The Darkness

You are wise. Please write for me again.

xxx

but The Darkness are not fun.

I can't tell whether they're uncool in an ironic way or just uncool, and couldn't give a shit either way really. Zzzz.

Freaky Trigger was going to have a big article about them but I lost the notebook in the pub :(

Has everyone *really* forgotten how completely awful the mid '70's were?!? apparently they have!

The only thing I found even more incredible than the sound they made was the "personalities" of the people making it. Lest there be any misunderstanding, I do not mean "incredible" in a good way.

Not merely dud but hyper dud, mega dud, uber dud, the word "dud" does not even begin to cover it, they are beyond the confines of mere dudishness. Yes, I do n=know it's not a "Classic Or Dud" thread - if it was I'd have been far more outspoken.

Most of the album is good, bits just OK or a bit jokey but "Get Your Hands.." and "I Believe..." are magnificent pop.

In a nutshell Bob, thank you!

Nigel Tufnel: It's like, "How much more black could this be?", and the answer is none. None more black.

"This tasteless cover is a good indication of the lack of musical invention within. The musical growth of this band cannot even be charted. They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry."

I think you forgot to deduct songwriting ability from the right hand side that equation Charlie.

"We are the Four Horsemen of the Rock Apocalypse!"

Yes, completely otm Stewart. Their first single, and that cover they did of Street Spirit, both made me giggle when I first heard them, but that was under the assumption that they were a novelty joke band I'd never have to hear again. Now I find that a) they take themselves seriously and b) other people take themselves seriously, and I'd far rather just not have the joke in the first place because it wasn't really that funny anyway.

Contrary to what The Lex says, I think this joke was funny in the first place (Spinal Tap); it was even a good enough joke to be funny in the second place (Bad News).

Of course you could argue that the fact that the band and most of the people who are buying their records don't seem to realise it's a joke is a novel twist - but actually that's the oldest and most tired joke of all.

From first principles then - what is bad about the kind of music The Darkness play?

If 'I believe in a thing called love' doesn't go to #1 when it's re-released in a couple of weeks I will sulk.

Do you seriously think The Darkness stand / would have stood up to comparison with the original bands whose style they're aping or; given a historically level playing field; would they (as I believe) have ended up at best as 4th Division no-hopers playing for beer money on the local pub circuit?

hee hee!

Unfortunately they keep dragging the rest of us with them!

Those who know too much history are also doomed to repeat it at the rest of us.

Scorpions - minor-key vocal harmonies - a gtr god = Darkness.

Talk about damning with faint praise!

Ignorance is bliss.

JtN on the money.

I never heard the original bands much either, and am certainly not familiar with them, but the whole poodle-haired cock-rock thing is tired anyway. I always took the 'joke' to be that The Darkness were so bad and so overblown with it that it was mildly funny, and that it was such a caricature that it had to be tongue-in-cheek. Even if it was tongue-in-cheek it would have palled after two songs anyway, because the thing with so-bad-it's-good is that it swiftly just becomes bad.

The joke has long worn thin. They are still here. Bah.

strokes, garage rock (the hives), ac/dc inspired rock (datsuns etc) and then the darkness (comedy robbie williams metal, full on eighties rock), where does it go from there? the pop cycle. and with the present hype, after awhile, the darkness will die.

This might be the most upsetting thing JtN has ever written *if* what I heard in Probe in Liverpool the other week was The Darkness.

I heard who someone who sounded like a not-quite-into-it Bruce Dickinson bawl their way through a set of pancake-thin pub-band demos. It was ugly and forgettable like a subsiding Maryport semi. If this isn't The Darkness, I apologise.

just bcz a punk rock fan doesn't like 'em does not mean they are classic or dud. must try harder.

And isnt Tom, like thirty two or something? Not really down with the kids unless you are a paed.

this line is funny on many levels. not perhaps the ones it was intended to be funny on.

ps: Tom, if that's the case then I am happy to have 5 years of listening to great music before it all goes pear.

