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Hack | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 16, 1990 | |||
Genre | Synthpop, freestyle, electronica | |||
Length | 62:46 | |||
Label | Tommy Boy/Reprise/Warner Bros. Records 26258 | |||
Producer | Fred Maher Paul Robb | |||
Information Society chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Hack is an album by the freestyle synthpop band Information Society. The album sold quite well but did not outsell the band's first album. It is the only major-label-distributed title that has the modern Tommy Boy Records logo on it.
The menacing car on the cover is "Vector", Kurt Harland's heavily customized 1973 Plymouth Satellite Sebring. [2] The cassette tape for this album used an unusual naming convention for the sides. Instead of 1 and 2 or A and B, there was the Gilligan Side and the Skipper Side. The vinyl edition had a Scooby Side and a Shaggy Side.
Riding on the success of its self-titled major-label debut, Harland decided to have the band experiment on this album with a more radical, harsher sound. The other members agreed somewhat, feeling that they should stay on level ground with the pop sensibilities. This is more pronounced on tracks like "Seek 200" and "Hard Currency". This notion eventually lead to Don't Be Afraid , Harland's solo album.
Like the others, this album is thick with samples and loops, including Kraftwerk, James Brown, Nitzer Ebb and Beastie Boys.
There are multiple references to the first Star Trek series on various tracks on the album. On the track "Charlie X", the line "I could make you all go away, any time I want to" is a reference to the episode "Charlie X". On "Come with Me," the following lines are a reference to the episode "The Changeling":
"What is the meaning?"
"Singing, What purpose is singing?"
"I like to sing. I felt like music"
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Seek 200" | Kurt Harland Valaquen | 3:06 |
2. | "How Long" | Paul Robb | 4:06 |
3. | "Think/Wenn Wellen Schwingen" | Paul Robb | 5:05 |
4. | "A Knife & a Fork/R.I.P." | Paul Robb | 3:23 |
5. | "Now That I Have You" | Paul Robb | 5:04 |
6. | "Fire Tonight" | Kurt Harland Valaquen | 5:39 |
7. | "Can't Slow Down/T.V. Addicts" | Paul Robb | 5:14 |
8. | "Hard Currency" | Kurt Harland Valaquen | 2:34 |
9. | "Move Out/CP Drill KKL" | Kurt Harland Valaquen, Fred Maher | 4:34 |
10. | "Mirrorshades/We Don't Take" | Paul Robb | 5:38 |
11. | "Hack 1/Charlie X" | Paul Robb | 3:32 |
12. | "If Only" | Paul Robb | 4:06 |
13. | "Come With Me" | Kurt Harland Valaquen, Fred Maher | 4:23 |
14. | "Slipping Away/Here Is Kazmeyer" | Kurt Harland Valaquen | 4:12 |
15. | "Chemistry" | Paul Robb | 2:12 |
Total length: | 1:02:46 |
Note
Information Society
Additional musicians
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Technical
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