The Beatnigs | |
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Studio album by | |
Released | 1988 |
Recorded | 1988; Dancin' Dog Studio, Emeryville, California |
Genre | Industrial hip hop, political hip hop, experimental rock, spoken word |
Label | Alternative Tentacles [1] |
Producer | The Beatnigs |
The Beatnigs is the only album by the San Francisco band the Beatnigs, released in 1988. [2] [3] It combined punk, industrial and hip hop influences. [4]
Michael Franti wrote all of the lyrics to the songs; he also played bass. [5] The album was produced by the Beatnigs. [6] An enclosure explaining the origins of the band's name was included with the album. [7]
Television EP | ||||
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![]() Front cover | ||||
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1988 | |||
Recorded | Dancing Dog Studios | |||
Genre | Industrial, big beat | |||
Label | Alternative Tentacles | |||
Producer | ON-U Sound | |||
The Beatnigs chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Television EP is the Beatnigs' 4-song follow-up, also released in 1988. The opening track is remixed by English dub musicians Adrian Sherwood, Gary Clail, and Mark Stewart. There's a special thanks to "Troy" on the rear cover, indicating that Louis "Troy" Dixon (AKA the Crack Emcee) had joined the band.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10 [10] |
Spin wrote that the album mixed "the Last Poets’ severe rhetoric with the horrific industrial grinding of Einstürzende Neubauten." [11] Trouser Press said that "this striking San Francisco quintet explodes in a tight and danceable riot of industrial percussion, vocals and tape manipulations." [12] The New York Times called the album "a powerful conglomeration of taped sounds—speeches by Malcolm X, for instance—industrial noise made with saws, sirens and oil drums, and a conventional rhythm section." [5]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide called it "the most interesting and innovative album any of Franti's three groups has made, loaded with sonic twists and turns." [6] The Spin Alternative Record Guide deemed it "an angrier warm-up to De La Soul a year later: choppy beats mingled with inflammatory news items, goofy how-to spiels, exhortations from Malcolm X and others, and twisted loops of electro-industrial din." [10]
All songs written by the Beatnigs.
Television EP