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
Psychic Visions
Electric Six Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uh huh, oh yeah
Uh huh, uh huh
Truth hurts, yes it does
Sometimes I hurt you baby, just because
Emotions defaulting on their loans
You spend the rest of your days alone, alone
Now she's the queen of the bad dogs
She's the rumbling siren in the fog
And I'm the king of the submarines
Making horrible music for teens
You see me in your psychic visions (psychic visions)
You feel me in your psychic visions (psychic visions)
When you're going crazy, oh yeah
I feel the future in (let us trust) side of you, baby
You walk around looking for answers
And all the gypsies are stroking romancers
Tarot cards and chills to the bone
You're crushed under the weight of the great unknown
And she's the queen of the queen bees
She's coming on the next jet from Belize
I see her dancing in the Latin quarter
Abbreviations make everything shorter
It's time you feel my psychic visions (psychic visions)
It's time you see my psychic visions (psychic visions)
I've had it up to here with your premonitions sloppy incisions
Let's surround ourselves with the worst musicians
And write a new song
Ah yeah (psychic visions)
Ah yeah (psychic visions)
See a shrink if you're having doubt
Cause the psalms in your love light
Are running out
Gypsy woman, rattle and shake for me
Gypsy woman, rattle and shake for me
The first few lines of Electric Six's "Psychic Visions" express disappointment and regret over hurting someone they cared for due to their emotional instability. The lyrics suggest that the person left alone with these emotions cannot handle them, but instead spirals into a world of psychic visions, tarot cards, premonitions, and gypsies. The singer believes that the future is visible to the person going through these delusions, and they want to assist in their visions by sharing theirs too. The chorus is straightforward, stating that the singer and the person going through these experiences should trust and feel each other's psychic visions.
The song goes on to highlight the personalities of two people, one being a queen of the bad dogs and the other the king of submarines, who make terrible music intended for teens. The second person is the queen of the queen bees who hails from Belize and dances in the Latin quarter. The song makes a case that these two people are empathic or possess the ability to see the future. The song, therefore, speaks on psychic visions, debunking psychic abilities, premonitions, and the great unknown, making it a song on self-discovery and the power we give to factors beyond our control.
Line by Line Meaning
Uh huh, oh yeah
Expressing affirmation or agreement
Truth hurts, yes it does
Acknowledging that the truth can be unpleasant
Sometimes I hurt you baby, just because
Admitting that sometimes the singer hurts their partner without a reason
Emotions defaulting on their loans
Describing how one's emotions can become unreliable or inconsistent
You spend the rest of your days alone, alone
Implying that emotional inconsistency can cause loneliness
Now she's the queen of the bad dogs
Referring to someone as the leader of a rebellious group
She's the rumbling siren in the fog
Describing someone as noticeable, even in hard-to-see situations
And I'm the king of the submarines
Claiming to be the leader of a hidden or secretive group
Making horrible music for teens
Producing music that is intentionally low-quality or aimed at a younger audience
You see me in your psychic visions (psychic visions)
Describing how someone else perceives the singer through their psychic abilities
You feel me in your psychic visions (psychic visions)
Describing how someone else senses the singer through their psychic abilities
When you're going crazy, oh yeah
Suggesting that the person feels the singer's psychic presence particularly strongly in moments of instability
I feel the future in (let us trust) side of you, baby
Claiming to have precognitive abilities and feeling that the other person's future is intertwined with the singer's
You walk around looking for answers
Implying that the other person is searching for meaning or understanding
And all the gypsies are stroking romancers
Describing how others are offering empty promises of romance or fortune-telling
Tarot cards and chills to the bone
Referencing the use of tarot cards as a means of divination and the emotional impact of this experience
You're crushed under the weight of the great unknown
Implying that the person is overwhelmed by existential uncertainty
And she's the queen of the queen bees
Referencing someone as the leader of a popular or fashionable group of women
She's coming on the next jet from Belize
Suggesting that the person mentioned is well-traveled or exotic
I see her dancing in the Latin quarter
Imagining someone dancing in a lively and culturally-rich location
Abbreviations make everything shorter
Observing that language can become simplified or abbreviated over time
It's time you feel my psychic visions (psychic visions)
Asserting that the other person needs to recognize the singer's psychic abilities
It's time you see my psychic visions (psychic visions)
Reinforcing the idea that the other person must take notice of the singer's precognitive abilities
I've had it up to here with your premonitions sloppy incisions
Expressing frustration with the other person's vague or unfocused psychic abilities
Let's surround ourselves with the worst musicians
Suggesting that one can find freedom in creating art that is intentionally bad or ironic
And write a new song
Extending the idea of embracing unconventional art by proposing the creation of a new song
See a shrink if you're having doubt
Encouraging the other person to seek therapy or emotional support
Cause the psalms in your love light
Possibly referencing a biblical reference to love or spirituality, implying that doubting oneself can impact one's beliefs or passions
Are running out
Suggesting that the person's well-being or inner strength is decreasing
Gypsy woman, rattle and shake for me
Addressing a woman of Romani descent and seemingly requesting a performance or dance
Gypsy woman, rattle and shake for me
Repeating the line, potentially as a form of emphasis or emphasis on the request for performance
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Simon
Why is it that bands that actually have talent and something weird about them aren't more popular
ChevKen
That's why we call them "cult bands". It's only for us!
Pawel Slawobsky
You answered your own question. They don’t need an entire army of producers to make good stuff, so its bad for business. They are unorefictable for marketing.
Shane
Weird that only in music does comedy seem to damage a pieces artistic integrity personally love comedic music
Nicholas Sans Pasty
nah it's nothing to do with political correctness it's more people are pack animals, most will be drawn to things others around them also like, so the more out there and unique the less likely it catches on, except for the occasional exception, electric six have had a couple of near hits
Ate Veenstra
PC culture
SireSingletrack
I always knew that if there were one man who possessed concussive punching power underwater that man would be Dick Valentine.
55grainFMJ
The last time I saw Electric Six, Dick thanked all of us in attendance for being at his show. Wasn't any place I would have rather been.
Maxime Boileau
"Thank you very much. Give yourselves a big hand" is something he's been saying since the 90s... and it's wonderful :D
JonScatman
Absolutely fantastic stuff. The Electric Six videos are always as good as the songs, it's a shame we never got any for Zodiac. I'd love to see one for We Use The Same Products. I hope there'll be another video from this album.