Helter Stupid
{{For|the song of the same name|Helter Stupid (song)}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox album|
| name = Helter Stupid
| type = studio
| artist = Negativland
| cover = Helter Stupid.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1989
| recorded = 1988–1989
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = {{hlist|Sound collage|plunderphonics}}
| length = 47:26
| label = SST (252){{Cite web|url=https://www.sstsuperstore.com/product/SST252-LP.html|title=Negativland - Helter Stupid - 12" inch vinyl record|website=SST Superstore}}
| prev_title = Escape from Noise
| prev_year = 1987
| next_title = U2
| next_year = 1991
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/helter-stupid-mw0000653624|title=Helter Stupid - Negativland |via=www.allmusic.com}}
|rev2 = Christgau's Consumer Guide
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=6 |page=138}}
| rev4 = The Great Alternative & Indie Discography
|rev5 = MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide
|rev5score = {{rating|5|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |date=1999 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=803}}
|rev6 = Pitchfork
|rev6score = 7.2/10{{Cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5739-helter-stupid/|title=Negativland: Helter Stupid|website=Pitchfork}}
|rev7 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
|rev7score = 8/10{{cite book |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |date=1995 |publisher=Vintage Books |pages=266–267}}
| rev8 = Tom Hull – on the Web
| rev8score = B{{cite web|url=https://tomhull.com/ocston/nm/get_gl.php?n=negativland|title=Grade List: Negativland|website=Tom Hull – on the Web|last=Hull|first=Tom|date=March 10, 2025|access-date=March 10, 2025}}
}}
Helter Stupid is Negativland's fifth studio album, released in 1989.{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/negativland-mn0000863413/biography|title=Negativland | first=Ned | last=Raggett |website=AllMusic}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DBvPAgAAQBAJ&dq=Helter+Stupid+negativland+1989&pg=PA209|title=Pranksters: Making Mischief in the Modern World|first=Kembrew|last=McLeod|date=March 3, 2014|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=9780814764367|via=Google Books}} It is a concept album focused on the media coverage of a hoax formulated by the band claiming that "Christianity Is Stupid" from their previous album, Escape from Noise, had inspired David Brom to murder his family in Rochester, Minnesota, as well as other moral panics related to popular music.{{Cite web |title=Group uses Brom murders to lampoon news coverage |url=https://www.postbulletin.com/group-uses-brom-murders-to-lampoon-news-coverage/article_879547e5-06c5-5b70-9ce0-d7b8f6182e1c.html |website=Post Bulletin|date=30 December 1989 }}
Structure
The first half of the album is composed of the tracks "Prologue" and "Helter Stupid". The two together form an extended piece lasting over 22 minutes. The concept, and some of the sampled material, came from a San Francisco television news program that was duped by a media hoax perpetrated by Negativland while promoting its previous album, Escape from Noise.{{Cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/alls_fair_in_love_negativland|title=All's Fair in Love and Negativland|website=exclaim.ca}} Other samples used include those from Rev. Estus Pirkle (further samples from If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?, as used on "Christianity Is Stupid"), "Spring Rain" by Bebu Silvetti, Lenny Bruce, an interview with Charles Manson, and "Helter Skelter" by the Beatles (in reference to the Helter Skelter theory of the Tate–LaBianca murders).{{Cite web |last=Barry |first=Robert |date=March 5, 2014 |title=Key Tracks: Negativland's "Helter Stupid" |url=https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2014/03/key-tracks-negativland-helter-stupid |access-date=2024-06-02 |website=Red Bull Music Academy |language=en}}
Parts of the "Perfect Cut" tracks on Side 2 draw from samples of "The Winning Score", a 1977 presentation by TM Century, producers of radio jingles and imaging.
Chumbawamba sampled Helter Stupid extensively on their 2000 album WYSIWYG.
Critical reception
Trouser Press wrote that "as inspired propagandists coming to terms with an ability to manipulate the truth, Negativland shifted their mindfuck campaign to a higher plane with Helter Stupid.{{cite web |title=Negativland |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/negativland/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=3 March 2021}} The Rough Guide to Rock called Helter Stupid "probably [the band's] best and most accessible album."{{cite book |title=The Rough Guide to Rock |date=1999 |publisher=Rough Guides Ltd |page=676 |edition=2nd}}
Track listing
- "Prologue"
- "Helter Stupid"
- "The Perfect Cut (Canned Music)"
- "The Perfect Cut (Rooty Poops)"
- "The Perfect Cut (Good As Gold)"
- "The Perfect Cut (Piece of Meat)"
- "The Perfect Cut (White Rabbit And A Dog Named Gidget)"
- "The Perfect Cut (11 Minutes)"
- "The Perfect Cut (48 Hours)"
Personnel
- Richard Lyons (credited as "Dick Vaughn")
- David Wills (uncredited)
- Don Joyce (uncredited)
- Mark Hosler (uncredited)
- Chris Grigg (uncredited)
References
{{reflist}}
{{Negativland}}
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