The Darkness

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In that case I want to sleep with the light on.

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 07:47 (twenty years ago) link

"get your hands offa my woman" was a good fun single. thats all i know. sounded more like a spoof though really, so i can hardly see them evolving into an important band. we dont need 2 spinal taps

Bob Shaw (Bob Shaw), Thursday, 7 August 2003 07:48 (twenty years ago) link

"We dont need 2 spinal taps"

In a nutshell Bob, thank you!

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 07:49 (twenty years ago) link

Have they released an album with the word "Sandwich" in the title yet?

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 07:51 (twenty years ago) link

hehe, i just remembered this:

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

Bob Shaw (Bob Shaw), Thursday, 7 August 2003 07:56 (twenty years ago) link

The Darkness=Terrorvision in spandex=nothing ironic about that. I'm still waiting for their "Oblivion" though.

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Thursday, 7 August 2003 08:09 (twenty years ago) link

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000A0C4U.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

"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."

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 08:09 (twenty years ago) link

"The Darkness=Terrorvision in spandex"

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

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 08:12 (twenty years ago) link

Ummm...you've lost me, Stewart. Are you saying Terrorvision don't know how to write songs? If so, pish posh. If not, then obv The Darkness can't...which isn't true either! Heeeelp!

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Thursday, 7 August 2003 08:27 (twenty years ago) link

Terrorvision + spandex - songwriting ability - sense of humour = Darkness.

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 08:33 (twenty years ago) link

aha! bingo! yes, spot on. sorry, never was much cop at equations.

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Thursday, 7 August 2003 08:38 (twenty years ago) link

Mr Osbourne, I know you may not like these Darkness chappies, but accusing them of lacking a sense of humour is a bit rich.

RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:04 (twenty years ago) link

It's good music to be drunk to.

person#0 (person#0), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:08 (twenty years ago) link

But you see Ricky, I could forgive them everything (or at least write them off as just a tired old joke) if there was even the slightest hint that they had their tongues in their cheeks; but from what I've seen and read they're taking their whole ludicrous shtick preposterously seriously!

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:09 (twenty years ago) link

Old trad punker doesn't like the 'Ness - BIG THUMBS UP!

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:09 (twenty years ago) link

In "Growing On Me" the singer sounds incredibly posh. They're like a more metal Busted. I've not yet decided whether this is the most horrible or the most life-affirming thing ever.

person#0 (person#0), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:16 (twenty years ago) link

http://www.csfanpage.co.uk/badnews/images/warriors1.jpg

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

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:25 (twenty years ago) link

But you see Ricky, I could forgive them everything (or at least write them off as just a tired old joke) if there was even the slightest hint that they had their tongues in their cheeks; but from what I've seen and read they're taking their whole ludicrous shtick preposterously seriously!

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.

The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:30 (twenty years ago) link

Jokes are only funny if they're serious.

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:36 (twenty years ago) link

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 (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.

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:40 (twenty years ago) link

The difference is that Spinal Tap were comedians who thought their music is rubbish. The Darkness are musicians who think their music is great but also a bit ridiculous in places. It's the difference between something you'd want to watch again and again and something you'd want to listen to again and again.

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:43 (twenty years ago) link

Yes, "Old trad punker" in "seen-it-all-before" Bullshit-Detector shockah!

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:43 (twenty years ago) link

I mean if you find novelty music played dead straight so awful why aren't you starting threads slating the White Stripes?

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:44 (twenty years ago) link

But Tom, if we accept that Spinal Tap's music is rubbish and the only reason to keep going back to them is to watch them because they're funny; what would induce anyone to want to keep listening to similar music without those accompanying visuals?

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:46 (twenty years ago) link

I didn't start this thread Tom.

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:48 (twenty years ago) link

Spinal Tap's music is OK - it was the attitude of the people making it I'm talking about. But the reason it was only OK was that they obviously didn't think it could be good (except on a comic level).

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

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:50 (twenty years ago) link

Based on what I'd read, I too expected the Darkness to be a comedy rock band like Gay Dad or the Manic Street Preachers. Turns out that their lp is probably my favourite of the year - it makes me think of a rock 'Lexicon of Love', it's knowing about the clichés of genre but nevertheless it's in love with the hysterical melodrama of it all.

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.

Jerry the Nipper (Jerrynipper), Thursday, 7 August 2003 09:58 (twenty years ago) link

First Tom, now JtN!

David. (Cozen), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:01 (twenty years ago) link

I liked it alot!

dave q, Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:02 (twenty years ago) link

Tom, I don't think there's anything intrinsically dreadful about the kind of music per se within it's historical context; it's just that it's very old and very tired by now and if someone genuinely wants to revive it they really need to try to add something a little bit new to the mix rather than just exaggerating it like a caricature (unless they're deliberately exploiting those caricature qualities for comedic effect).

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?

