"Kill All Hippies" is a song by Scottish rock band Primal Scream, released on 20 March 2000 as the second single from their sixth studio album, XTRMNTR. The song has an aggressive, electronically processed sound, with prominent use of sampled drum loops and distorted guitars. Its title is a quote from the 1980 film Out of the Blue and begins with a sample of the line and other quotes from the film spoken by actress Linda Manz. Upon release, the song debuted and peaked at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart and spent one more week in the top 100 before dropping out.

"Kill All Hippies"
Single by Primal Scream
from the album XTRMNTR
B-side"The Revenge of the Hammond Connection"
Released20 March 2000 (2000-03-20)
Genre
Length4:55
LabelCreation
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Primal Scream singles chronology
"Swastika Eyes"
(1999)
"Kill All Hippies"
(2000)
"Accelerator"
(2000)

Reception

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Reviewing a live show from the XTRMNTR tour, Guardian critic Dave Simpson compared the song to the work of D.A.F.[2]

Music video

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A video for the song was directed by Julian Gibbs and Julian House, inspired by House's cover art for the album. It features fragmented footage of approaching war, aggression and combat, such as riot police, vintage military aircraft and hockey players, superimposed on backgrounds of intense blue and orange colour washes, with no faces visible. Several versions were made for different mixes of the album.[3]

Track listings

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European 7-inch vinyl single
No.TitleLength
1."Kill All Hippies"5:01
2."The Revenge of the Hammond Connection"3:35
European 12-inch vinyl single
No.TitleLength
1."Kill All Hippies"5:01
2."The Revenge of the Hammond Connection"3:35
3."Exterminator (Massive Attack remix)"5:11
UK CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Kill All Hippies"5:01
2."Exterminator (Massive Attack remix)"5:11
3."The Revenge of the Hammond Connection"3:35
European CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Kill All Hippies"5:01
2."Exterminator (Massive Attack remix)"5:11
3."The Revenge of the Hammond Connection"3:35
4."Kill All Hippies (Brendan Lynch edit)"4:07
Japanese CD maxi-single
No.TitleLength
1."Kill All Hippies (Brendan Lynch edit)"4:07
2."Kill All Hippies (Two Lone Swordsmen #2)"5:47
3."When the Kingdom Comes"4:22
4."Exterminator (Massive Attack remix)"5:11
5."Exterminator (Jagz Kooner remix)"5:40
6."The Revenge of the Hammond Connection"3:35

Charts

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Chart (2000) Peak
position
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[4] 90
Scotland (OCC)[5] 19
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 24
UK Indie (OCC)[7] 3

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 20 March 2000
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • 12-inch vinyl
  • CD
Creation [8]
Japan 26 July 2000 CD
[9]

References

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  1. ^ Pitchfork Staff (2 October 2009). "The 200 Best Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 April 2023. ...shotgunned funk ("Kill All Hippies")...
  2. ^ Simpson, Dave (10 March 2000). "A Dose of Castor Oil". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2016. Snatches of lyrics…struggle to be heard amid an aural cacophony, complete with wailing saxophones, guitars like electric drills and PiL-esque soundscapes like walls of sheet metal clattering from a tower block. It comes to something when the jazz terrorism of If They Move, Kill 'Em (from their previous album) comes as light relief…only the DAF-prototype electronic funk singles, Swastika Eyes and Kill All Hippies, escape a sonic mauling.
  3. ^ "Our Work: Kill All Hippies video". Intro UK. Retrieved 12 January 2016. For the release of their single Kill All Hippies, the band were reluctant to make another live action video that would probably never be shown on TV. Instead they suggested animating the album cover artwork. Moving library footage from dozens of film libraries was painstakingly assembled – newsreels of a Kamikaze tea party dated 1932, Red Arrows footage, black and white film footage of motorcycle cops from early 50s TV, and jet fighter footage from the 70s. The helicopter shots were from a Vietnam documentary.
  4. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 17, no. 15. 8 April 2000. p. 17. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  6. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  8. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting March 20, 2000: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 18 March 2000. p. 31. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. ^ "プライマル・スクリーム" [Primal Scream]. Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Archived from the original on 16 July 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
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  • Kill All Hippies video - website of video production team. Includes commentary and embedded clip of a longer mix.
  • Video on band YouTube page, also of longer mix.
  • Short mix, video on band YouTube page