Thela Hun Ginjeet
Encyclopedia
Thela Hun Ginjeet is a single by the band King Crimson
, released in 1981. Its tracks are from the album Discipline (1981). The song name is an anagram
of "heat in the jungle", which is a reference to crime in the city. (The term "heat" is American slang for firearms or for police.)
While most of the instruments are in 4/4 time
, Robert Fripp's electric guitar plays in 7/8 time during part of the song, creating an unusual effect. In the middle of the song, voice recordings are heard. Adrian Belew talks about his experiences with London Rastafarians and the police, while he was trying to get voice recordings for the song.
albums, Belew would tell the story while the song was being performed. During the Beat tour at least, the story-telling was somewhat improvised. In later live performances - as evidenced by the performance on Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal
- the storytelling is dropped, leaving only the sung lyrics.
However, for reasons unknown, the storytelling re-appeared on the Double Trio tours (cf. Vrooom Vrooom
) but it was in the form of a backing tape identical to the album version.
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
, released in 1981. Its tracks are from the album Discipline (1981). The song name is an anagram
Anagram
An anagram is a type of word play, the result of rearranging the letters of a word or phrase to produce a new word or phrase, using all the original letters exactly once; e.g., orchestra = carthorse, A decimal point = I'm a dot in place, Tom Marvolo Riddle = I am Lord Voldemort. Someone who...
of "heat in the jungle", which is a reference to crime in the city. (The term "heat" is American slang for firearms or for police.)
While most of the instruments are in 4/4 time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
, Robert Fripp's electric guitar plays in 7/8 time during part of the song, creating an unusual effect. In the middle of the song, voice recordings are heard. Adrian Belew talks about his experiences with London Rastafarians and the police, while he was trying to get voice recordings for the song.
Live versions
During their tour for the Discipline and BeatBeat (King Crimson album)
Beat is an album by the British rock band King Crimson, released in 1982.Of King Crimson's thirteen studio albums, this is the only album that does not have a title track, although its title is included in the name of the song "Heartbeat"....
albums, Belew would tell the story while the song was being performed. During the Beat tour at least, the story-telling was somewhat improvised. In later live performances - as evidenced by the performance on Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal
Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal
Absent Lovers: Live in Montreal is a live album by the band King Crimson, recorded July 11, 1984 and released in 1998. This was taken from the final night of their 1984 tour and would subsequently be King Crimson's last performance until the THRAK warm-up shows in Argentina ten years later.-Track...
- the storytelling is dropped, leaving only the sung lyrics.
However, for reasons unknown, the storytelling re-appeared on the Double Trio tours (cf. Vrooom Vrooom
Vrooom Vrooom
Vrooom Vrooom is a live album by the band King Crimson, released in 2001.Although it was released during the active lifespan of the 2000-2003 King Crimson "Double Duo" lineup , Vrooom Vrooom is compiled from recordings by the previous six-man line-up of...
) but it was in the form of a backing tape identical to the album version.
Cover versions
- Les ClaypoolLes ClaypoolLeslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
's outfit, Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade have covered this song on their Live Frogs Set 1Live Frogs Set 1Live Frogs Set 1 is a live album by Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade, released by Prawn Song Records on 10 April 2001. It chronicles the first part of the 8 October 2000 show the Frog Brigade played at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, the second part released as...
album out through Prawn Song records, as well as playing it many times live, most recently at New Year's Eve 2009. In addition, Les Claypool's version kicked off the Bonnaroo 2002 DVD as the lead track.
7" version
- "Thela Hun Ginjeet" (Adrian BelewAdrian BelewAdrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
, Bill BrufordBill BrufordWilliam Scott "Bill" Bruford is an English drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and record label owner. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968-1972. Bruford has performed for numerous popular acts since the early 1970s, including a stint as touring...
, Robert FrippRobert FrippRobert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
, Tony LevinTony LevinTony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
) - "Elephant TalkElephant Talk (song)"Elephant Talk" is a song by the band King Crimson and was released in 1981 on the Discipline album. The song is led primarily by Tony Levin's Chapman stick, playing a Go-go-style bass line...
" (Belew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin)
12" version
- "Thela Hun Ginjeet" (dance mix) (Belew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin)
- "Elephant Talk" (Belew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin)
- "IndisciplineIndiscipline"Indiscipline" is a song by King Crimson, from the 1981 album Discipline. The song has become a fan favorite over the years and was often played live. On the Beat tour, for example, it closed all of the shows and began with a Bill Bruford drum solo...
" (Belew, Bruford, Fripp, Levin)
Personnel
- Robert FrippRobert FrippRobert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Adrian BelewAdrian BelewAdrian Belew is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer...
- guitar, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Tony LevinTony LevinTony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, Chapman stickChapman StickThe Chapman Stick is an electric musical instrument devised by Emmett Chapman in the early 1970s. A member of the guitar family, the Chapman Stick usually has ten or twelve individually tuned strings and has been used on music recordings to play bass lines, melody lines, chords or textures...
, vocals - Bill BrufordBill BrufordWilliam Scott "Bill" Bruford is an English drummer, percussionist, composer, producer, and record label owner. He was the original drummer for the progressive rock group Yes, from 1968-1972. Bruford has performed for numerous popular acts since the early 1970s, including a stint as touring...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....