[ ]   [ ]   [ ]                        [ ]      [ ]   [ ]
Sneaker Pimps — Post-Modern Sleaze
Album: Becoming X
Avg rating:
7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2410









Released: 1996
Length: 4:55
Plays (last 30 days): 1
She looks ahead, she paints her toe nails red,
She's wet and wild, a typical 90's child,

She makes every move they make,
She takes everything they take,
She must be a Thelma or Louise,
She must be a post-modern sleaze

Unscrew the wine, she'll throw a party line,
Stories extreme, she's such a drama queen,
Cries through the night, she choked on Marlboro lites,
Pure charm and grace, she hates her pretty face,

She makes every move they make,
She takes everything they take,
She must be a Thelma or Louise,
She must be a post-modern sleaze

Straw spun from gold, she craves a tortured soul,
All doom and gloom, she plays an open wound,

She takes every scene they steal,
She fakes every pain they feel,
She must be a Thelma or Louise,
She must be a post-modern tease.
Comments (179)add comment
Was listening in the truck whilst running some errands and had skipped a few songs in the stream earlier in the drive and this came on 10 minutes from home.  Picked up the pace a bit and fired up the desktop once I walked in the door in time to hear it again, only louder. 
Sweet.  Such a great period of time for the genre, and for me.
 queenjill wrote:
ThePoose wrote:Well good for her. Maybe if you signed off the computer, you could participate too.



Hahahaha!!
My ex LOVED this album...so maybe my reaction to hearing a track from it is somewhat tinged with resentment...glad it tested my current emotional state though...
 NelsonBlack wrote:

I may sound like a sap, but I love this whole brief period of trip-hop influenced music: Massive Attack, the dark turn of EBTG, the first Esthero, Tricky, early Hooverphonic, the first Goldfrapp and of course Portishead.



Yes, Yes and Yes
 countyman wrote:

You hear Bjork here?  Get yer ears cleaned.
Two different and distinct voices.  Both pleasant to the ears.


i hear it, too. except i like bjork much more.
 ziggytrix wrote:

This band should not have fired Kelli. Her distinctive voice was such a huge part of what made this album so fantastic.



Oy, never trust a pimp.
I absolutely love the songs they did with Kelli Dayton ("6 Underground" being my fave by them)... I remember one time I was shopping in a funky little local discount market that was on my way home from the gym in HigashiMatsubara, Setagaya-ku, and this came over the sound-system. I was rocking and bopping to it, but the little old ladies perusing the yellowtail fillets looked befuddled and flustered, to say the least!
 timmus wrote:

Not sure what I think of the song, but I always appreciate hearing other songs by "one hit wonders".  One thing I've been finding with a lot of artists, especially one hit wonders, is their smash hits are often among the least interesting songs in their reportoire.  Though "6 Underground" was pretty decent.



This band had several top 40 releases. More in the UK than the US, but they were not a "one-hit wonder".
Please play 6 underground!!
A one-two, a one-two!
Not sure what I think of the song, but I always appreciate hearing other songs by "one hit wonders".  One thing I've been finding with a lot of artists, especially one hit wonders, is their smash hits are often among the least interesting songs in their reportoire.  Though "6 Underground" was pretty decent.
Unique.
 ziggytrix wrote:
This band should not have fired Kelli. Her distinctive voice was such a huge part of what made this album so fantastic.
 
I think Kelli MADE the band.  6 Underground was a hypnotic favorite of mine.  It was on many a mix tape/disc I made! 
Another album to check out thanks to RP...

Gone in at an 8 - was a +1 just for being from Hartlepool... Don't see that too often
Oh HEY! I haven't heard this in ages, though I have it on a mix tape (!!!) from an old love from the 90s. Still holds up. Long live the Sneaker Pimps, if only in memory!
I'm slightly confused by this mix. I am pretty sure that I have the original album (on CD) and it is not the same as this. It is only slightly different but I really like this version. Where does this mix come from?
 NelsonBlack wrote:
I may sound like a sap, but I love this whole brief period of trip-hop influenced music: Massive Attack, the dark turn of EBTG, the first Esthero, Tricky, early Hooverphonic, the first Goldfrapp and of course Portishead.
 
