1. An alterna… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists that have used the name Electric Six
1. An alternative rock band from the United States
2. A musical group from South Africa
1. Electric Six is a six-piece Detroit-based rock band consisting of Dick Valentine (vocals), Tait Nucleus? (synthesizers), Johhny Na$hinal (guitar), Da Ve (guitar), Percussion World (drums), and Smorgasboard (bass) who play a mix of rock, funk and disco.
The band's first notorious formation comprised Valentine, Rock and Roll Indian (guitar), Surge Joebot (guitar), Disco (bass, former member of Detroit Cobras), and M (drums). Dick Valentine (real name Tyler Spencer) has always been the primary songwriter (both music and lyrics) of Electric Six, currently and under their former incarnation, when they were known as the Wildbunch. During the band's temporary split at the end of the 1990s, Spencer formed his own band called The Dirty Shame and released one CD entitled Smog Cutter Love Story which featured, among other tracks, a first version of Fire track "Vengeance and Fashion". The band reformed by 2001 to record and release the first release of 'Danger! High Voltage' and record the track 'Dealin' With Death N' Stealin' In The Name Of The Lord' with Troy Gregory for his Sybil album.
Electric Six fuses rock and punk with the laid-back funky rhythms and falsetto vocals of disco, and a distinctly comic touch. However, they tend to reject such genre classifications as disco-metal and disco punk. They formed the band in 1996 and were initially known as The Wildbunch, eventually dropping that name due to pressure from the Bristol trip-hop collection of the same name. Throughout the latter half of the '90s, they played about once a month at the Magic Bag in Ferndale, Magic Stick, and the now-defunct Gold Dollar in Detroit, the center of a scene that produced breakout acts like the White Stripes.
Electric Six's 2002 breakout single "Danger! High Voltage" was an infectious dance-rock number, and Jack White from The White Stripes helped sing back up vocals to this track. White has denied this, though Spencer has confirmed it in several interviews. The single reached number 2 on the UK singles chart, and they enjoy icon status in that nation.
Their second single, "Gay Bar", released in 2003, became a hit as well in the UK, reaching #5 in the charts and further aided the group's growth. Curiously, in the American Radio Edit of this track, The words "Nuclear War" are censored with whip-crack sound effects. After fulfilling their recording duties (namely their debut album) three members left in June, leaving Dick Valentine, Tait Nucleus? (synthesizer), and M.
The Colonel (Zach Shipps, guitar, ex-member of Brendan Benson and Mood Elevator), John R Dequindre (guitar and whose stage name is a combination of two Detroit streets) and Frank Lloyd Bonaventure (bass) subsequently joined the group, though they had all been credited on the album and most had been associated with the group for some time. At that time, they were touring in the UK, and they managed to seamlessly replace the members without interrupting the gigs. In time, Johnny Na$hinal joined the group on guitar, Dequindre switched to bass, and Bonaventure switched to law school.
The band's sophomore album, Señor Smoke, was released in the UK on February 14, 2005. Percussion World replaced M on drums around the same time.
The first single from the album put the band at the center of controversy, especially with Queen fans following a cover of the Queen hit song "Radio Ga Ga". The controversial music video shows lead singer Dick Valentine as the ghost of Queen's flamboyant lead singer Freddie Mercury and a backing band of poodles. Queen drummer Roger Taylor, who wrote the song, said that he was "unimpressed" with the video; however, Queen guitarist Brian May reportedly liked it. Electric Six claims they were contractually obligated to commit the song to the album. Issues with Warner Brothers caused a switch to Metropolis Records, who released Señor Smoke in the US.
Switzerland was released in September 2006. A plethora of videos have also been released, and a fan contribution contest led to the video for the single "I Buy the Drugs."
I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being the Master was released in October 2007. Their next album, titled Flashy, was released in October 2008. In October 2009, their sixth album, KILL, was released. The 7th album, Zodiac was released on September 28, 2010, with one tour-exclusive single ("Jam it in the Hole") and the 8th, Heartbeats and Brainwaves, on October 11th 2011.
A double live album is set for release in 2012.