(Actually one of the reasons I like the 'Ness is that they are the brilliant return of everything that was left out of the Creation "international guardians of rock and roll" canon.)

explain??

ps. yer sources must be really old - mcgee has been djing the crue and ratt since 2000.

Is it because AWK & The Darkness use guitars prominently that the realness/irony issue irks some of you?

What puts me right off the darkness is the same as what puts me off about the strokes, anyway, this sense that i have of listening to an "also ran" act, but w/o the big act that they are an also-ran to. Like, I, being old and crap, remember seeing Girl on top of the pops. Girl were this glammy pop-rock band, who were an also ran to def leppard. The darkness remind me of girl, and there is no def leppard. Also, whenever there is a hype band like the strokes, or gay dad, or the darkness, there's always this bit of me that wants them to blow my cynicism into the weeds. Gay Dad were the most frustrating of these bands, because in retrospect I can see how if they'd been just a little bit better, they'd have been really good, but they just weren't good enough. With both the strokes and the darkness, there isn't even that for me. I get all cynical about them, b/c of the stupid hype, but what I really want inside is for them to live up to the hype. What I really want is for the darkness' album to be as good as boston's first album, or asia's first album, but there's just nothing there. What they should have done, and I'm totally serious here, is ditch all their shit songs, and get diane warren to write them a set of awesome power-ballads in the style of "nothing's gonna stop us now", or "sole survivor", or "more than a feeling" BUT THEY DIDN'T!@# AND THEY =k-SUX0R!!!1!!!@#

(btw doom-e, i finished the popol vuh piece, and have nearly compleded this long stream-of-conciousness rant on human league. will mail them to you tomorrow or saturday.)

Other easy answer - you might already have all the Hanoi Rocks records you want. I don't though.

Maura to thread, btw, as she and Jel are about the only people whose opinions I respect on this kind of music.

I don't understand the appeal of the do they mean it frisson.

I mean surely it makes as much difference to the sound of a record as oh I don't know, whether the artist writes their own songs. Sorry that was low but it's casual day and I forgot

It's a frisson because it's not telegraphing its intentions quite as boringly as a 'novelty' or 'serious' record - it's only a frisson when you can't properly answer the question, unlike the instruments thing where there's a fact of instrument-playing-or-not waiting to be discovered.

You can't properly answer the question of intention with loads of records, I always felt the do they mean it/don't they question to be something indie fans did in their quest for cliched ideas of what passion is. This is a bit like that inverted, I'm not saying it's stupid, I just don't really understand where you're coming from and hence am trying.

You may be right, basement jaxx acid love to thread. (which maybe you should check out!)

That about sums them up for me. I watch them with a big silly grin because I can't believe what I'm seeing but they seem to have the songs to back it up. I think they'll be a short term thrill, I'll be surprised if they come up with something as good for a second record and lord knows I don't want the music press to start some kind of new hair metal scene around them, but right now they're a lot of fun and who cares if they don't follow it up. Similar to Junior Senior in fact. They make me smile.

Plus, I hoped when I first saw them that they took themselves seriously. It would have been disappointing to find that to them this was just an ironic piss take, another Spinal Tap or Bad News. It's more interesting for them to be serious and doing this style of music and performance when it is so out of place. I like them because there is no Def Leppard.

Best thing about them is they write great lyrics (and avoid most of the metal cliches that eventually turned me off British Heavy Metal by early '81). The cover is a bit misleading, there's no tasteless sexism in the words; the protagonist in the relationship songs is way more vulnerable than you'll normally find in a hard rock lyric). I also think they are generally being serious - that "Friday" song is basically the story of my adolescence! - except on tracks 1 and 6 obv. And I just love the final song - tees up to be a Foreigner-style lurve power ballad, and it's actually turns out to be an ode to masturbation.

They don't deserve 50 threads though, and neither did The Strokes.