Nothing sappy about it, friend.
This is f**king groovy.  Love it.
Re. "Something's wrong with my RP feed" - seems to be fixed now  
I may sound like a sap, but I love this whole brief period of trip-hop influenced music: Massive Attack, the dark turn of EBTG, the first Esthero, Tricky, early Hooverphonic, the first Goldfrapp and of course Portishead.
Never heard this before, so I'm bummed that I missed out on 23 years of this sweetness.
A very beautiful song! Great radio. Thanks. {#Bananajam}
 optimusprime10 wrote:
tony620d wrote:
Lahaaame-O. Cover art looks like your typical royality free art image for $59.99, with a little photoshop bevel of their name. Then again at the time, photoshop was just pure magic.
at the time? did it disappear? geekier way of saying that: photoshop 5 was pure magic. man, that was so long ago!
 
Photoshop Creative Cloud seems to still be continuing on the magic… at least for my job.
Das ist ganz gut !  {#Music}
Following from Cream — Deserted Cities of the Heart today.  Perfect.
This band should not have fired Kelli. Her distinctive voice was such a huge part of what made this album so fantastic.
 Proclivities wrote:

I would think most people listening here would get them; this song is only about 20 years old.  Maybe not...

 
I give up - googles not coming up with anything for me...
 zerosomething wrote:
I wonder if people really get the references these days?

 
I would think most people listening here would get them; this song is only about 20 years old.  Maybe not...
Play it loud.
Fine song with great Nelle Hooper production from the period he worked with Massive Attack.

I've always felt you can hear the texture of The Pentangle in this song, which makes it all the more clever from an arrangement perspective.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentangle_(band)

KRamm
Euphoria
Love her voice...so sensual !!
I wonder if people really get the references these days?
Loving the deep base on this.{#Bananajam}
so many good memories!
How did I only have this at an 8? This is a solid 9.
 pops364 wrote:
Had this album since it came out. And it gets played often on my system. One of the first "sampled" CDs I ever heard. Their take on the Britt Ekland noody bit (How Do) on the Wicker Man soundtrack is so cool. Whole album an awesome 9/10.
So what happened to the girl singer then?

 
Kelli Ali (nee Dayton)'s fifth solo album came out in 2013. I need to go listen to some of her stuff, I really miss this stuff (although I liked the other stuff Sneaker Pimps did without her - but nothing else is "Becoming X" that's for sure) 
Such a cool song, been way too long since I've heard it.
 coloradojohn wrote:
One of the two coolest songs on the planet from this landmark and still kick-ass album...love the smokin' vocals on these tracks...

 
Spot on, my friend.  Good stuff.
post modern sleaze
(with a bit of "new forum" quoting effort from the archives)  Upon a drive-by RP tunein....a truly happenstance and emboldened ..... indeed sir. 

11+years later…here we are.  Fittingly "spooky" familiar/classic RP shit with a great tune...your comment is an eerie slam-duck kicker!

Mot wrote:
Posted: Oct 18, 2002 - 21:07
 
This is a song that epitomizes Radio Paradise for me. I loved it the moment I first heard it here, and still do months later. It's one of those defining songs that years from now I'll hear and I'll flash to what was now and I'll smile remembering when...

One of the two coolest songs on the planet from this landmark and still kick-ass album...love the smokin' vocals on these tracks...
Had this album since it came out. And it gets played often on my system. One of the first "sampled" CDs I ever heard. Their take on the Britt Ekland noody bit (How Do) on the Wicker Man soundtrack is so cool. Whole album an awesome 9/10.
So what happened to the girl singer then?

Good song.  I finally got this CD last week. 


