Videodrone is a weekly feature looking at music videos from the last half century.
Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe (1994)
In 1994, alternative rock ruled the roost. Even though it was dampened somewhat in April '94 by Kurt Cobain's suicide, the grungesplosion was in full effect. The major labels were scouring rock scenes in various cities looking for the next big thing. There was a lot of great music out from the likes of Beastie Boys, Sloan, Helmet, Frank Black, Pavement, Weezer, Beck, Jeff Buckley, Mazzy Star, Liz Phair. And there was a weirdo anthem out of Sweden that captured the attention of the world thanks to its crazy video.
In Stockholm, record producer Gordon Cyrus and radio host Henrik Schyffert were working on a TV ad when they decided to write some music together as a joke. They recruited Schyffert's girlfriend Cia Berg, who sang with the '80s new wave act Ubangi, to sing. The song they came up with, "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe," was a combination of Chili Peppers-esque funk metal, quirky Bjork-styled vocals and trip-hop beats. Berg sings about a well-off woman who sleeps with homeless people for kicks, while Schyffert and Cyrus chime in with shouted gang backing vocals. It's all quite insanely catchy.
The lyrics were actually a cultural mix-up by Schyffert. "It was a misunderstanding from me," he told Melody Maker when asked what a "slobo babe" was. "I heard 'Slobo' was a nickname for Chelsea girls. Hobo Humpin' Sloane Babe would have been right."
Calling themselves Whale, the trio decided to make a video for the song on the cheap and somehow were able to get director Mark Pellington, who was already well known for directing Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," R.E.M.'s "Drive" and U2's "One." He was agreeable and told Schyffert he was directing a commercial on a Thursday and Friday, but they could use the gear over the weekend to film the video before he had to return it.
It's a gloriously bizarre affair, with Berg singing the song while inspecting a group of shirtless men and boys. She's got braces and is licking a lollipop. Meanwhile, Cyrus and Schyffert are jumping around with guitars chanting the chorus: "You hobo humpin' slobo babe/Get it off, get off, get off of me!" Cyrus is just wearing shorts while Schyffert is wearing a flowery dress and the whole thing is supremely silly and fun.
The video became an instant hit on MTV Europe, so much so that it won Best Video at the first MTV Europe Music Awards in November 1994, beating out instant classics like the Beasties' "Sabotage." Over on this side of the pond, the song wasn't as big of a hit but it was played on MTV's 120 Minutes regularly and on stations like KROQ in Los Angeles. But the real mark of success for the video was getting the Beavis and Butt-head stamp of approval (see below). That's where I first saw the video and it made an immediate impression on me. That impression, of course, was "WTF?"
"Hobo" reached #24 on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart and #102 on the Singles chart in the U.S., faring better on the European charts. It was re-released in 1995 when Whale's debut album We Care came out and hit #15 on the U.K. Singles chart. Trip-hop icon Tricky co-produced a few of the songs, but the album didn't fare well. A follow-up, All Disco Dance Must End in Broken Bones, came and went in 1998 and the band split up the next year.
But 32 years later, "Hobo Humpin' Slobo Babe" remains a memorable one-hit wonder.
