The first time I heard "The Hives":http://www.thehivesbroadcastingservice.com/ I was in Jack Starr's living room and he was playing their album Veni Vidi Vicious for my brother and I. It must have been sometime in 2000. It was a pure blast of garage punk, with a lot of basic, fun, roaring, fuzzed out rock... oh and it was spilling over with manic energy. I was impressed enough to take note, and when I was able to track down a copy of the album, I purchased it.... the when was while I was a student in Sweden in the fall of 2001, and the strangest thing I recall related to The Hives, was that one of my peers in the Swedish for Exchange Students program, a young woman from Japan had also picked up The Hives CD and was a fan. So to me The Hives have always been the Nirvana of the Nordic Hi Energy Rock and Roll scene, that is to say the most successful, but really only fringe members of the scene. The official story from their "Wiki":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hives entry reads like this:The Hives are a rock band from Fagersta, Sweden that first rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a leading group of the garage rock revival. Their breakthrough came with the release of the "best-of" compilation Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most commercially successful song "Hate to Say I Told You So". The band produces punk-influenced garage rock songs and wear matching black and white suits.I have to mention their look, which I find to be fun and basic. I think that the use of simple black and white clothes allows their young fans to dress like them with ease, and in a way that is distinct. One of the things about the bands that I am going to talk about is that many of them have a look that their fans emulate, once again, as with playing cover songs, this uniform is a way to be inclusive... and a little exclusive as well, but I tend to think it's more of a way for people to include themselves.I have seen The Hives play live and they put on a great show, you can go ahead and throw in every adjective that is used to describe energy to describe the show. It was a fun, and there were a lot of people there. I wish I could say that seeing The Hives is what stood out in my mind about the show, but the singer from opening act New Bomb Turks taking my brothers glasses and wearing them on stage, the teenage girls sitting in a circle on the floor in the venue, the security at the venue, the fact that Lee Hazelwood was played before The Hives hit the stage and talking to the hipsters in line behind us while waiting to get in, all stand out more in my head than the Hives set but that's how it goes with shows sometimes...Ok, so The Hives have a new album on the way, The Black & White Album which I am looking forward too, it will be out in the states on Nov 13... BTW this post is for "Anna":http://mog.com/Anna cause I know she digs The Hives and wants to share their new video with you...Tomorrow: We hit "Leif Erikson Day":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leif_Erikson_Day the only Nordic Holiday observed here in the USA, even in it's limited form, and I will be writing about "The Chuck Norris Experiment ":http://www.chucknorrisexperiment.com/
Anna says
Thanks for the dedication & the post!
I never had the pleasure of seeing them live, sigh. Here's hoping (tell them to come here, please!).
I love their outfits. They are all shades of cool.
Can't wait for the new album.
Dale says
I remember seeing the video for "Main Offender" on MTV2 and thinking, "WOW! That's loads of fun!" Then I heard "Hate To Say I Told You So" and I was done. They're also one of Joshua's favorites; he'd run to the TV and bounce up and down like a maniac when their videos came on. Can't wait for the new album!
brendanhalpin says
Love the Hives! I initially tried to dislike them because of all the hype, but resistance was futile. I think it was "Dead Quote Olympics" that did it for me.
darmuzz says
Adore The Hives. I remember them being hyped as garage revival along with The White Stripes, The Vines and The Strokes...all of whom don't really have much in common. The only other band that brings me as much pure pogo-ing joy as The Hives is The Rezillos!
indiepixie says
dude i am with Darmuzz, the Hives rock, and agree they get pegged with the wrong image. Thansk for all the info tho! I would love to see em live.
The first time I heard "The Hives":http://www.thehivesbroadcastingservice.com/ I was in Jack Starr's living room and he was playing their album Veni Vidi Vicious for my brother and I. It must have been sometime in 2000. It was a pure blast of garage punk, with a lot of basic, fun, roaring, fuzzed out rock... oh and it was spilling over with manic energy. I was impressed enough to take note, and when I was able to track down a copy of the album, I purchased it.... the when was while I was a student in Sweden in the fall of 2001, and the strangest thing I recall related to The Hives, was that one of my peers in the Swedish for Exchange Students program, a young woman from Japan had also picked up The Hives CD and was a fan. So to me The Hives have always been the Nirvana of the Nordic Hi Energy Rock and Roll scene, that is to say the most successful, but really only fringe members of the scene. The official story from their "Wiki":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hives entry reads like this:The Hives are a rock band from Fagersta, Sweden that first rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a leading group of the garage rock revival. Their breakthrough came with the release of the "best-of" compilation Your New Favourite Band, featuring their most commercially successful song "Hate to Say I Told You So". The band produces punk-influenced garage rock songs and wear matching black and white suits.I have to mention their look, which I find to be fun and basic. I think that the use of simple black and white clothes allows their young fans to dress like them with ease, and in a way that is distinct. One of the things about the bands that I am going to talk about is that many of them have a look that their fans emulate, once again, as with playing cover songs, this uniform is a way to be inclusive... and a little exclusive as well, but I tend to think it's more of a way for people to include themselves.I have seen The Hives play live and they put on a great show, you can go ahead and throw in every adjective that is used to describe energy to describe the show. It was a fun, and there were a lot of people there. I wish I could say that seeing The Hives is what stood out in my mind about the show, but the singer from opening act New Bomb Turks taking my brothers glasses and wearing them on stage, the teenage girls sitting in a circle on the floor in the venue, the security at the venue, the fact that Lee Hazelwood was played before The Hives hit the stage and talking to the hipsters in line behind us while waiting to get in, all stand out more in my head than the Hives set but that's how it goes with shows sometimes...Ok, so The Hives have a new album on the way, The Black & White Album which I am looking forward too, it will be out in the states on Nov 13... BTW this post is for "Anna":http://mog.com/Anna cause I know she digs The Hives and wants to share their new video with you...Tomorrow: We hit "Leif Erikson Day":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leif_Erikson_Day the only Nordic Holiday observed here in the USA, even in it's limited form, and I will be writing about "The Chuck Norris Experiment ":http://www.chucknorrisexperiment.com/
Comments (6)