(6) FUNK: THE PRODIGY – SMACK MY B*TCH UP (1997)

B-side: Firestarter (1996)

 

“Oh my god – that’s the funky sh*t!”

We flashback to my hardcore stark raving techno dance bunny days with The Prodigy and their ant logo, although my taste has mellowed somewhat since then.

The Prodigy are an enduring electronic music band, although their high point was as one of the most important bands of the “big beat” subgenre of the 1990’s – not coincidentally, one might recognize the others from other funk entries in my top ten.

The musical prodigy behind The Prodigy is Liam Howlett, with the actual prodigy behind the name being his Moog Prodigy synthesizer. The Prodigy’s early material was largely straightforward rave with humorous samples thrown in, as shown by their debut album Experience. They ramped this up for their second album, Music for the Jilted Generation, “cultivating an angry, heavy sound drawing from techno, breakbeat and industrial rock”. Although I like the sound of both albums, this entry can only go to this single from their landmark album, The Fat of the Land in 1997, in which Howlett openly aimed at an alternative rock audience, “making the beats heavier”.

Of course, it does have that somewhat unfortunate title and lyric (sampled from “Give The Drummer Some” by the Ultramagnetic MCs), although I’ve always assumed it to be metaphorical – for “doing anything intensely” as the band itself claimed, or the sort of drunken or drug-fueled excess in the controversially explicit video.

I particularly enjoy the female vocals, performed by Shahin Badar, with vocals and harmonies in turn based on “Nana (The Dreaming)” by Sheila Chandra (initially as a direct sample but later with the vocal re-sung after sample clearance issues). Some of you may also recognize it from the Charlie’s Angels film soundtrack, where it was used to great effect in the action or fight sequences.

 

“I’m the trouble starter, punkin’ instigator

I’m the fear addicted, a danger illustrated

I’m a firestarter, twisted firestarter

You’re a firestarter, twisted firestarter!”

 

And as for my B-Side, it’s finely balanced between the two other leading singles from that album (such that it may vary by day and my mood), but I’ll go with their first single from the album and their first big hit – Firestarter.

“It showcased Keith Flint, with punk rock-style vocals, as the group’s frontman and is an important crossover song, meshing electronic beats with industrial metal and punk rock”.

 

RIP Keith Flint 4 March 2019

 

And here’s my Top 10 Prodigy songs for hardcore fans:

 

(3) Breathe (Fat of the Land 1996)

(4) No Good (Start the Dance (Music for the Jilted Generation 1994)

(5) Voodoo People (Music for the Jilted Generation 1994)

(6) Music Reach (1,2,3,4) (Experience 1992)

(7) Wind It Up (Experience 1992)

(8) Your Love (Experience 1992)

(9) Their Law (Music for the Jilted Generation 1994)

(“What we’re dealing with here is a total lack of respect for the law”)

(10) Poison (Music for the Jilted Generation 1995)

(“I got the poison / I got the remedy”)

 

RATING: 4 STARS****

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