Because we love ‘em all. Here’s your 90’s Video of the Day
Chumbawamba - Tubthumping
“Pissin’ the night away,” is a hell of away to get the attention of Americans getting a grade school chuckle out of a cultural reference that just doesn’t mean the same thing it does here. What British band Chumbawamba meant in the bridge of “Tubthumping,” was to drink all night, not having some uncontrollable bladder which certainly got a few laughs the first time you heard it. Another term lost in translation? The title. A tubthumper in England is a politician, in the same way we say “stumping” here in America.
Because Chumbawamba is largely a one hit wonder, the band’s thirty year history is often understated. While “Tubthumping,” is a pop song, the band’s roots were in anarchist punk like Crass, Public Image Limited, and The Fall. With every decade that passed, they would bring in new influences, like techno and pop, then folk, and eventually you get a smash single that really doesn’t sound like anything else, demanding attention.
Their punk roots remained though. Often members of the band encouraged fans to steal their music from large corporate chains and they took no time turning down a $1.5 million dollar deal to license “Tubthumping” for Nike. They broke up in 2012.
The video is directed by Ben Unwin.
Hit me up with 90’s Video’s you wanna see featured at abby@wxdx.com