Download ABC Ringtone

Up from the English underground, electronic band The Prodigy are easy to dance to but hard to classify. The core duo of Liam Howlett and Keith Flint got their start in England's ecstasy-driven rave scene in the early 1990's. Their massive beats and unexpected samples most notably a munchkin-voiced British children's program announcer on the hit "Charly" sounded perfect bouncing through cavernous warehouses or spinning around in the middle of a muddy field. However, "Charly" provoked a critical backlash when it ushered in a flood of gimmicky "kiddie rave" singles by lesser imitators. Trying to distance themselves from that, Prodigy released the hard-edged 12" One Love on which they began developing their hallmark big beat drums and shrill, buzzing synth lines. Their second full length, The Jilted Generation, was a solid rave smash and saw the band getting darker and more frantic "Break and Enter" obsesses over a sample of glass smashing while "Their Law" features rock band Pop Will Eat Itself. Prodigy really broke out on their third full-length, The Fat Of the Land. Keith Flint made himself over as the raver clown from hell and the album walks the line between amped techno and edgy, dark industrial. The track "Firestarter" earned the once-obscure techno outfit a spot on the Lollapalooza tour and "Smack My Bitch Up" angered women's rights groups and created massive controversy. The accompanying video did little to smooth things over using first person POV, it follows a clubber through the night as they indulge in just about every narcotic and bad behavior imaginable, including harassing women and picking up a hooker. Famously, at the very end of the video, the unseen partier vomits in the sink, then looks up blearily into the mirror to reveal we've been following a girl all night. The video snagged Prodigy the honor of #1 on MTV's "Most Controversial" list and is rarely played before midnight.

More Prodigy