The Darkness rock in much the same way Beyonce or Girls Aloud rock, but the prominence of the guitars and the general band setup/ugliness lead to people assuming they should be within some arbitrary set of imposed rules.

They are not making hair metal. They are making POP! MUSIC! that is influenced by hair metal.

It can't be pop music if most people don't get it, whether due to ignorance or anything else.

I don't see much of a hair metal influence in the darkness by the way, more Classic Rock/AOR than anything.

Chart placings would appear to show that people ARE getting The Darkness in increasing numbers. Plus you can buy the album in my local Tescos, and everyone knows that it the ultimate barometer of pop success in this country.

You wouldn't call the White Stripes or Coldplay pop would you?

I think this is a very interesting comment and makes me wonder whether maybe it's because I'm old enough to remember a time when giant creatures similar to these stalked this land devouring everything before them, that The Darkness immediately make my hackles rise; even despite the fact that they are in fact clearly only a dwarf version of the species, safely neutered, completely domesticated and a threat to absolutely no-one.

"They are not making hair metal. They are making POP! MUSIC! that is influenced by hair metal."

Yes indeed, but do you think the band - or indeed their fans - actually realise that?!

Ronan, acts that get on a NOW album are by definition pop music. They don't complete the genre, but they're definitely included.

But mightn't it be possible to make pop music while suffering from the delusion that it's rock?

Green Day managed to make pop music while suffering from the delusion that it was punk, so I can't see why it shouldn't be possible.

Ronan - I would call Coldplay pop, actually, well - the singles at any rate. Same with Travis. Once again it's the guitars that appear to be getting in the way. Likewise, it's pop by virtue of being very catchy, instantly accessible and played on the radio lots. 'Era' has nothing to do with it, no one doubted Robbie Williams' pop-ness when he was doing karaoke Sinatra covers.

I guess I'm saying it's possible for things to sell alot of records and not be pop. At least I think so anyway. I feel pop is urban music loosely speaking hence my exclusion of the darkness, robbie doing swing, robbie's last album etc. I don't think the darkness or even robbie recently fit into the smash hits or the saturday morning tv axis. Have the Darkness done saturday tv as a matter of interest?

This thread has reminded me to download "You Said No" so thanks.

This seems to be a point where our opinions can converge and our tastes simultaneoulsy diverge then Tom - I'd no more listen to Busted than I would The Darkness!

The one remaining bone of contention however remains that I would say that both Busted and the majority of their fans know exactly what they are - a teeny pop band pretending to be a "real" band for a laugh - and they're grinning all over their stupid faces as they play dress-up. The Darkness on the other hand genuinely seem to be suffering from the delusion that they really are a rock band....

I am only excluding swingtime robbie. also robbie is not a regular case cos he could release drum and bass made with biscuit tins and elastic bands and still sell out the moon for 12 nights running.

SHUT UP A BAND I DON'T LIKE ARE ROCK OK?

Are we getting into the realms of the essential difference between pop and rock now? e.g. Rock is still trying to come to terms that it's longevity and increasing maturity and (rightly or wrongly) is wanting to be taken seriously; whereas Pop is fully aware that it is inherently and by definition completely ephemeral and consequently doesn't care?

Why not? I mean, most of Discovery is house AND pop simultaneously, just like Beyonce is rnb and pop simultaneously. I think the problem to an extent lies in your definition of pop as 'urban' for two main reasons.

1. It excludes Will Young, Gareth Gates, Martine McCutcheon, David Sneddon etc etc.

2. It relies on an FT/ILM enforced pop canon which I suspect includes Beyonce and Nelly and Justin Timberlake and the Sugababes or whoever, but just doesn't exist in the real pop-listening world - ie the world of Capital FM, basically, which is just as likely to contain Queen and Mike and the Mechanics and Coldplay and whoever thrown in as well.

