The Hives are law. You are crime.
Do what I want 'cause I can and if I don't because I wanna!
Be ignored by the stiff and the bored because I'm gonna!
Spit and retrieve 'cause I give and receive because I wanna!
Gonna get through your head what the mystery man said because I'm gonna!
Be ignored by the stiff and the bored because I'm gonna!
Spit and retrieve 'cause I give and receive because I wanna!
Gonna get through your head what the mystery man said because I'm gonna!
— "Hate To Say I Told You So"
The Hives are a Swedish rock band from Fagersta, Sweden that rose to prominence in the early 2000s during the Garage Rock revival. Their mainstream success came with the release of the album Veni Vidi Vicious, containing the single "Hate to Say I Told You So". The band is known for their energetic live shows, and have been acclaimed by music critics as one of the best live rock bands of their era.
The band were formed in 1989, but changed the name to The Hives in 1993. Their first official release was the EP Oh Lord! When? How? in 1996.
Younger tropers may remember them from their 2007 song "Fall Is Just Something That Grownups Invented," which played in Cartoon Network during the summer of that year.
In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the band made headlines at the tail end of 2020 by doing a virtual world tour.
Band members:
- Howlin' Pelle Almqvist (Pelle Almqvist) - lead vocals
- Nicholaus Arson (Niklas Almqvist) - guitar
- Vigilante Carlstroem (Mikael Karlsson Åström) - guitar
- Dr. Matt Destruction (Mattias Bernwall) - bass guitar
- Chris Dangerous (Christian Grahn) - drums, percussion
Discography
- Barely Legal (1997)
- Veni Vidi Vicious (2000)
- Your New Favourite Band (2001) (compilation album)
- Tyrannosaurus Hives (2004)
- The Black and White Album (2008)
- Lex Hives (2012)
- The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons (2023)
Provides examples of:
- Audience Participation: Pelle's banter and interaction with the crowd between the songs are almost legendary. After all, "the show doesn't stop just because the song stops." Also, when they played at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney (July 2011) one guy from the audience got to play bass for "Hate to say I told you so", while the bassist Dr. Matt Destruction crowd surfed.
- Badass Boast: Being cock-of-the-walk is part of the Hives' charm. This trope makes up a lot of Howlin' Pelle's stage banter, but a lot of the songs themselves could fit this too. "Tick Tick Boom" is an example. The title of "Hate To Say I Told You So" says it all. "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." is a badass boast about the band's own concerts. And then there's "Outsmarted" which combines this with "The Reason You Suck" Speech.Now I'm the kid who put the shit back in place
And I'm the one who threw it back in your face
It took a little bit of intellectual shit, diversity and wit
Now you're the kid who put the 'L' back in lame
And you're the one who's always fitted the frame
Still such a fool
No suspicion, no clue, you've been —
OUTSMARTED! - Big "YES!":
- Or Big Yeah, in the case of "Tick Tick Boom," which has Pelle just roaring out seven of these, and that's not counting the backing vocals.YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH, I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG!
YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH, YOU KEEP TAGGING ALONG! - There's also "Go Right Ahead" which begins with a larynx-shredding "YEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"
- Or Big Yeah, in the case of "Tick Tick Boom," which has Pelle just roaring out seven of these, and that's not counting the backing vocals.
- Band of Relatives: Pelle Almqvist and "Nicholaus Arson" (Niklas Almqvist) are brothers.
- Confusing Multiple Negatives: "The Bomb" takes this to dizzying degrees during the verses.What do you wanna do?
(Get down!)
What don't you wanna do?
(Get up!)
What don't you wanna not don't do?
(Not get down!)
What don't you wanna not don't wanna not do?
(Not get up!) - Dramatic Pause: During live performances of Tick Tick Boom they suddenly freeze like statues for several seconds while the audience goes nuts around them. (Here for almost a minute starting at around 2.30) It's impressive.
- Even the Guys Want Him: And gay women too, in their mariachi outfits, at least according to Pelle.We're wearing what could possibly be the cutest outfits known to man. Turning a lot of straight men gay, and a lot of gay women straight!"
- Excited Title! Two-Part Episode Name!: Their first EP was titled Oh Lord! When? How?.
- Funk Rock: "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S." from The Black And White Album.
- Garage Rock: Credited by the music press as one of the main bands of the "Garage Rock Revival" of the early 2000's.
