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Human Alert | Dirty Dancing

A fatwah on close-minded punk-fundamentalists.
CD, Dialektik/Suburban

Tekst: Martÿn ter Haar

Publicatiedatum: 11 juni 2002

"The system you hate is the system you create yourself." A punk cliché that, ironically enough, also has become applicable to the genre itself. After all, the discussions some punks have about what is punk and what isn't show an alarming resemblance to those of religious fundamentalists over the interpretation of their holy books. So when Amsterdam punks Human Alert open their fourth album Dirty Dancing with the aformentioned line, the enthusiasm levels didn't exactly register in the red. That is, until the cello break, about halfway through Swing Out System (that's Dirty Dancing's opener). From that moment on it becomes clear that Dirty Dancing is a big middle finger up the ass of all the narrow-minded zealots and their rigid punk belief systems. And not only that.
Dirty Dancing is, above all, 13 songs full of innovative anarchorrangements with trombone, cello, and mouthharp; manical interaction between singers Roel and Willum; smart and witty lyrics in Dutch, English, and fantasy Japanese (Karoshi); but most of all kickass rock. Despite all the freakiness that's going on, the band always keeps a tight grip on the song by choosing a solid rock basis. Uncompromisingly, Human Alert finds the ideal compromise between fellow Amsterdammers De Raggende Manne (energy and humour) and The Ex (complexity and innovation). Competitors like Victims' Family and Leftöver Crack turn to wallflowers when Human Alert do their dirty dance. All by themselves. For Punk=Porno: Je moet het zelf doen (you have to do it by yourself).