Never even heard of them before now. I like it. New one for the radar.
Yep...I thought it was the Icelandic gal too. I thought wrong!
Never heard this before.

I like! 
I always thought this album was a one hit onder with 6underground.  but this always seemed to get played after, you know, before the days of Ipod shuffle.  time has mellowed it, in fact I quite like the grove it has.
and thankyou for following it with the clash.  ;)
So this is what the Decembrists ripped "...the Crane Wife" off from.
 Johnny-smooth wrote:
boy that was bad, thank you BIll for following up with the Clash
 
Boy that was good.  Thank you, Bill, for following up with the Clash.
best Sneaker Pimps album ever.  Thanks for bringing me back Bill!!
boy that was bad, thank you BIll for following up with the Clash
 annie_fannie wrote:


Saw them with Kelli at 1st Ave. in Minneapolis about the same time...maybe a year or two later. It was an awesome line-up. Sneaker Pimps, Aphex Twin, Chemical Brothers!
 
Sounds like a great show !
 joe-1 wrote:
Brings me back to when I was a 16 year old almost lost-cause. Loved the subtle electronics in their songs and the fragile voice. I remember going to their concert on Pukkelpop 1996 and being a little disappointed to see Chris Corner as the only singer and missed Kelli, the girl singing on this album.
 

She was def the better lead singer, although the album after she left is still quite good, wouldn't mind hearing some of it here.
Sneaker Pimps... nothing quite like them.
 joe-1 wrote:
Brings me back to when I was a 16 year old almost lost-cause. Loved the subtle electronics in their songs and the fragile voice. I remember going to their concert on Pukkelpop 1996 and being a little disappointed to see Chris Corner as the only singer and missed Kelli, the girl singing on this album.
 

Saw them with Kelli at 1st Ave. in Minneapolis about the same time...maybe a year or two later. It was an awesome line-up. Sneaker Pimps, Aphex Twin, Chemical Brothers!
Brings me back to when I was a 16 year old almost lost-cause. Loved the subtle electronics in their songs and the fragile voice. I remember going to their concert on Pukkelpop 1996 and being a little disappointed to see Chris Corner as the only singer and missed Kelli, the girl singing on this album.

 mandolin wrote:
...immediately following their debut album they dismissed their lead (female) vocalist for fear of being typecast as a just another trendy trip-hop band
 
Worst decision ever.

I put "Sneaker Pimps" into a Pandora seed and heard several of their later tracks.

They went from trendy trip-hop band to bland electro-pop.

Why have I never heard this track before? I am absolutely loving the guitar work, in addition to everything else.

{#Good-vibes}


She sounds a bit like Jill Sobule. {#Music}
Nice to hear the pimps after so many years...
The singer reminds me of Bonnie Hayes (of Wild Combo 'fame') in this song (not in others I've heard). Obscure reference, I suspect. Like this - I have it as an '8' but might one day have to bump it up.
I love the Pimps. . . I loaded up Spin, Spin, Sugar from this album to RP and it got rejected. 

Hey ho.

Great to hear this track though :) 
 a_genuine_find wrote:
.

 
I like this quite a bit (*7) and I agree it has Bjorkish qualities

Outstanding!  Haven't heard this in ages.  This entire album was great.
 countyman wrote:

You hear Bjork here?  Get yer ears cleaned.
Two different and distinct voices.  Both pleasant to the ears.

