― dave q, Thursday, 7 August 2003 14:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ricardo (RickyT), Thursday, 7 August 2003 14:03 (twenty-one years ago) link
― doom-e cool kid of death, Thursday, 7 August 2003 14:13 (twenty-one years ago) link
Is it because AWK & The Darkness use guitars prominently that the realness/irony issue irks some of you?
― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Thursday, 7 August 2003 14:26 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 7 August 2003 14:28 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 7 August 2003 14:28 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ronan (Ronan), Thursday, 7 August 2003 14:29 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 14:55 (twenty-one years ago) link
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!!!@#
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 7 August 2003 19:05 (twenty-one years ago) link
― sundar subramanian (sundar), Thursday, 7 August 2003 19:11 (twenty-one years ago) link
(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.)
― Pashmina (Pashmina), Thursday, 7 August 2003 19:47 (twenty-one years ago) link
― dave q, Thursday, 7 August 2003 20:12 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Jim Eaton-Terry (Jim E-T), Friday, 8 August 2003 08:19 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 08:53 (twenty-one years ago) link
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
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 09:03 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 09:22 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 09:32 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 09:39 (twenty-one years ago) link
― dave q, Friday, 8 August 2003 09:41 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 09:46 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― mms (mms), Friday, 8 August 2003 10:11 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 10:15 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Jeff W (zebedee), Friday, 8 August 2003 10:19 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 10:26 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 10:29 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Johnney B (Johnney B), Friday, 8 August 2003 10:51 (twenty-one years ago) link
― jel -- (jel), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:18 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:32 (twenty-one years ago) link
It can't be pop music if most people don't get it, whether due to ignorance or anything else.
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:38 (twenty-one years ago) link
I don't see much of a hair metal influence in the darkness by the way, more Classic Rock/AOR than anything.
― jel -- (jel), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:40 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:40 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:42 (twenty-one years ago) link
You wouldn't call the White Stripes or Coldplay pop would you?
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:43 (twenty-one years ago) link
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?!
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:47 (twenty-one years ago) link
Ronan, acts that get on a NOW album are by definition pop music. They don't complete the genre, but they're definitely included.
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:50 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:52 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:52 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:54 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:55 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:55 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Matt DC (Matt DC), Friday, 8 August 2003 12:56 (twenty-one years ago) link
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?
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 13:00 (twenty-one years ago) link
This thread has reminded me to download "You Said No" so thanks.
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 13:01 (twenty-one years ago) link
― dave q, Friday, 8 August 2003 13:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
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....
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Friday, 8 August 2003 13:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
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.
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 13:04 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Tom (Groke), Friday, 8 August 2003 13:05 (twenty-one years ago) link
SHUT UP A BAND I DON'T LIKE ARE ROCK OK?
― Ronan (Ronan), Friday, 8 August 2003 13:08 (twenty-one years ago) link
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?
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Friday, 8 August 2003 13:10 (twenty-one years ago) link