3. Pop is more an umbrella term than a recognisable genre.

Are we getting into the realms of the essential difference between pop and rock now? e.g. Rock is still trying to come to terms that it's longevity and increasing maturity and (rightly or wrongly) is wanting to be taken seriously; whereas Pop is fully aware that it is inherently and by definition completely ephemeral and consequently doesn't care?

I think this definition is rubbish. Wet Wet Wet probably took/take themselves far more seriously as ARTISTS than The Darkness.

Ronan, I can sympathise with your desire for clearly defined boundaries - maybe again that's part of the reason why I don't like The Darkness OR Busted OR Robbie....

This is why the pop/rock dichotomy doesn't make sense.

I didn't offer it as a definition Matt, it very clearly isn't even attempting to be a definition, just one of the differences that have arisen between Rock and Pop as the two have diverged.

Matt Capital Radio thank heaven never play Mike And The Mechanics any more. I think there's a kind of hidden war between Capital Radio and its audience though, even more so than with R1 - CR want to be a modern up-to-date pop station that plays Sean Paul a lot and whenever it does its top 500 songs it's all Bo Rap and Careless Whisper.

We can only hope they did "Get Your Hands Off My Woman".

It just feels a bit cosy to me, they don't sound like Beyonce or Jay Z, they sound like a clunky old metal band and I don't think anyone who's really into modern pop music is being obtuse by not liking them, they're an eccentricity if anything. I suppose I also feel what's the point of establishing them as pop music. Similarly you could argue what's the point of establishing them as rock music, and I'd have to say cos it's not really fair to the genre of music they're in to appropriate them as pop, cos once you do, inevitably it becomes a way to ignore the fact that you love a rock band.

I sometimes feel like this about your 2 Many DJs stuff aswell Tom, given the dance records they play aren't really massive hits all the time, and 2 Many DJs had so much electro I often felt they were a dance act. I know I was the one moaning about the principle of them playing all the rock songs, I've kind of given up on that now, though I still think indie-disco is a little too much of an oversight and an affront to soulgrabber, vitalic, alan braxe, daft punk (bearing in mind they tend to choose rollin' and scratchin'), none of which would really go down well in any indie disco except perhaps Alan Braxe. Perhaps.

This is true, of course. Although I don't like Coldplay and still consider them pop, probably more than I do Jay-Z. But then again as I've mentioned I define current pop by what's on the shelves at Tesco's at any given time.

I can certainly see The Darkness playing the Smash Hits Pollwinners Party this year though.

I think Matt is pretty much OTM here. I think The Darkness are pop in the sense that they are drawing on the tradition of Queen through Def Leppard - which may be the most popular export (in terms of sales figures) British music has ever had? They are pop in the same way that 'Jump' by Van Halen is a great pop single.

Unfortunately, they are really bad pop. Really, my argument against them has little to do with how seriously they take themselves - it's to do with the fact that their music is just plain bad bad bad and lost what little comedy value it once possessed after approximately three listens.

On a largely unrelated note jumping off from Stevie's point - have the Darkness released any records or played any gigs in America yet? Surely they have the potential to become more successful over there than any British act except possibly Radiohead in over 10 years?

Perhaps house=indie disco all along? god I hope not. I better grow my hair again.

fatboy slim, housemartins, jacques lu cont, zoot woman, felix? well, felix.

Curses it's a continuum, Ricardissimo is right.

I phoned Mike T and he agreed it was ridiculous.

I swear the next time I DJ it will be under this pseudonym.

And if you're in any doubt as to the kind of music they play there...(and I quote): "youth club classics, disco trash, punk stompers, sleazy listening, racy retro, drunken anthems, exotic rubbish, and perfect pop". And bloody good fun it (still) is too.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd800/d832/d83258uakr8.jpg

And who thinks to cover Kiss in 1980? Too bad it was the best song on Sheer Greed

Hi, Jeff W!

