Helium (band)
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2008-07-13T17:44:02Z
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<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Helium.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Helium. Left to right: Ash Bowie, Mary Timony, Shawn King Devlin, 1995<br /><small>Photo:Dennis Kleiman </small>]] -->
'''Helium''' were an [[United States|American]] [[indie rock]] group formed (as '''Chupa''') in the summer of 1992 by [[Mary Lou Lord]],<!--Mary Lou Lord is correct; she was the original vocalist--> Jason Hatfield ([[Juliana Hatfield|Juliana]]'s brother), Shawn King Devlin (drums) and Brian Dunton (electric bass guitar).<ref>[http://bostonphoenix.com/archive/music/97/09/04/HELIUM.html Wonder Woman], Brett Milano, [[The Phoenix (newspaper)|Boston Phoenix]], September 4, 1997</ref> Devlin and Dunton were both also in the band Dumptruck at the time. [[Mary Timony]] (electric guitar and vocals, formerly of the band [[Autoclave (band)|Autoclave]]) was recruited after Mary Lou was reluctant to go electric. After Hatfield left the band, they changed the name to Helium. Timony became known for her [[Lolita (term)|Lolita]]-esque image (e.g. short schoolgirl skirts and hairstyle) and naughty lyrics, much like Helium's then-labelmate [[Liz Phair]]. She was also known for her fairly husky, vibrato-less, monotone singing style.
Their first release was a 7" single entitled "[[The American Jean]]" (1993), which was followed by the 7" "[[Hole in the Ground]]." They released their first EP, ''[[Pirate Prude]]'', in 1994. Shortly after the release of ''[[Pirate Prude]]'', Dunton left the band and [[Polvo]] leader Ash Bowie (boyfriend of Timony at the time) joined on bass. In 1995, they released their first full-length release, ''[[The Dirt of Luck]]'', and played the second stage of [[Lollapalooza]]. Two of the band's music videos ("Pat's Trick" and "XXX") were critiqued by MTV's animated teen pundits [[Beavis and Butt-head]]. [[Adam Lasus]] produced and engineered ''[[The Dirt of Luck]]'', ''Pirate Prude'', and all the singles up to 1995.
In 1997, the group released the EP ''[[No Guitars]]'' before releasing their second album, ''[[The Magic City (Helium album)|The Magic City]]''. They toured the United States in early 1998. Not much longer after that (in 1998 or 1999), Helium disbanded, not long after Bowie had disbanded Polvo so as to become a full-time Helium member. Timony began a solo career and Bowie focused on his [[Libraness]] home-recording project.
== Discography ==
=== Albums ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! Year
! Label
|-
| ''[[The Dirt of Luck]]''
| 1995
| Matador Records
|-
| ''[[The Magic City (Helium album)|The Magic City]]''
| 1997
| Matador Records
|}
=== EP's ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! Year
! Label
|-
| ''[[Pirate Prude]]''
| 1994
| Matador Records
|-
| ''[[Superball E.P.|Superball+ E.P.]]''
| 1995
| Matador Records
|-
| ''[[No Guitars]]''
| 1997
| Matador Records
|}
=== Singles ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! Year
! Label
|-
| "[[The American Jean]]"
| 1992
| Warped Records
|-
| "[[Hole in the Ground]]" (b/w "Lucy")
| 1993
| [[Pop Narcotic]] (on orange vinyl)
|-
| "[[Pat's Trick]]"
| 1995
| [[Matador Records]]
|}
=== Compilations ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Title
! Year
! Label
|-
| ''[[Half-Cocked - The Motion Picture Soundtrack]]''
| 1995
| [[Matador Records]]
|}
=== Music Videos ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Album
|-
| 1994
| "[[XXX (song)|XXX]]"
| [[David Kleiler]]
| ''[[Pirate Prude]]''
|-
| 1995
| "[[Pat's Trick]]"
| David Kleiler
| ''[[The Dirt of Luck]]''
|-
| 1995
| "[[Superball E.P.|Superball]]"
| Tryan George
| ''The Dirt of Luck''
|-
| 1995
| "[[Honeycomb (Helium song)|Honeycomb]]"
| Brett Vapnek
| ''The Dirt of Luck''
|-
| 1997
| "[[Leon's Space Song]]"
|
| ''[[The Magic City (Helium album)|The Magic City]]''
|}
=== Lyrics ===
'''Magic Box'''
i've got these magic things under my bed<br>
i swear i've got these magic things, it's not in my head<br>
they're under my bed<br>
got some trees, a river, and an old man's head under my bed<br>
someone said it was something he said, now he's dead<p>
(Chorus:)<br>
on second thought never mind<br>
i'll have to show you some other time<br>
it's just that i don't really feel like it<br>
next time you're here then i'll have to show you it<p>
i've got this magic box in the backseat of my car<br>
i'll show you all the magic, it's out in my yard<br>
in the backseat of my car<br>
check it out, it's a miracle<br>
hey, yeah, it's my vehicle<p>
(Chorus)<p>
someone left it out in the rain and it got pretty wet<br>
you'll have to wait until it dries, you can't use it yet<br>
it's all too old now we can't use it anymore<br>
it's worn away and it's cracked down to the core<p>
on second thought never mind<br>
'cause i've got to to show you some other time<br>
hey, wait, where are you going<br>
don't you know that i've have got to show you something<p>
(from ''[[Half-Cocked - The Motion Picture Soundtrack]]'')
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.epitonic.com/artists/helium.html Helium on epitonic]
*[http://www.matadorrecords.com/helium/biography.html Matador bio]
*[http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=helium Trouser Press entry]
{{Helium (band)}}
==Trivia==
They are a personal favorite of [[Deftones]] vocalist [[Chino Moreno]].{{Fact|date=January 2008}}
[[Category:American indie rock groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1992]]