The Hundred in the Hands (often abbreviated as THITH) is an electropop duo,… Read Full Bio ↴The Hundred in the Hands (often abbreviated as THITH) is an electropop duo, formed in 2008 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. The band members are Eleanore Everdell (vocals, synthesizers) and Jason Friedman (guitars, programming). Named after the phrase the Lakota Nation gave to the Fetterman Battle of 1866 in Wyoming (in which Crazy Horse led his warriors to a victory that resulted in the death of 100 enemies), The Hundred in the Hands fuses electropop with post-punk and dream pop elements, making for a sound that’s equally danceable and dreamy.

Friedman was once a member of the indie rock outfit The Boggs. In November 2007, following a US tour supporting The Boggs’ third album Forts, Jason Friedman and touring member Eleanore Everdell found themselves in the studio recording a brand new collaborative track without the rest of the band. Friedman said: "In the past, the collaborators I worked with would adjust what they did to fit my vision. Working with Eleanore it was clear that the time had come to shift into a more equal partnership.” In the 10 months since that session, the seven-year-old The Boggs were laid to rest, and The Hundred in the Hands were formed.

The first song completed was "Dressed in Dresden." In March 2009 the band released the single Dressed in Dresden / Undressed in Dresden on Pure Groove label. The online success of this song led in August 2009 to a deal with Warp Records, which Friedman calls "near the top of my list of ideal labels." Warp issued the 12-inch single Dressed in Dresden in 5 April 2009.

Eleanore Everdell also sang on "Lover’s Day" from TV on the Radio’s Dear Science.

THITH released in 18 May 2010 their first 6-track EP This Desert, followed by the singles Pigeons in 13 September 2010 and Commotion / Aggravation in 15 November 2010. The song "Pigeons" supported by an original music video, became their most popular song. In 20 September 2010 they released the debut album The Hundred in the Hands.

The Hundred in the Hands are inspired by artists like Young Marble Giants, Wire, New Order, The Cure, De La Soul, Buddy Holly, Broadcast, LCD Soundsystem and many others.

The duo's second studio album, Red Night, was released on 11 June 2012.

Official site: http://www.thehundredinthehands.com

The Beach
The Hundred in the Hands Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

So, there's you and me again
And once again
Always a certain something
Like nerves and the rain
Meeting on the corner
You had your short sleeves rolled
And all the while
I smiled as you

Went looking for
The beach
Under the paving stones

Dealing with it
Leaving it
Turning it in and out
And under the circumstances
I couldn't help it

Dealing with it
Leaving it
Turning it in and out and
Under the circumstances

That's as far as I'd go
Really, I don't want to know

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Hundred in the Hands' song "The Beach" capture a moment of meeting with someone special, someone who brings out a certain kind of tension and excitement. The singer describes encountering this person on the corner with their sleeves rolled up, and feeling a smile spread across their face as they set off on a search for the beach - a metaphor for something beyond the mundane, something exciting and elusive.

Throughout the song, the singer grapples with feelings that are hard to define, emotions that are at once thrilling and unsettling. The chorus repeats the phrases "Dealing with it, leaving it, turning it in and out" like a mantra, evoking a sense of trying to make sense of complicated emotions while also pushing them away. The final lines of the song - "Under the circumstances, that's as far as I'd go / Really, I don't want to know" - suggest a reluctance to delve too deeply into the feelings that have been stirred up.

Overall, "The Beach" is a song about the tantalizing but complicated nature of attraction, and the way it can leave us simultaneously yearning and fearful.

Line by Line Meaning

So, there's you and me again
We are together once more

And once again
This is a recurring event

Always a certain something
There is an indefinable feeling between us

Like nerves and the rain
It feels tense and uncertain

Meeting on the corner
We met on a street corner

You had your short sleeves rolled
You were dressed casually, with your sleeves rolled up

And all the while
During this time

I smiled as you
I smiled while you

Went looking for
Were searching for something

The beach
A peaceful place

Under the paving stones
Although we were in the city