Review Revue: Thee Hypnotics - Come Down Heavy

There was a while there where it seemed like all the cool bands had names starting with "Thee" instead of the usual single-voweled definite article. I didn't really know what to make of this at the time; I just assumed all the bands in question were probably way too hip for me and left them alone. What didn't occur to me then was what a nightmare this new convention must have provided for people trying to keep order in record stores and radio station libraries. For a band whose name starts with "the," you just ignore it and file them under the first letter of the next word (The Beatles under B, etc.). But "thee" is a word all its own, isn't it? Even if it's being used in the place of a definite article? I don't know if there was a global consensus around this issue - perhaps hashed out at a CMJ breakout session in the mid '80s - but at KCMU they just pretended that second 'e' wasn't there and filed these guys under H. Which probably makes sense in terms of finding a band you're looking for, but part of me feels like it would have been helpful to have all those extra-cool "thee" bands filed together; it'd be like a super-secret sub-genre within the general rock category for DJs to peruse carefully and confused people like 1990 me to avoid altogether.

Whoever was the librarian at KCMU when the Thee Hypnotics' Come Down Heavy was added, they didn't bother to chime in on the comments - which, bizarrely, manage to focus mostly on the actual music contained on the album.

"They still haven't recorded a song that doesn't bore me within five seconds."

"So you have a short attention span. Heavy, loud, derivative, it's great in moderation."

"I agree with Mark. They have the 'sound' down (Hendrix, Blue Cheer, Stooges, MC5... Santana, etc.), but they don't have the songs yet. Probably pretty cool live."

"Live the lack of real songs becomes even more apparent."

"They've got Stooges 'dos."

"If you wanna pick nits, very few of the Sub Pop bands sound too original either. Who fuckin cares?! It's just Rock & Roll! (& this is pretty good Rock & Roll)"

"They had to cancel the rest of their US tour recently, because their van was hit by a drunk driver. The drummer broke his pelvis in 4 places & is in a hospital in Minneapolis."