Helter Stupid (song)
Encyclopedia
Helter Stupid is a song by Negativland
, released on their 1989 album Helter Stupid
.
editor Tom Krotenmacher, who tries to contact the band about backmasking on "Christianity Is Stupid", yet Mark Hosler
yells throughout the conversation as it interrupted his TV watching (as shown in the previous song), "NOW! NOW IT BEGINS!" and even saying the statement backwards. From there, the song starts up and does a disco beat to Estus Pirkle's
yells of "Christianity is stupid! Communism is good! Give up!" and some other samples. The next part after that is a conversation between the media and David Brom's
friends, who say that he isn't bad, with samples of a man's prayer for forgiveness and people yelling out, "Creep!"
The next section goes to what fans believe was sampled from The National Lampoon Radio Hour
, but it was recorded by Mark and Don from the band. The section is two men backmasking a commercial said by one of them saying evil messages about David Brom. From there, Richard Lyons
talks about sins while Estus, again, talks about Americans being killed. After that, the famous "Helter stupid" section in the song is played as anything that has to deal with murder has one word in them replaced with "stupid", causing a satire to be made.
From there, Richard talks about electronic voices preserved on magnetic tape and makes the listener play a game: try to put yourself in the places where the samples were made. During the second time, right after the band makes the samples say "Christianity is Communism! Communism is Christianity! Christianity is the cause for the murder!", he makes the listener do fun things in the places of the samples while saying, "Is God here? Is God here doing this kind of thing?" From there, Charles Manson
starts to ramble and argue and it seems like that somebody is being killed. At the end, an ambulance can be heard driving off in the distance.
Negativland
Negativland is an experimental music and sound collage band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! song, while their record label is named after another Neu! song...
, released on their 1989 album Helter Stupid
Helter Stupid
Helter Stupid is Negativland's second album on SST Records, released in 1989. It was Negativland's first attempt at a concept album.-Structure:...
.
Structure
The song starts out with a call from Rolling Stone MagazineRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
editor Tom Krotenmacher, who tries to contact the band about backmasking on "Christianity Is Stupid", yet Mark Hosler
Mark Hosler
Mark Hosler is an American musician who is a founding member of the sound art collective Negativland.- Career :Through his public speaking, lectures and extensive interviews, he serves as the primary spokesperson for the group...
yells throughout the conversation as it interrupted his TV watching (as shown in the previous song), "NOW! NOW IT BEGINS!" and even saying the statement backwards. From there, the song starts up and does a disco beat to Estus Pirkle's
Estus Pirkle
Estus Washington Pirkle was a Baptist minister from New Albany, Mississippi. In addition to his preaching, Pirkle was known for creating and starring in his own Christian films as well as writing numerous books...
yells of "Christianity is stupid! Communism is good! Give up!" and some other samples. The next part after that is a conversation between the media and David Brom's
David Brom
David Brom is an American murderer. He killed his parents, brother and sister with an axe in February 1988 near Rochester, Minnesota.-Crimes:...
friends, who say that he isn't bad, with samples of a man's prayer for forgiveness and people yelling out, "Creep!"
The next section goes to what fans believe was sampled from The National Lampoon Radio Hour
The National Lampoon Radio Hour
The National Lampoon Radio Hour was a comedy radio show which was created, produced and initially written by staff from National Lampoon magazine. The show ran weekly, for a little over a year, from November 17, 1973 to December 28, 1974...
, but it was recorded by Mark and Don from the band. The section is two men backmasking a commercial said by one of them saying evil messages about David Brom. From there, Richard Lyons
Richard Lyons (musician)
Richard "Pastor Dick Seeland" Lyons is one of the members in Negativland. His personas in the band include Dick Vaughn, 5-time Cali Award winner; auto trivia expert...
talks about sins while Estus, again, talks about Americans being killed. After that, the famous "Helter stupid" section in the song is played as anything that has to deal with murder has one word in them replaced with "stupid", causing a satire to be made.
From there, Richard talks about electronic voices preserved on magnetic tape and makes the listener play a game: try to put yourself in the places where the samples were made. During the second time, right after the band makes the samples say "Christianity is Communism! Communism is Christianity! Christianity is the cause for the murder!", he makes the listener do fun things in the places of the samples while saying, "Is God here? Is God here doing this kind of thing?" From there, Charles Manson
Charles Manson
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late 1960s. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the Tate/LaBianca murders carried out by members of the group at his instruction...
starts to ramble and argue and it seems like that somebody is being killed. At the end, an ambulance can be heard driving off in the distance.