The Darkness's album has now climbed back to the top of the charts, besting Starsailor's new release. Are they allowed to be pop music yet?

because they prefer it to 'your' pop. it goes no deeper than that. they just like it better.

no, hang on, they're wrong and you're right, because you're obviously cleverer.

i love this thread. the anti-darkness kidz, well, they're just so... rockist?

i mean, that's the essence of your argument, isn't it? that's not very insightful, is it? where do you expect such a train of thought to embark?

my point is, people like the darkness because, well, they like the darkness. they like the over-the-top glam, the ridiculousness, and the great and catchy songs. if you hate that, then by all means rail against it with all your erudite fury. but stomping around on your own little cloud whining "why do people not like exactly the same stuff as me" without even engaging the question of "why?" is absolutely and totally pointless.

i mean, isn't it obvious why people love the darkness? (and they do...)

While The Darkness just seems like a no-brainer to me, I guess, squinting hard with my third eye i can imagine why some people might not be able to understand why others might like The Darkness. but my point is, surely we can raise the level if discussion above I completely fail to see why, when there is so much great pop around, people even bother about such fucking awful pop. Shit, most NON-pop is more fun, more catchy and less supremely irritating. (and i'm sorry for singling you out, Alex)... because that sentence is just so empty of any kind of insight beyond stating (and not actually supporting or exploring) subjective opinions - i hate this because i hate it - as to be an utter waste of words. that it's irritating or non-catchy are totally subjective statements that might define why Alex hates them, but are of absolutely no use in defining why they are popular, why other people are so moved by them. because the obvious answer is simply for the darkness fan to reply, "because they are NOT irritating, and because their songs ARE catchy". and really, does that get us anywhere?

Or am i just talking to myself here?

exactly... what would be the point of stating subjective opinions as objective absolutes, in the contexts of an objective question? Asking why the general mass likes something, and just stating your own personally-held opinions like they were inarguable facts (when they in fact hinge totally on such variables as how many sugars you like in your tea) to support your disbelief, well, its all a bit student-y, isn't it?

i mean, you'd certainly be the first to chastise a darkness fan who slagged off what many of you would deem as 'genuine' pop music just because "its irritating and its not catchy", wouldn't you? be honest now...

Also what good is a pop message board if sometimes you can't just use it to register total disbelief and disgust at what's selling!

(NB "I Believe..." is one of the pop singles of the year)

and that's a fair opinion, but there was no engagement with the ARGUMENT... and if pop is defined by popular, as it was up the board (i don't wanna assign that meaning to the word myself, its too limiting, though i agree with it to a certain degree) then The Darkness have SUCCEEDED as pop because they are popular, QED.

for another thing he's saying there is a load of great other pop around and explicitly saying that if you too like pop then you shouldn't be paying attention to the Darkness.

again that's fine, but there's no argument for why that would support the great weight of opprobrium (is that the right word, or am i confusing it with an anti-indigestion drug?) he declares for The Darkness, no argument for why you shouldn't be paying attention to The Darkness beyond the fact he simply doesn't like 'em... although Alex has argued elsewhere for why HE hates them, there's no argument for why people WOULDN'T love The Darkness...

Also what good is a pop message board if sometimes you can't just use it to register total disbelief and disgust at what's selling!

I understand, I guess, ultimately, I just don't CARE if other people like what I like or not... Is that hopelessly insular? Then again, my JOB is to argue for or against people buying certain records, so maybe i'm fooling myself...? Or maybe I've just decided decrying the 'taste' of a faceless 'public' is as pointless as it is patronising, and would rather engage the artists' strong or weak points themselves, rather than giving way to dramatic exhalations of exasperation...

(NB "I Believe..." is one of the pop singles of the year)

without a doubt...

would I have annoyed you less if, instead of trying to engage the argument, i just posted smug one-line replies?

haha dan p i laughed so much i fell off the couch!!

