MySpace Trawl - Whitehouse

Life is sometimes down to an individual’s choice about what they like and don’t like. Consequently, of course, stuff that you have a preference for may not go down too well with your 70-year-old next day neighbour.

The easiest example we can think of to use here would be the good old Marmite debate. For years the product has gone with the slogan 'love it or hate it'. Personally, we hate the stuff; it should never be sold again to anyone - not even the starving. This week, we present to you an act that has been splitting musical opinion since the 1980s. Usually, however, the response to their output has usually been somewhat sour. Probably the most extreme act we are ever likely to feature on this page, we give you Whitehouse. 

Please don’t assume that Whitehouse are named after the presidential residence in America. Instead, they are named after rubbish campaigner Mary Whitehouse. She got all hot and bothered about the amount of violence and swearing on television, and tried to ban it which, obviously, she was shit at. We will warn you now and at the bottom of the page - the few Whitehouse songs that contain lyrics don’t exactly deal with the sweet and innocent issues which you’d find in a Girls Aloud song. Common themes running through their records can portray sadistic sex, misogyny, serial murder, eating disorders, child abuse, and other forms of violence and abjection. These themes are often shouted to the listener or presented in high-pitched screams. If you are offended by the thought of any of the above, don’t go on. Though if you want to upset anyone, this is the stuff to recommend. 

By the way, that’s just the lyrical content. We haven’t mentioned the music yet. Whitehouse are a duo made up of William Bennett and Phillip Best who have been making their own unique and some would say terrifying blend of music before it was recognised by many. Dubbed as 'power electronics' by Bennett, it is more commonly known as noise music. We aren’t going to lie, noise music is harsh indeed. It’s almost like music has been taken over by dark and sinister forces as it swirls around, looking for somewhere to land. Add the full on frontal lyrics and you have a recipe for something that many will think is the worst thing ever. 

Listening to Wriggle Like A Fucking Eel, it almost sounds like a paranoid rambling scream-off between a schizophrenic and himself, locked in a heated debate about all things grim and ugly. The repeated chant of "wriggle like a fucking eel" just seems to generate anger the longer it goes on and the feeling of sinister emotions all come flooding out. As we said, this is not pretty stuff that is all wrapped and polished at the edges. This is music at its most pure. Raw, full of energy and emotion. Is it wrong? Well no not really, its just expression in another form that sadly many people can’t understand. And because they can’t understand what the music is about, it’s rebelled against. 

Unfortunately this is never going to catch on and be a success. We very much doubt to see Whitehouse lunchboxes being carried to school each day by scores of young children. However, after nearly 30 years of creating the stuff, someone out there is obviously dabbling in music that some would label evil, shit or just wrong. Whatever your thoughts afterwards, remember, you can always walk away from your speakers, switch on your TV and smile at the sort of crap that pushes the style of Whitehouse deeper and deeper underground. 

Warning, the tracks on Whitehouse’s MySpace page entitled Dumping The Fucking… and Wriggle Like A Fucking Eel contain words that have been spoken in a matter that may cause offence due to their graphic and extreme nature. So don’t come complaining to us if your life is bothered by it that much. 

Read more: 

Whitehouse MySpace page