More Human than Human

"More Human than Human" is a song by the American heavy metal band White Zombie from their album Astro-Creep: 2000 (1995). It was released as the first official single from the album and is also included on Rob Zombie's Past, Present & Future, the greatest hits album The Best of Rob Zombie, and a remix is included on Supersexy Swingin' Sounds.

"More Human than Human"
Single by White Zombie
from the album Astro-Creep: 2000
B-side
  • "More Human than Human (The Jeddak of the Tharks Super Mix)"
  • "Blood, Milk and Sky"
Released1995 (1995)
Recorded1994
StudioNRG, Los Angeles
Genre
Length4:28
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Terry Date
White Zombie singles chronology
"Black Sunshine"
(1993)		 "More Human than Human"
(1995)		 "Electric Head Pt. 2 (The Ecstasy)"
(1995)

Music and lyrics

The title and lyrics reference the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick, adapted in film as Blade Runner. The title was the slogan of the Tyrell Corporation, manufacturers of the very humaniform biological androids, or "replicants" that are the focal point of the story.[7] "I want more life, fucker" (quoted in the lyrics) is one of the last things his creator hears when the replicant designed to be the perfect – and disposable – soldier (Rutger Hauer) finds him and is denied a reprieve from the programmed 4 year life span.

The song features a repeated slide guitar figure, a technique typically associated with blues music.

The moaning in the intro to the song was sampled from a post-apocalyptic porn movie called Café Flesh directed by Stephen Sayadian.[8]

Reception

"More Human than Human" quickly became the band's highest-charting and most recognizable single in the entirety of their career. The song earned them their second Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in 1995. The song was named the 68th best hard rock song of all time by VH1.[6]

The song was listed as number number on PopMatters' "The 10 Best Alternative Metal Singles of the 1990s" list.[2]

"More Human than Human" was ranked at number 43 on Spin's "The 95 Best Alternative Rock Songs of 1995" list.[5]

Music video

The music video of "More Human than Human," the first video made for Astro-Creep: 2000, features White Zombie playing the track in a room and short clips of old home video footage of Rob, his brother, Michael Cummings (better known as Spider One of the band Powerman 5000), and a cousin at a young age. Part of the video was also shot in the halls of Framingham High School, Framingham, Massachusetts as well as on the streets of Hollywood Boulevard.[9] It was the first video that had been completely directed by Rob alone. In 1995, he won the MTV Video Music Award for Hard Rock Video for this music video. At the time, it was Rob's favorite White Zombie music video.[10]

Charts
Chart (1995) Peak
Peak
Australian Singles Chart[11] 37
Canadian RPM Alternative 30[12] 1
UK Singles Chart[13] 51
US Hot 100 Airplay[14] 53
US Modern Rock Tracks[15] 7
US Mainstream Rock Tracks[16] 10

See also

References
  1. Reed, Ryan (February 17, 2016). "White Zombie Revive Early Material for Massive Box Set". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  2. Ramirez, AJ (August 3, 2011). "The 10 Best Alternative Metal Singles of the 1990s". PopMatters. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  3. Brackett, Nathan and Christian David Hoard (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. pp. 871. ISBN 0743201698. more human than human white zombie.
  4. Pettigrew, Jason (July 28, 2020). "10 Industrial-Rock Classics That Completely Defined the '90s". Alternative Press. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  5. "The 95 Best Alternative-Rock Songs of 1995". Spin. August 6, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  6. "spreadit.org music". Retrieved February 5, 2009.
  7. "White Zombie - More Human Than Human • VideoSift: Online Video *Quality Control". Videosift.com. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  8. Café Flesh (1982), Event Occurs 44:11 - 44:24
  9. RockNet Interviews Rob Zombie, cited September 25, 2009
  10. Miller, Gerri. "White Zombie Live & Backstage". Metal Edge Magazine. March, 1996. cited October 30, 2008
  11. australian-charts.com, charts for White Zombie
  12. "Rock/Alternative – Volume 61, No. 19, June 11, 1995". RPM. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  13. everyhit.co.uk, an archive containing all UK top 40 charts
  14. "White Zombie Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  15. "White Zombie Chart History (Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  16. "White Zombie Chart History (Mainstream Rock Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
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