Ah! Then maybe I might actually like it! :-)

I actually agree with Stevie here, my post was my off-the-cuff reaction to waking up, switching on the radio and having to scrabble for the remote AGAIN because of that damn song, then going to watch The Box in the hopes of seeing the new Liberty X single and... guess what was on? It wasn't meant to be a reasoned opinion.

you said i mean, isn't it obvious why people love the darkness? (and they do...) and I've forgotten the context if it was ironic, but this is pretty much the same thing as what I did. If you made a good strong case FOR The Darkness I've missed it. To argue against The Darkness: this thread established a while ago that we should engage with them on a strictly pop (as opposed to rock) level, which to me suggests focusing on your gut reaction to them rather than over-analysing the music in the search for 'real' reasons for liking/disliking them. I mean, that's what this whole strand of criticism is about, isn't it? Girls Aloud make trashy disposable pop but it makes me DANCE ergo it is GREAT. The Darkness make trashy disposable pop but it makes me cringe (even more so than Madonna rapping) and turn the radio off ergo it is BAD. I don't see anyone saying that snide reactions to other pop acts (Madonna, Javine, Xtina, whoever) need more depth to them. I've just searched ILM for Tori Amos references, actually, and none of the negative comments about her are reasoned at all. NONE. They're all "Tori Amos, ugh" or "Tori Amos is annoying".

If you want a reasoned argument against The Darkness, though - I think I argued earlier here that the whole joke was that they were terminally, embarrassingly bad and uncool. I mean... they're a lot like people dressing up for a fancy dress party in the most ludicrous outfits imaginable. The first time you see them it's like "omg I can't believe they dared, ahahahaha" but if they keep doing it it's like "what complete and utter twats".

and I've forgotten the context, if it was ironic forgive me,

sometimes I could do with finishing my sentences.

Exactly, but that is, ultimately, a very personal response. I don't know if this is through age, but nowadays when I hear pop so repulsive it makes me turn it off, I'm still not surprised that people like it. Hell, Cheeky Girls made me cringe (while i admire that they've such success with a song so brazenly titled 'Touch My Bum') but it was obvious they'd be huge. Meanwhile, The Darkness actually have pretty hook-laden songs, and a strong image, and a lot of press attention (including the Sun now) so its certainly no surprise to me that they've actually been successful.

It was obvious to us at Kerrang! that they'd be HUGE when we played it in the office, and everyone was clapping their hands and singing along throughout the entire album. The mag was initially suspicious of the band because of the whole 'joke' aspect of it, but i don't think it *is* a joke, at least not completely. You don't get that good at playing the joke just to make some ironic joke, and the songs themselves stand up without the ironic subtext and context.

If you want a reasoned argument against The Darkness, though - I think I argued earlier here that the whole joke was that they were terminally, embarrassingly bad and uncool. I mean... they're a lot like people dressing up for a fancy dress party in the most ludicrous outfits imaginable. The first time you see them it's like "omg I can't believe they dared, ahahahaha" but if they keep doing it it's like "what complete and utter twats".

But the thing is, they were never actually BAD. As musicians, they're pretty fucking proficient. As for Justin's falsetto, well, my mum always HATED Soft Cell because she thought Marc Almond always sang flat... But that's exactly part of the reason 'tainted love' is such a string pop song. And as for uncool, well - cool doesn't make you rich. Some popstars are supposed to be ridiculous - have you never seen Mud? That doesn't make them any worse as popstars. But no, you're right, they would've been a lot cooler if they'd gotten stylists in to tell them what the kids in hoxton are wearing right now.

should read

You don't get that good at playing the guitar just to make some ironic joke,

similarly, 'Tainted Love' is a STRONG pop song, not a STRING pop song.

I think there're two separate things here: why Band X will be HUGE, and how to understand how anyone likes something you find repulsive no matter how big it is. Oddly I'm less surprised that The Darkness are so successful, maybe because of the tradition of bad novelty acts which Britain upholds so well (aforementioned Cheeky Girls); also there is no one else at all like them around right now. Javine is infinitely better than them, but at the same time she's just doing the pop-R&B thing which everyone is. The Darkness... well they're just the Cheeky Girls for guitar boys.

