The original lineup was notable for having three guitars and no bass player, creating a distinctive, layered sound. Kimble Rendall left in 1982 before the release of their first single, Leilani, and went on to become a noted music video director. He was effectively replaced by bassist Clyde Bramley. Radalj was not happy with Rendall's departure or Faulkner's increasing influence, and left the band himself, to be replaced by one-time Fun Things guitarist Brad Shepherd. This line-up released the band's break-through first album, Stoneage Romeos, in 1984.
In 1998, the band officially split but reformed for occasional concerts in subsequent years. A full-fledged reunion came in 2004, when they released Mach Schau and began touring again. The band received another boost when Come Anytime (from 1989's Magnum Cum Louder) was used as the theme song to the Australian TV show Thank God You're Here.
Discography:
Stoneage Romeos (1984), Mars Needs Guitars! (1985), Blow Your Cool! (1987), Magnum Cum Louder (1989), Kinky (1991), Crank (1994), Blue Cave (1996), Mach Schau (2004), Purity of Essence (2010)
Compilations:
Electric Soup (1992), Gorilla Biscuit (1992), Electric Chair (1998), Armchair Gurus (1998), Bite The Bullet (1998), Ampology (2000)
In the Echo Chamber
Hoodoo Gurus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I saw this man approaching - he wore a coat of white.
He said, "you don't know me, but you'll very soon find out!"
Then the world was darkness as a cloth
Clamped around my mouth.
Where am I? I don't know
(how can I escape?)
I was laying on the carpet inside this madman's lab.
Then a voice was speaking from behind a glass-walled booth
It said, "welcome stranger, we've got
Some serious work to do !"
Where am l? someone say more!
(what's his fiendish plan?)
He said "you're my guinea-pig,
I'm an unsound engineer
I'm going to see how much a man can dig
A thousand voices in his ever-decreasing human ear"
In the echo chamber I almost went insane,
Even my own heartbeat caused my eardrum pain.
It was like a Phil Spector nightmare: the echo machine ran wild
It was louder, getting louder - I thought that I would die.
Where am l? say more!
I never got out of there though I've tried and tried
For twenty-more years
That's why I am where I am now
Where am l?
I'm gonna tear it down before I go.
(ah, c'mon, Michelangelo: you know)
The lyrics of Hoodoo Gurus' "In the Echo Chamber" tell the story of a man who is walking home when he is approached by a stranger, who brings him to a lab and traps him in an echo chamber. The man becomes increasingly disoriented and overwhelmed by the noise of the machine, ultimately failing to escape and spending years trapped within its walls. The song plays on the fears of losing control and being trapped in an enclosed space, while also touching on themes of experimentation and the dehumanization of science and technology.
The lyrics are delivered in a somewhat frantic, hyperbolic tone, emphasizing the sense of panic and disorientation that the singer feels within the echo chamber. The imagery of being trapped inside a machine that amplifies sound to the point of causing physical pain is a potent symbol of technology gone awry. The reference to Phil Spector, the notorious producer who famously used echo and reverb effects to create the "Wall of Sound" in his recordings, adds to the sense of disorientation and claustrophobia.
Line by Line Meaning
As I was out walking home alone one night,
While I was going back home alone one night,
I saw this man approaching - he wore a coat of white.
I noticed a man approaching me, dressed in a white coat.
He said, "you don't know me, but you'll very soon find out!"
The man told me that I didn't know him, but I would soon know more about him.
Then the world was darkness as a cloth
Suddenly, everything went dark, similar to having a cloth placed over my eyes.
Clamped around my mouth.
It felt like something was covering my mouth and making it difficult to speak or breathe.
Where am I? I don't know
I was confused about my location and had no idea where I was.
(how can I escape?)
I was trying to come up with a plan to escape.
Slowly I recovered. my head was aching bad.
As time passed, I started feeling better, but my head still hurt a lot.
I was laying on the carpet inside this madman's lab.
I found myself lying on the floor inside of a crazy scientist's laboratory.
Then a voice was speaking from behind a glass-walled booth
I heard a voice speaking from a booth that was made of glass walls.
It said, "welcome stranger, we've got
The voice greeted me with the words, "Welcome, stranger! We have
Some serious work to do !"
important work that needs to be done!"
Where am l? someone say more!
I was still trying to figure out where I was and wanted someone to give me more information.
(what's his fiendish plan?)
I was also curious about the scientist's evil plan and what he had in store for me.
He said "you're my guinea-pig,
The scientist revealed that I was his experiment subject.
I'm an unsound engineer
He claimed to be an unstable engineer.
I'm going to see how much a man can dig
The scientist planned to test my limits and see how much pressure I could take.
A thousand voices in his ever-decreasing human ear"
He wanted to expose me to loud sounds and see how long it would take for me to lose my hearing.
In the echo chamber I almost went insane,
The echoing sounds in the chamber started to drive me crazy.
Even my own heartbeat caused my eardrum pain.
The sound of my own heartbeat was so loud that it caused me physical pain in my eardrums.
It was like a Phil Spector nightmare: the echo machine ran wild
The echoing sounds were so intense that it was like something out of a horror movie, similar to what Phil Spector did in his music production.
It was louder, getting louder - I thought that I would die.
The sounds kept getting louder and louder, and I honestly thought that I might die from sensory overload.
Where am l? say more!
I was still trying to figure out where I was, and I wanted someone to give me more information about the situation.
I never got out of there though I've tried and tried
Even though I tried so hard to escape, I was never able to get out of there.
For twenty-more years
For another two decades,
That's why I am where I am now
This is the reason why I am currently in the situation that I am in.
Where am l?
I am still trying to figure out where I am located.
I'm gonna tear it down before I go.
I plan to destroy this place before I leave it for good.
(ah, c'mon, Michelangelo: you know)
This is similar to what Michelangelo did when he destroyed one of his sculptures that he was unhappy with. You know this!
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind