helter Stupid ''Helter Stupid'' is Negativland's fifth studio album, 1989 in music, released in 1989. It is a concept album that focuses on a hoax that the band started, which claimed that the Negativland song "Christianity Is Stupid" inspired a teenager to m ...

" #"The Perfect Cut (Canned Music)" #"The Perfect Cut (Rooty Poops)" #"The Perfect Cut (Good As Gold)" #"The Perfect Cut (Piece of Meat)" #"The Perfect Cut (White Rabbit And A Dog Named Gidget)" #"The Perfect Cut (11 Minutes)" #"The Perfect Cut (48 Hours)"

Personnel

*Richard Lyons (credited as "Dick Vaughn") *David Wills (uncredited) * Don Joyce (uncredited) *Mark Hosler (uncredited) *Chris Grigg (uncredited)

Musical Samples

- " Helter Skelter" *

King Floyd King Floyd (February 13, 1945 – March 6, 2006) was a New Orleans soul singer and songwriter, best known for his top 10 hit from 1970, " Groove Me". Early career King Floyd III was born in New Orleans in 1945. His musical career started as a ...

- "Groove Me" *

Carol Douglas Carol Douglas (born April 7, 1948) is an American singer whose hit " Doctor's Orders" (1974) was a pioneering track in the disco genre. Early life and acting career Carol Douglas was born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, United ...

- " Doctor's Orders" *

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use o ...

- "

Lovin' You "Lovin' You" is a song recorded by American singer Minnie Riperton from her second studio album, ''Perfect Angel'' (1974). It was written by Riperton and Richard Rudolph, produced by Rudolph and Stevie Wonder, and released as the album's fourth s ...

" *

Tavares Tavares may refer to: Places Brazil *Tavares, Paraíba *Tavares, Rio Grande do Sul *Rodovia Raposo Tavares, the longest highway in São Paulo *Tavares Bastos (favela), a favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil *Tavares River Jamaica *Tavares Garden ...

- "

Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel" is a disco song written by Freddie Perren and Keni St. Lewis. It was recorded by the American band Tavares in 1976. It was released as the first single from their fourth album, '' Sky High!'' (1976), and was spl ...

" & "

It Only Takes a Minute "It Only Takes a Minute" is a 1975 song by American soul/ R&B group Tavares, released as the first single from their third album, '' In the City'' (1975). The song was the group's only top-10 pop hit in the United States, peaking at number 10, a ...

" * Zapp (unidentified) *

Brothers Johnson The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of American musicians and brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, ...

- "

Strawberry Letter 23 "Strawberry Letter 23" is a 1971 song written and composed by Shuggie Otis from his 1971 album '' Freedom Flight''. It is also widely known by the 1977 cover version recorded by the Brothers Johnson and produced by Quincy Jones. History The ...

" *

Brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...

- "

Dazz "Dazz" is a song by R&B/funk band Brick. "Dazz" is a combination of disco, funk and jazz, hence the title "Dazz", a combination denominator for "Disco Jazz". Released in 1976 from their debut album '' Good High'', it would become their bigges ...

" *

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

- "

This Will Be "This Will Be" is a song written by Chuck Jackson and Marvin Yancy, arranged by Richard Evans and performed by American singer Natalie Cole. Often appended with "(An Everlasting Love)" but not released as such, this was Cole's debut single, releas ...

" *

Joe Tex Yusuf Hazziez (born Joseph Arrington Jr.; August 8, 1935 – August 13, 1982), known professionally as Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the style ...

- " I Gotcha" *

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

- " Love to Love You Baby" *

Bebu Silvetti Juan Fernando Silvetti Adorno (27 March 1944 – 5 July 2003), professionally known as Bebu Silvetti or simply Silvetti, was an Argentine- born Mexican pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, and record producer. In the 1970s he moved to M ...

- "Spring Rain" *

Bill Summers Bill Summers may refer to: * Bill Summers (car builder) (1935–2011), American car builder and longtime speed record holder * Bill Summers (musician) (born 1948), American jazz percussionist *Bill Summers (umpire) William Reed Summers (November ...

& Summer Heat - "Jam the Box" *

Mungo Jerry Mungo Jerry are a British rock band, formed by Ray Dorset in Ashford, Middlesex in 1970. Experiencing their greatest success in the early 1970s, with a changing lineup always fronted by Ray Dorset, the group's biggest hit was "In the Summertime ...

- "

In the Summertime "In the Summertime", released in 1970, is the debut single by British rock band Mungo Jerry. It reached number one in charts around the world, including seven weeks on the UK Singles Chart, two weeks on one of the Canadian charts, and number t ...

References

{{Authority control 1989 albums Concept albums Negativland albums