- Gratuitous Ninja: The stage crew has been wearing ninja outfits since 2011, (the same time as the band swithed to tuxedos). A ninja changing a microphone◊, ninja with guitar◊, ninja◊, ninja◊.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: Ninja-roadie, on stage! Tambourine ninja!
- I'll Kill You!:Pelle: Clap and scream while I drink some water or I'll kill you.
- Invented Individual: Randy Fitzsimmons, the band claims he founded the band in 1993, and is the songwriter, manager, and a honorary "sixth Hive". Randy Fitzsimmons is a pseudonym registred at STIM and the royalties for it goes to the guitarist Nicholaus Arson. The band claims that Randy Fitzsimmons is a pseudonym for someone else and that he did a cameo in the "Main Offender" music video (backside only). 3ammagazine did a email interview with Fitzsimmons in 2008.
- Keet \ Large Ham: Howlin' Pelle Almqvist. He just doesn't stop.
- Limited Lyrics Song: "Come on!". Here's the whole song.Come on![x8]
Come on! (come on!)[x8]
Come on![x4]
Come on...Everybody come on!
Come on![x8]
Come on! (come on!)[x8]
Come on![x4]
Come on...Everybody come on! - Long Runner Lineup: Type 1. The same five members since the band formed (under a different name) in 1989, and of course Fitzsimmons.
- Metal Scream: Sometimes opening the song ("Walk Idiot Walk"), sometimes making up lots of the lyrics (the Big "YES!" on "Tick Tick Boom") or even the last chorus ("Hate To Say I Told You So"). He's not Howlin' Pelle for nothing.
- Miniscule Rocking:
- For instance, only a third of Tyrannosaurus Hives reaches\surpasses the three minute mark.
- More than half the songs on Barely Legal are under two minutes.
- Taken up to eleven with "Come On," which is a minute long, and the lyrics consist of Pete yelling the title over and over.
- No Indoor Voice: From his lyrics to his stage banter, Pelle is almost constantly shouting. Switch to decaf, Pelle!
- Rap Rock: Never usually invoke rap in their music in any significant way, but they did do a collaboration with Timbaland called "Throw It On Me."
- Refuge in Audacity: The stock in trade of Howlin Pelle's stage banter. Examples include:
- Scary Musician, Harmless Music: Inverted. Their matching black and white outfits are often quite formal attire and they mostly look pretty "clean cut", but their music is almost exclusively raw and loud Garage Rock. Here's one such perfomance.
- School Uniforms are the New Black: They are always wearing black and white but during the "The Black and White Album/Tour" period they wore school uniforms in stage with black blazers with "H" crests and striped black and white ties.
- Self-Deprecation:
- Sixth Ranger: Randy Fitzsimmons - or not (See above)
- Spelling Song: "A.k.a.i-d-i-o-t" and "T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S."a.k.a i-d-i-o-t, don't know who the hell I'm supposed to be, i-d-i-o-t (a.k.a i-d-i-o-t).
a.k.a i-d-i-o-t, yeah thats me, i-d-i-o-t (a.k.a i-d-i-o-t).We rule the world, this is our world [x2]
T.H.E.H.I.V.E.S. [x4] - Stage Names: All five members except Pelle Almqvist, who just added "Howlin'" before his real name. All invoke Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Nicholaus Arson (Niklas Almqvist), Vigilante Carlstroem (Mikael Karlsson Åström), Dr. Matt Destruction (Mattias Bernwall), and Chris Dangerous (Christian Grahn).
- Even their guest musicians get badass nicknames, as guest-guitarist Wolverine Brandstroem and guest-bassist The Johan and Only can attest.
- Surprisingly Gentle Song: They are mostly known for their bombastic high-speed garage rock, but their album Veni Vedi Vicious throws in "Find Another Girl", a pretty faithful cover of a 60's R&B ballad by Jerry Butler. It sticks out quite a bit in the middle of the album.
- That Came Out Wrong: A 2013 concert in Boston had this piece of stage banter: "This song's for everyone in Boston. It's about stuff blowing up. It's called 'Tick, Tick, Boom'." Considering the Boston Marathon bombing happened a few months prior, it was not the right combination of words, and Pelle Almqvist issued an apology the next day saying he should've remembered the tragedy.
- Title-Only Chorus: "Two Timing Touch and Broken Bones".
"I KNOW YOU WANT US TO PLAY MORE. BUT THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE, SO YOU CAN TURN OFF NOW."
[Mic Drop]
[Mic Drop]
