Hammer the Hammer
| "Hammer the Hammer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by The Go-Betweens | ||||
| A-side | "Hammer the Hammer" | |||
| B-side | "By Chance" | |||
| Released | June 1982 | |||
| Recorded | January 1982 A.A.V. Studios, Melbourne | |||
| Length | 2:50 | |||
| Label | Rough Trade | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Grant McLennan[1] | |||
| Producer(s) | Tony Cohen | |||
| The Go-Betweens singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Hammer the Hammer" was released as a stand-alone single by Australian indie group The Go-Betweens. It was released as a 7" vinyl record on the Missing Link Records label in Australia in June 1982[2][3] and by Rough Trade Records in the United Kingdom in July,[4][5] with "By Chance" as the B-side. Forster considered that "By Chance" was a personal break-through for him.[2] Pitchfork Media describes "By Chance" as sounding "more than a bit like the early Smiths.[6]
Details[edit]
According to music journalist Clinton Walker "Hammer the Hammer" was about McLennan's growing taste for narcotics encouraged by a proximity to the Birthday Party.[7] McLennan however denied that the song was about drugs and in the liner notes for the band's compilation album, 1978-1990, he describes it as being "an incomplete meditation on loneliness and violence, sometimes mistakenly thought to be about drugs".[8]
Forster described the song as, "Grant's first great pop tune. An urgent, melodic verse, a foot to the floor chorus - its lyric just the repeated title. Perfect. From his earliest songs I found his lyrics surprisingly oblique and melancholic."[9]
The band recorded the two songs at Armstrong's Audio Visual (A.A.V.) Studios in Melbourne, at the same time as The Birthday Party was recording Junkyard.[10] It was during these sessions that the two groups decided to collaborate on a song. The result, "After the Fireworks", was a Forster/McLennan joint composition with the lyrics by Nick Cave. It was subsequently released by on Au Go Go Records (ANDA-22) under the name Tuff Monks.[10][11]
Reception[edit]
Reviewed in NME at the time of release, it was described as, "Miscreant pop music attempting to disgrace its fealty to any number of sources. It seems to stumble when a stride is called for and winds up notating needless obscurities. Vacancy trussed up as abstraction is not the stuff of success, in any sense."[12]
The Guardian describes the song as an "odd, punkish sort of folk rock, deceptively primitive and sometimes rattlingly suggestive of the Velvet Underground."[13]
Track listing[edit]
Original 7" Vinyl release[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hammer the Hammer" | G. McLennan[1] | 2:50 |
| 2. | "By Chance" | R. Forster[14] | 2:30 |
Release history[edit]
| Date | Region | Label | Format | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 1982 | Australia | Missing Link | 7" vinyl | MISS 33[15] |
| July 1982 | United Kingdom | Rough Trade | RT 108[15] |
Credits[edit]
- The Go-Betweens
- Robert Forster – vocals, rhythm guitar
- Grant McLennan – vocals, bass guitar, lead guitar
- Lindy Morrison – drums, vocals
- Production
- Producer, Engineer — Tony Cohen
- Producer — The Go-Betweens
References[edit]
- ^ a b "'Hammer the Hammer' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 4 August 2015. Note: User may have to click on 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:', e.g. Hammer the Hammer; or at 'Performer:' The Go-Betweens.
- ^ a b "The Go-Betweens : Hammer The Hammer". Go-Betweens.org.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ Walker, Clinton (1984). The Next Thing. Kangaroo Press. p. 38. ISBN 9780949924810.
- ^ Stafford, Andrew (2006). Pig City: From the Saints to Savage Garden. University of Queensland Press. p. 145. ISBN 9780702235610.
- ^ Young, Rob (2006). Rough Trade. Black Dog Publishing. p. 169. ISBN 9781904772477.
- ^ Wolk, Douglas (22 January 2015). "G Stands for Go-Betweens". Pitchfork. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ "'L' Stands For Liner Notes". Clinton Walker. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ McLennan, Grant. "Liner Notes : 1978-1990". Beggars Banquet Records. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ Robert Forster (2016). Grant & I. Penguin. pp. 100–101. ISBN 978-0-6700782-2-6.
- ^ a b David, Nichols (2003). The Go-Betweens. Portland, OR: Verse Chorus Press. ISBN 1-891241-16-8. Note: [online] version has limited functionality.
- ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). New York: Canongate U.S. p. 262. ISBN 1-84195-615-5.
- ^ Richard Cook (3 July 1982). "Hammer The Hammer (Rough Trade)". NME.
- ^ Peschek, David (29 June 2004). "The Go-Betweens". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
- ^ "'By Chance' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 4 August 2015. Note: User may have to click on 'Search again' and provide details at 'Enter a title:', e.g. By Chance; or at 'Performer:' The Go-Betweens.
- ^ a b "Go-Betweens - Hammer the Hammer". Discogs. Retrieved 4 August 2015.