One of the reasons I love Hot Chip so much is because they are so unique, at least in the "dance" genre. Ever since they began, with an album called Coming On Strong that no one has ever heard of, they've had a quirkiness to them that has separated them from the pack, been the difference between them being one of my all-time favourites and just another dance/rock/pop band.
The focus of this little post is on one part of that uniqueness - their humour. Hot Chip might be one of the funniest bands going around, and they continue to be so more than a decade after forming.
Going back to their debut studio album, Coming on Strong. This record, whilst admittedly the weakest of their five studio efforts (though it's more cohesive than Made in the Dark), has a lot of really personable moments that make it worthwhile.
There's this track, which has a cheeky little bleep beat going on
hot chip-keep falling - YouTube
Which features lines like "Nothing's new forever can't you see I'm just a sucker / I'm like Stevie Wonder but I can see things" ... "Give up all you suckers we're the tightest motherfuckers / and you never seen this type of shit before now / you peeling potatoes while we sonic alligators / making records sellin' like we smoking crack now" ... "Lately I've been staring in the mirror wondering how the hell does Stevie Wonder see things", which crack me up. But it's also got this really nice breakdown in the middle where the title of the song is repeated, and Hot Chip have used this trick repeatedly, of mixing hilarious lyrics with really good sentimental, melancholic music.
Another track on the album is called Down With Prince and opens with the line "I'm sick of motherfuckers trying to tell me that they're down with Prince". But one of my two favourite tracks on the record (along with Bad Luck, which itself features the hilarious line "Bad luck you got in my ring / you dance like you've got an unenviable case of ring-sting" in a gorgeous, atmospheric slow jam. Not to mention the line "who let the dogs out?" and "fuck you / you fucking fucker") is Crap Kraft Dinner.
hot chip - crap kraft dinner - YouTube
It's probably the most accomplished song on the record, along with Bad Luck, and points towards the direction they'd take on The Warning and Made in the Dark. It's got a slow, dark, melancholic beat and whilst it's not specifically funny, the chorus is quite touching and unique in its portrayal of a relationship gone sour.
All you have left is one Kraft dinner
That I brought back for you last summer
All you have left is one reminder
Of the time we spent when I was blind
All you can taste is that one Kraft dinner
That I prepared when your chances were slimmer
All you can hear is my refusal
Cos I haven't got the time for a jerk-off loser
Next came The Warning. "Like a monkey with a miniature cymbal" (Over & Over). "Hot Chip will break your legs / snap off your head / Hot Chip will put you down / under the ground", juxtaposed with another slow, slinky, melancholic beat/vocal on the title track.
Excuse me miss I'm a dog on heat
I'm a complicated being with love songs to beat
I'm a problem solving baby who could march all night
I'm a mechanical music man and I'm starting a fight
Hot Chip - The Warning - YouTube
Third studio album was Made in the Dark. Spotty, inconsistent, incoherent album with some of their best work mixed with some ordinary ballads. One of the more popular tracks on the album was Shake a Fist, which features a hyper video-game breakdown
Hot Chip - Shake A Fist - YouTube
The crunching Touch Too Much has the chorus line "When you said 'it's a touch too much' I knew, I knew / That I'd be walking home again". And while it's not my favourite track on the album, Wrestlers is definitely a highlight. The film clip features James Murphy (wearing a DFA shirt suggesting it stands for "Downtown Fight Academy") and lead singer Alexis Taylor looking hilariously not tough. The whole song uses wrestling metaphors for a relationship.
It's me versus you in love
It's me versus you in love
It's me versus you in love
It's me versus you in love
It's me versus you in love
We'll tag team, double up
Hit you in the sweet spot
And make you wish you'd coughed up
The gloves are off
The gloves are off
It's me you've messing round
Taking us a man down
While you've got us on the ropes
We've planned to play the mess around
He's technically trained
You've got him buckled up
And he will misbehave
You weigh bigger than a train
But I've got the power and the glory
In my boardy brains
The gloves are off
The gloves are off
So why'd you go and have to fight dirty?
Don't fight dirty, don't hit me with the chair
The gloves are off
So why'd you go and have to fight dirty?
Don't fight dirty, don't bat me in the face
The gloves are off
Now what you gonna do when I come for you
With all I've got?
I've got a roll of coins, I'm aiming for your loins
And I will never stop
I learned all I know from watching the wrestling
I think you think I'm about to throw the towel in
Here comes Floor Jack
Watch your back, watch your back
He'll charm you with a double-axe
And then he brings the tie attacks
He's not dressed for a cage
He's robed in garments strictly for another age
Here we come, drop kick
Half nelson, full nelson,
Willie Nelson, Willie Nelson
Body slam, suplex,
Headlock, somer-slam
Elbow drop, jelly-flop
Cage match, grudge match
...intelligible...
Ooh, ooh
It's me versus
Me versus me versus me versus me versus me
I learned all I know from watching the wrestling
I think you think I'm about to throw the towel in
Everyone knows Monday night means wrestling
I've underlined bits because it's another great example of Hot Chip mixing funny, unique lyrics with great, affecting music. Have a listen, it's terrific.
HOT CHIP - WRESTLERS - YouTube
One Life Stand I wasn't particularly a fan of, but I need to revisit it after coming to love In Our Heads, because I was probably too harsh on it. Anyway, the video for I Feel Better is an absolute classic, Hot Chip replaced by an impostor boy band before everyone is vanquished. Fucking hilarious
Hot Chip - I Feel Better - YouTube
Alley Cats is another song with music that suggests fairly serious subject matter, but once again it's Hot Chip talking love with their unique bent.
Two people are alley cats
We have an unhappy cat
He is restless, needs attention
Loses patience, seeks affection
I can't think of any funny lines from In Our Heads off the top of my head, but the video for Flutes is a trip.
Hot Chip - Flutes - YouTube
Thanks for reading