 
You're half right.

 drews wrote:
There's room for only one Bjork on this planet
 
You hear Bjork here?  Get yer ears cleaned.
Two different and distinct voices.  Both pleasant to the ears.

this is a different version than the original album version..  i'm inclined to say the original is better.
There's room for only one Bjork on this planet
Ooohh the minx
Bart Simpson: "I didn't think it was possible for something to suck and blow at the same time."
queenjill wrote:
Well good for her. Maybe if you signed off the computer, you could participate too.
Sounds like a sassy mattress kitten – I like it
ThePoose wrote:
Actually, it's my g/f having her 19th orgasm in a row.
Well good for her. Maybe if you signed off the computer, you could participate too.
.
this song is ok, although it sounds a bit dated not real sure why its on such high rotation here...
Tagish_girl wrote:
Nope, I'm right there with ya. Shriekey, childlike voice. Reminds me of a 13 year old girl fake-wailing her way through an "American Idol" audition. They are trying to hard to be cool.
The were a cool band, in the Morcheeba, massive attack vein..spin spin sugar etc
Tagish_girl wrote:
Nope, I'm right there with ya. Shriekey, childlike voice. Reminds me of a 13 year old girl fake-wailing her way through an "American Idol" audition. They are trying to hard to be cool.
I prefer the more terse "They bite."
sneaker pimps coffee pimps too funny: (click here)
Althea wrote:
Where-oh-where have the Pimps gone? Have we heard anything new from these guys lately? They rock.
...immediately following their debut album they dismissed their lead (female) vocalist for fear of being typecast as a just another trendy trip-hop band, and slipped into comparative obscurity upon releasing critically-acclaimed second and third albums with founder chris corner assuming (male) vocal duties...they've since recorded a fourth unreleased album and brought in a new (female) vocalist for a fifth (fourth to be released) album due out next year...
musikalia wrote:
Hm, looking at the ratings and comments, it would appear I'm just about the only person around here who's not that into this.
Nope, I'm right there with ya. Shriekey, childlike voice. Reminds me of a 13 year old girl fake-wailing her way through an "American Idol" audition. They are trying to hard to be cool.
The rest of this album is awesome. This song is...ok...
Could hit a 9 for me with a couple more plays. Interesting track!
xkolibuul wrote:
No you hear some squealing synth that sounds like a didgeridoo.
So, I was going to comment on how I dislike that _____ in the solo. So, I started to listen to it more closely, so I could name the source of my disdain... I think it is a reversed saxophone solo?!?! Maybe I like it more now... Q
ThePoose wrote:
Actually, it's my g/f having her 19th orgasm in a row.
Um, okay.
Sounds Bjorky to me... though I can discern the lyrics and for the most part they seem coherent. Oh, and, uh... I kind like it, sorta, maybe... No, I do like it. I'm almost certain...
Hm, looking at the ratings and comments, it would appear I'm just about the only person around here who's not that into this.
That was great.
Where-oh-where have the Pimps gone? Have we heard anything new from these guys lately? They rock.
xkolibuul wrote:
No you hear some squealing synth that sounds like a didgeridoo.
Actually, it's my g/f having her 19th orgasm in a row.
No you hear some squealing synth that sounds like a didgeridoo. Hinkamp wrote:
cool mix of instruments, I hear a dijeri do
cool mix of instruments, I hear a dijeri do
oh my yessss...... ... picture Hunter S. Thompson...
Pablo13 wrote:
love this band a lot - they have a difference about them - they stand out amongst the mediocre!
I agree wholeheartedly Pablo13, one band I'd love to dance to live!
love this band a lot - they have a difference about them - they stand out amongst the mediocre!
I like this. Is the rest of the disk good too?
Awesome
This song brings back very vivid memories.
handyrae wrote:
That's just what I was thinking!
Not me. I was thinking, "Do fish have balls?"
diane wrote:
Well, I'll be. A "little gurl" voice that doesn't make me want to hurl... This is the first time I've noticed The Sneaker Pimps and I like it/them!
That's just what I was thinking!
tony620d wrote:
Lahaaame-O. Cover art looks like your typical royality free art image for $59.99, with a little photoshop bevel of their name. Then again at the time, photoshop was just pure magic.