But while I can understand why people would buy the Cheeky Girls or The Darkness, I can't understand anyone really loving their music, or why anyone would take either more seriously than the other. (OK, that's disingenuous, they're boys with guitars, so obviously they get taken more seriously than anyone else.)

Re: the ironic joke thing. If it's not an ironic joke that just makes it SO MUCH WORSE! Like, you take this schtick you pull SERIOUSLY?!

But the thing is, they were never actually BAD. As musicians, they're pretty fucking proficient. As for Justin's falsetto, well, my mum always HATED Soft Cell because she thought Marc Almond always sang flat... But that's exactly part of the reason 'tainted love' is such a string pop song. And as for uncool, well - cool doesn't make you rich. Some popstars are supposed to be ridiculous - have you never seen Mud? That doesn't make them any worse as popstars. But no, you're right, they would've been a lot cooler if they'd gotten stylists in to tell them what the kids in hoxton are wearing right now.

no, I've never seen Mud. I think I'm too young. < /smug>

Bad and technically proficient can and often do go hand in hand, especially with the overblown guitar histrionics which The Darkness indulge in. Look at meeeee, I can play a guitar solo! Widdle-widdle-wank. Like The Datsuns live, ugh.

I didn't know the singer was called Justin. When you mentioned Justin's falsetto I was like "I loooove Justin's falsetto!"... why people wouldn't take Timberlake's falsetto over Darkness bloke's is beyond me (recurring argument this), Justin T's voice has all the bases won - sex appeal, technical merit, timing, vocal tics, comedy potential, versatility, everything.

I now have and, well, if they're funny it's in an 'Oh! Drama!' way rather than soggy-with-irony damp Digestive of a metal laff-in. I think of Sparks and The Associates in their melodramatic spasms. I can't quite *hear* Sparks and The Associates as they lurch into hysterics because of all that ordinaire guitar nonsense, but that's OK. More blusher, less bluster.

- Marc Almond may have sung flat at times but he doesn't on "Tainted Love".

- Justin Darkness completely wins the falsetto battle; his tone is much less pinched and forced than Justin T's; in fact, Justin T should really consider singing in his lower register from here on out because it's inifitely more pleasing to the ear.

As we can now see it was a dry run for The Darkness phenom, it must have yielded useful data. The necessity of Paul Young's take on "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is still unrevealed.

The Darkness fucking rocks. There's no way you can fake shit like this. "Get You Hands Off Of My Woman" is way better than any '80s metal (which I pretty much despised then, except for Iron Maiden and Priest, I s'pose). I wish I could figure out who they remind me of. For some really stupid reason the Mission keeps popping up into my head, but that's not right at all. Fuck it.

Two very good examples, thankyou. I don't think The Darkness take themselves any more or less seriously than The Cult in particular, and The Cult've largely been treated as a bona fide "proper" rock band from day one. The Darkness have (at least) three cracking singles, a great schtick and smiles to charm the handbags off grannies. I mean, look at the alternatives...Starsailor? Dido? Meh.

Every time I see The Darkness on telly tho, I think of Buffalo Bill from Silence Of The Lambs and...Terrorvision. I'm sorry, I can't help it.

Rock slut Harry said 'You can't fake that shit' about one of the bands at the Astoria in 'Faking It'. I laughed then.

I haven't been this confused by the over-analysis of a band since Andrew W.K.

3 times Platinum, 4 nominations for Brits.
i'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that maybe they've crossed over into "pop" now.
whereas, Do-Me is still posting on a messageboard.

Yes, they're the greatest British rock and roll band of the past ten years, but they still SUCK!!

Why didn't anybody TELL me this album was so fucking good?!?!?! I'm only halfway through it on my first listen right now but MY GOD can these guys write some catchy rock riffs!

Haven't listened to them in months, but they're still on my iPod. And i can still remember most of the album from memory.