2. Electric Six was a Soweto-based South African combo active in the 1960s and 1970s
Formula 409
Electric Six Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Make it look good every time
You can use a little Mr Clean
or Formula 409
You can find my mission baby
lock it on target every time
Take out Washington or New York
You can drive your car to pieces baby
Drive it until somebody dies
Get out of trouble with a cover-up
A greasy lawyer and some lies
You can clean your kitchen baby
Make it look good every time
You can use a little Mr Clean
or Formula 409
Formula 409
Formula 409
Formula 409
Formula 409
Formula 409
Yeah Formula 409
Formula 409
Oh Formula 409
Formula 409
409
You can clean your kitchen baby
You can clean your kitchen baby
You can clean your kitchen baby
You can clean your kitchen baby
You can clean your kitchen baby
You can clean your kitchen baby
You can clean your kitchen baby
You can clean your kitchen baby
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH
The song "Formula 409" by Electric Six features lyrics that seem to not have a cohesive theme, but upon closer inspection, it appears that the song is about control and power. The opening lyrics about cleaning the kitchen with either Mr. Clean or Formula 409 are juxtaposed with the later lyrics about taking out entire cities or covering up illegal activities with a greasy lawyer and lies. These lyrics suggest that it is possible for one to control their immediate environment (the kitchen) while also having the potential to exert control in larger, more destructive ways.
Furthermore, the reference to Formula 409 is interesting because the product is a powerful cleaner known for removing tough stains and grime. The song suggests that this same toughness and power can be harnessed in other aspects of life, such as politics or personal relationships.
Overall, the lyrics in "Formula 409" demonstrate the idea that power and control can be found in everyday actions, such as cleaning or driving, but can also be taken to extreme measures if one desires.
Line by Line Meaning
You can clean your kitchen baby
You have the power to tidy up your living space
Make it look good every time
Ensure that it is clean every single time
You can use a little Mr Clean
Try using a popular cleaning agent like Mr. Clean
or Formula 409
Alternatively, you can use an effective cleaner such as Formula 409
You can find my mission baby
I have a goal or purpose, which you can discover
lock it on target every time
Once identified, focus on this target every time
Take out Washington or New York
You have the ability to carry out an attack on either Washington or New York
Or you can take out Palestine
Alternatively, you could launch an attack on Palestine
You can drive your car to pieces baby
You can use your vehicle recklessly and potentially cause harm to others or damage your car
Drive it until somebody dies
Keep driving until someone is fatally injured
Get out of trouble with a cover-up
Conceal your wrongdoing through deception
A greasy lawyer and some lies
Hire a dishonest lawyer and lie to avoid consequences
Formula 409
Reiterating the previous mention of the effective cleaning agent
Formula 409
Reiterating the previous mention of the effective cleaning agent
Formula 409
Reiterating the previous mention of the effective cleaning agent
Formula 409
Reiterating the previous mention of the effective cleaning agent
Formula 409
Reiterating the previous mention of the effective cleaning agent
Yeah Formula 409
Emphasizing the efficacy of Formula 409
Formula 409
Reiterating the previous mention of the effective cleaning agent
Oh Formula 409
Further emphasizing the effectiveness of Formula 409
Formula 409
Reiterating the previous mention of the effective cleaning agent
409
Closing out the song with the name of the cleaning product
You can clean your kitchen baby
Reiterating the message that the individual has the ability to clean their kitchen
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH
A nonsensical expression of emotion or excitement, unrelated to the theme of the song
Contributed by Eva W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mohamed Fazeen
Why are they so freaking underated????
Adam Barratt
@carncats07 Yep. There is a big difference between being a great band who injects humour into their material as opposed to a novelty band. Unfortunately E6 tend to get lumped into the latter category by many. Much like The Darkness. Both great bands who should have bigger followings. At least some of us know. I saw E6 2 nights ago and they were phenomenal.
carncats07
I can tell you why they're under rated. Humour. A lot of music fans are pretentious turds who take things way too seriously and don't like humour in their music. Sure they don't mind it in the odd song here or there, but for the most part, bands like Electric 6 (and others) who have fun and inject a bit of comedy in their music, are not taken seriously as artists by the general public. This public had good chuckle with Gay Bar and Danger! High Voltage, but that was enough for them.
This type of music is also difficult to market. Corporate would say "Are they comedians or musicians? Too hard, moving on."
Their loss because E6 are awesome in my opinion and only got better after that debut.
SG
BEcause they hate the gov
EggOver
It's your fault, personally. You could have done so much more to boost them, but you don't care about that, do you? No, you only care about yourself. Smdh.
a a
dick valentine has a youtube channel which is also unbelievably underrated. check it out people
Grim Riffs
Rediscovering in 2022 and definitely added to my Spotify
J PR
Love the riff to this song. E6 the vastly underrated kings of innovative music.
J PR
@Beauregard Hall So you don't think that songs like Dance Commander, I Buy the Drugs, Electric Demons and Unnatural Beauty are innovative? Come on.
Beauregard Hall
Innovative??? Come on. They’re geniuses of derivative.