Often, when you find a new and exciting act, the tendency is to rush off in search of more of their material.
In 1992 I fell for the industrial-hip-hop of the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. The word on the street was that band had evolved from an earlier incarnation, known as The Beatnigs. Try as I might, I couldn’t find a copy of their only album anywhere in Melbourne (the web and e-commerce was only but a twinkle in Al Gore’s eye back then).
Many years later, as Disposables’ front man Michael Franti was morphing into some sort of Marley-Harper-Jesus hybrid super-being, I finally purchased it on-line.
This album is driven by a mix of samples, industrial clanging and spoken word (think Gil Scott-Heron without the cool factor). The content is overtly political, peppered with soundbites from Reaganite US and apartheid South Africa. Nevertheless, there a strong sense of humour and satire. And, this was where the Disposables’ biggest ‘hit’ Television (Drug of Nation) was born. Indeed it appears in 3 different versions here, some bordering on Dead Kennedys-ish punk rants.
This was not a bad purchase after the long wait.
File under: San Francisco industrial hardcore rap activism (surely that’s a typical section in any reputable music store)
One Album a Day 