Jokes are only funny if they're serious.
-- Tom (freakytrigge...), August 7th, 2003.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No, jokes are only funny if they're vaguely original.
Contrary to what The Lex says, I think this joke was funny in the first place
-- Stewart Osborne

Two good points that are not, contrary to Stewart's belief, mutually opposed.

Stewart goes on to nominate Spinal Tap, but I think Marc Bolan or Slade would be a good starting point. 'I drive a Rolls Royce / Cos it's good for my voice'.

I think there's something very arch about The Darkness - they write good songs and have a great sense of the comically deadpan. They are neither serious enough, nor original enough to be really funny.

I think I like this more than the debut, singles aside.

ilm hates fun

-- Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Wednesday, 6 August 2003 20:17 (4 years ago) Bookmark Link

This guy really was the worst ILX poster ever

Dude this Fritz obsession of yours is really, really weird.

yay The Darkness. they had good b-sides.

"I know the right guys
'Cause I used to work in building supplies"

lulz

Turbonegro have the better humour and choruses in their (superior) songs.
This is dreadful, one of the worst things I've ever heard. Only a complete tasteless sad bastard could like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFYv6gSqimE

Uh oh
http://thequietus.com/articles/05866-darkness-reform-for-download

http://new.assets.thequietus.com/images/articles/5866/darkness_1300183131_crop_550x350.jpg

It's Laffin' Nick Cave and the not-bad seeds!

Least clamored for reunion ever?

i'm pretty excited for it

Good news.. although is this a reunion or ending a hiatus?

or even 'closure', seeing as how Frankie is back

http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/jj242/donaldparsley/lighter.jpg

"Love on the Rocks" is their "Paradise City"

I was at a wedding a few months ago and they played "Thing Called Love" and it went over surprisingly well.

^good display name/posting subject interface

because they are going to go away next week.
― doom-e, Wednesday, August 6, 2003 6:30 PM (9 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

even a stopped clock etc

xxp it's like Right Said Fred's 'I'm Too Sexy', in that there are very specific situations where it'll work and not sound like crap, but even then it's so specific that it won't work every time.

Wow, I pulled out some of Permission to Land after years. I feel like it might sound even better now! Really good power pop. I was inspired after hearing someone nail "I Believe..." at karaoke last night and thinking about how tricky it actually is.

Album four should be out in early 2015. They're also going to have a new drummer this time around.

Did the previous one explode?

Permission is awesome. Their subsequent output not so much.

I really like the Hot Leg album. I was hoping for another one from them more than I was a Darkness reunion.

Love On The Rocks With No Ice is mammoth. They were so great in those early days, and such a treat to interview. They fucked it up so badly with the second album.

I only remember '1984' from the Hot Leg record. Oh, and maybe 'Cocktail.'

Hot Cakes might be the best Darkness album unfortunately no one has ever heard it.

I kinda thought the 2nd album was pretty dope. Try "Is It Just Me," "Dinner Lady Arms," "Girlfriend," "English Country Garden" and the title track. Honestly I think the 1st album is equally spotty, but the highlights are kinda incredible.

So many great memories just thinking about that first Darkness record.

They were very entertaining live around the time of that first album!

One Way Ticket to Hell...And Back is a great album, but its nowhere near as immediate as the first Darkness album. It didn't help that the first single was garbage too.

Yeah, I listened to Hot Cakes and really liked it.

It didn't help that the first single was garbage too.

I wouldn't call it garbage, but it was a bad choice for a lead single.

i kind of love how their new single rips off 'sex type thing'

at least in terms of riff

OH THE STATE OF ELATION THAT THIS UNISON OF HEARTS HAS ACHIVEVED

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/80EE/production/_89960033_2b161983-d852-4afd-b3d0-ee112f38435b.jpg

“Growing on Me” is still in my head 15 years later or whatever
The best song about crabs ever written

"Christmas Time" is one of the all-time great Christmas records, snow fucks given

it works

the lost b-side “out of my hands” is ace

I think 'Christmas Time' is the best Darkness song full stop!