(Single from album, “God Fodder”)
'If looks could kill, I'd kill your television' - looks can kill, and they almost do - this record looks awful. The stretched logo with a complex fill pattern and sideways spliced font in electric pink on a black paper 7" sleeve; a collector's nightmare to keep looking nice. Maybe that's the whole punk thing. Rebellion. The record is cheap like the sound and its cheap like the thrills it gives. In that sense is it still a bad sleeve. Well yes. Duh. But still...
Ned's Atomic Dustbin are famous for their...well, alternative line-up. Singer, guitarist, drummer...all as usual...and then two bassists. One lead, one rhythm. They've taken the usual arrangement of guitars in a quintet, and flipped it, to give a tremendous sound, bassy, bassy and bassy to the end. Speedy too, surprisingly, considering the low, bassy depth to the sound; c'mon its a punk record - it has to charge forward maniacally...
The opening is probably similar to what you might hear if you took every drug imaginable at once and then tried to play guitar. It's just wow factor. Very, very fast. Wizardry. Or maybe it's synthesised. I prefer to think that the band is composed entirely of geniuses. The commotion of clashing guitars and screeching chords squeals and moans at the same time, two pitches working at once, together, one incredible haze of noise. The first 15 seconds of "Kill Your Television".
Don't try to make sense of the lyrics - its an American new wave punk song. You've got no chance. Something to do with a fight I think, but with the Neds, it really is irrelevant. The sound is just so good.
The bassists battle it out until the 3 minute heart attack is over, and the layers all work brilliantly with one another to give a really great vibe. Even the supposed 4 minute 'remix' is nothing of the sort, and acts as a better, extended versioon of thetrack complete with acoustic intro and outro, bookended by peace, the rage contained in the centre. Also, as you can plainly hear with the bassist slap-notes on the instrumental chorus, its blatantly a re-recording, not a re-mix, though, frankly, this is a good thing.
Overall, this track shines amongst several duff records released throughout 1990. I have little to say here, other than, but the "Some Furtive Years" compilation if you like "Kill Your Television"...you may find, as I was, that you're a Ned through and through...
★★★★★
Versions of "Kill Your Television"
Album/Single Version - 2:59
'Kill Your Remix' - 4:14