at the time? did it disappear? geekier way of saying that: photoshop 5 was pure magic. man, that was so long ago!
Lahaaame-O. Cover art looks like your typical royality free art image for $59.99, with a little photoshop bevel of their name. Then again at the time, photoshop was just pure magic.
Duluoz wrote:
They picked up this album cover from the $1.95 bin at the album cover store.
the original cover was way better actually, this seems to be the third cover to this record. strange …
Thanks to RP this song rotates in my winamp playlist at home :)
They picked up this album cover from the $1.95 bin at the album cover store.
haunting -- epic -- dreamlike poor little unloved gurl tries to hide behind a veneer of sophisication, but can't even fool herself
Well, I'll be. A "little gurl" voice that doesn't make me want to hurl... This is the first time I've noticed The Sneaker Pimps and I like it/them! (Now I've got to go see how many decades I'm behind...)
Three cheers for Bill and Rebecca for reminding me that I love this band.... first time I heard them was from the Saint soundtrack, with their 6 Underground track. I agree, great rainy day music, or for lounging with friends. Great set, guys.
Great flashback. The Dysfunctional Psychedelic Waltons single "Payback Time" is a project by Kelli Ali - the Sneaker Pimps vocalist on this track - and uber-producer Nellee Hooper.
Awww the Sneaker pimps...I am writing a paper for class and was captivated by the familiar voice. WOW..I almost forgot about them... SPIN SPIN SUGAR............ by far the best song they ever did especially the remix!
It took about 1/2 the song before it caught me. Now I'm hooked. WHat a sultry voice and driving groove.
Sneaker pimps are a wonderful winter/ rainy day band. Love the bassy feel, and airy singing. beautiful voice.
beautiful...
Don't know why I like this song so much...must be the groove.
Wow, now... this, this is really really bad.
Dig it...especially the swelling chorus.
Steven_G wrote:
Sadly, Kelli Dayton has since left the group to pursue a solo career. (click here) for more info. This is the cover of one of her solo albums. Though I adored her voice on Sneaker Pimps, I don't really care much for her solo album. ((album cover image))
Ah, the miracle of Photoshop...
Luuuuv this....
xkolibuul wrote:
dave216j wrote:
rcarr wrote:
Quite how you can compare Kelli's sultry, smoky tones to either Bjork or Alanis really mystifies me.
This song was off to a great start until the vocals kicked in. I don't much care for Bjork or Alanis, but the depth of this groove needs a fuller sound, something like Morcheeba or the singer fronting Thievery Corporation on Lebanese Blond. This singer's voice is too narrow, edges into whining instead of being, well, sultry or smoky.
I dunno dude, I say this girl can croon this groove in my ear any time
I am totally with you xkolibuul! AMG writes -
Borrowing heavily from Portishead and Massive Attack, Sneaker Pimps pursued a trancelike but edgy sound, highlighted by Kelli Dayton's soulful vocals. While Dayton was the focal point, Chris Corner (guitar) and Liam Howe (keyboards) are the band's leaders, writing all of the songs and producing the records. Howe and Corner had been playing in bands since the early '90s, to no success. After seeing Dayton sing with a pub band in 1995, they convinced her to join the fledgling Sneaker Pimps.
Post-Modern Sleaze is a great album (at least the ones with Kelli's vocal contribution). Sadly, Kelli Dayton (aka Kelli Ali) has since left the group to pursue a solo career. (click here) for more info. This is the cover of one of her solo albums. Though I adored her voice on Sneaker Pimps, I don't really care much for her solo album. (At least the one shown below - Tigermouth, released in 2003.) Here is a quote from an Amazon.com reviewer of this solo album (Tigermouth) -
Enough time has passed that it no longer means much to argue about whether Kelli Ali/Dayton should have been so wrongly fired from the Sneaker Pimps. She's now her own singer. But it is still useful to talk about Kelli's work on the Pimps' *Becoming X* album, because that was when the world learned that she is a very unique singer with a fabulously sensual and sexy voice. The dark, moody feel of the Pimps' trip-hop brought out the serious side in Kelli's voice and highlighted all of her strengths. However, that's not the case with much of this solo album.
(click here) for more info. on this solo album.