STRIKE
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Bio Les Thugs / "Strike" (by DavDuf)
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An evening of 1993, at la Roche-sur-Yon, les Thugs played as every time. A bit like
these goalkeepers - anxious it is said - at the penalties time who have no other alternative than :
To be great
or to be hissed
This evening, as every evening, les Thugs - themselves keepers of a certain sacred fire
the one of the punk-rock - were in final. Against themselves and their darkness. For themselves
and the need to get rid of the bad temper of their consciousness.
In front of them - as in Los Angeles, London, or Firenze - the afficionados of
La Roche-Sur-Yon were moving themselves. It was hourra rock 'n' roll. Les Thugs played
fast and loud. The fire wasn't extinguished.
Few minutes before, during the conversation, someone of the band told this, as a
confidence, an obviousness : "From our start [in 1983] we had accurate ideas on what we
wanted to do. We knew we would follow our goals without listening neither to the criticisms nor the
praises. We could try to change the style for each album, explore other styles but we
prefer those who keep on developing their key-ideas. It is not asked to a painter to
change his style every other year"
Two years later, the resolution strikes by its clearness. The sixth Les Thugs album,
"Strike" sounds thugs. You don't change a team which wins would say sport commentators.
Thus then : in spite of more than six hundred concerts, several European and North
American tours, proposals which could make many mad and their bank account too, Les Thugs
thug always, obstinated as ever, without being discouraged. And without tiredness.
As if they had to exist. Something close to the main point, to the necessity. To
the Absolute who knows ? Like some more people, famous after much eagerness and hard work,
(Sonic Youth, Neil Young, or Steve Albini - here producer, precisely).
And in a world where the only quickly seen things are worth seeing, exists only
what is gauged, marketed, packed as it's weighted, the regularity and the long life
of Les Thugs appear as a sign of Salvation. A sign which would mean that everything is not lost.
That it is possible to keep your friends (Les Thugs were, are and will be from Angers),
That it is possible to remain independant (their new album is distributed in France by
Roadrunner and in the rest of the world by Sub Pop). That small studios (here the one
of the friend Ian Burgess, Black Box) are better than many big upholstered rooms.
Or then : that the strike, hum, continues.
How to begin a strike has to be known.
The new Les Thugs album is called "Strike"
A comrade on strike
Post-scriptum
In the conversation before the concert, one Les Thugs added : "Frankly,
what could we do which would be better than play [our own music] ? When we
started, to play in Nantes was our final goal. We had fun in front of thirty persons.
It's almost more cool now than at the beginning"
Copyright :
DavDuf (thanks man !) who has a worth seeing site (sorry in French)
http://www.imaginet.fr/rafale/
The translation isn't as perfect as the original text (my English is too poor !)
but will give you an idea on what has been written.
Lyrics are partly written on the sleeve, so I have to work on them !!
Copyright :
Les Thugs II - Eric, Pierre-Yves, Christophe, Thierry
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Freely written by Stéphane Dufour
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Bio Les Thugs / "Hors d'oeuvres" (by Jonathan Poneman)
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I remember back in 1988, Bruce Pavitt and I scammed a trip to Berlin with
Mudhoney, who were scheduled to play the then state-funded, now defunct
Berlin Independence Days music festival. As an unofficial representative of
the insurgent American Rock Underground (quaint, huh?), I was pleased to
note that most of the European bands that were playing this extravaganza
were godawful. Wondering just how horrible it could get, I decided to go
check out a French rock band for laffs. Maybe they would play some Mink
DeVille covers.
The band was Les Thugs and they effortlessly blew my shit away. After some
rather unseemly begging on my part, they agreed to release a single as part
of our fledgling Singles Club. Thus started our now nearly decade long
affiliation with the band. There are few accomplishments that I hold in as
high regard as continuing to be Les Thugs' record label. With the exception
of "I.A.B.F.", which came out on Alternative Tentacles (they were fans, we
were broke), Sub Pop has proudly released every Les Thugs album in North
America. They are now the "oldest Sub Pop band." I can think of no better
band to be the standard bearers of our label.
Which brings us to this special collection of "hits".
People, simply put, song-for-song, Les Thugs are one of the greatest rock
bands in the world. They fuse the hypnotic with the explosive like no other
band that I can think of. With every album they have simultaneously refined
and expanded their oeuvre. Though they sing in a "second language", their
emotional range, sophistication and humor never flags and always inspires.
Give this a listen. It's all there.
--Jonathan Poneman
Thanks to Dave Rosencrans for this bio.
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