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:02 (twenty years ago) link

True, they are not the Scorpions yet. What they need is a) minor-key vocal harmonies b) a gtr god. Since Uli Roth and Michael Schenker are probably unavailable, maybe I should join them.

dave q, Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:06 (twenty years ago) link

Stewart I have no idea, because I didn't listen to the original bands. From what I do know then yes, I think they would have done alright, maybe there'd have been suspicion because they don't take the genre completely seriously (JtN's point is excellent I think), maybe they'd have been a bit too pop and crowd-pleasing. (I think the pop aspects (both 'hookiness' and 'attention to the total package') is a new thing they bring to their genre, btw.)

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:06 (twenty years ago) link

"comedy rock band like Gay Dad or the Manic Street Preachers"

hee hee!

person#0 (person#0), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:10 (twenty years ago) link

Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it.

Unfortunately they keep dragging the rest of us with them!

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:11 (twenty years ago) link

In my experience the 'original bands' for a sound are sometimes better, sometimes worse than the originals.

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

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:15 (twenty years ago) link

sometimes worse than the 'copyists' I was going to say.

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:18 (twenty years ago) link

Going back to equations, if I extrapolate Dave Q's theorem I obtain:

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

Talk about damning with faint praise!

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:18 (twenty years ago) link

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

Ignorance is bliss.

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:19 (twenty years ago) link

What albums should a naive Darkness fan be listening to then, Grandad?

Tom (Groke), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:21 (twenty years ago) link

I think they're *very* New Wave OF British Heavy Metal circa early 80's (Tygers of Pan Tang et al). I kinda like them. The single's ace. I'm not in the least bit interested in whether they're *serious* or not.

JtN on the money.

Dr. C (Dr. C), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:25 (twenty years ago) link

I think it's your Great Grandad you really need to ask about that!

Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:25 (twenty years ago) link

(Scorpions - gtr god) = Abba "Eagle"

dave q, Thursday, 7 August 2003 10:26 (twenty years ago) link

In my experience the 'original bands' for a sound are sometimes better, sometimes worse than the originals.
Those who know too much history are also doomed to repeat it at the rest of us.

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 Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 7 August 2003 11:08 (twenty years ago) link

Hair-metal bands as a rule did NOT have 'castrato' singers tho. Bret Michaels and Stephen Pearcy sounded a bit Cooper-like, Vince Neil and Jani Lane sounded like Brian Connolly.

dave q, Thursday, 7 August 2003 11:23 (twenty years ago) link

Once the joke wears thin they will go away.

doom-e cool kid of death, Thursday, 7 August 2003 11:24 (twenty years ago) link

It doesn't always work like that though. Wishful thinking.

David. (Cozen), Thursday, 7 August 2003 11:26 (twenty years ago) link

It will with the Darkness. The songs are not there. Once the 'shock' of seeing them fades, they will as well, and the English Pop Culture machine will turn, and they will fall out of favour.

doom-e cool kid of death, Thursday, 7 August 2003 11:29 (twenty years ago) link

Once the joke wears thin they will go away.

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

The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 7 August 2003 11:31 (twenty years ago) link

wait until all the bored critics' hard-ons fade for the chance to write about something 'different'. seriously, it's a shtick. this always fades in rock'n'roll. it burns bright and then it's gone. knebworth/mercury/number two ... no substance and all ugly style. it will be forgotten about next year. who remembers teh bluetones?

doom-e cool kid of death, Thursday, 7 August 2003 11:33 (twenty years ago) link

basically, they are going through the cycle of hype too quickly. bands that do, always fade.

doom-e cool kid of death, Thursday, 7 August 2003 11:36 (twenty years ago) link

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

billstevejim, Tuesday, 15 March 2011 23:07 (thirteen years ago) link

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

Mark G, Tuesday, 15 March 2011 23:12 (thirteen years ago) link

three months pass...
two years pass...

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

More Than a Century With the Polaris Emblem (calstars), Saturday, 13 July 2013 03:13 (ten years ago) link

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

JACK SQUAT about these Charlie Nobodies (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Saturday, 13 July 2013 04:04 (ten years ago) link

^good display name/posting subject interface

going to grind shows so they can quasi-ironically EDM (DJ Mencap), Saturday, 13 July 2013 08:21 (ten years ago) link

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

Ward Fowler, Saturday, 13 July 2013 10:17 (ten years ago) link

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.

Meine Damen und Herren, ein grosse sh*tstorm! (snoball), Saturday, 13 July 2013 10:48 (ten years ago) link

one year passes...

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.

EveningStar (Sund4r), Wednesday, 12 November 2014 19:04 (nine years ago) link

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

DavidLeeRoth, Wednesday, 12 November 2014 19:23 (nine years ago) link

Did the previous one explode?

StanM, Wednesday, 12 November 2014 19:31 (nine years ago) link

Permission is awesome. Their subsequent output not so much.

calstars, Wednesday, 12 November 2014 19:34 (nine years ago) link

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

Mike Dixn, Thursday, 13 November 2014 00:25 (nine years ago) link

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.

you fuck one chud... (stevie), Thursday, 13 November 2014 12:41 (nine years ago) link

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

calstars, Thursday, 13 November 2014 13:21 (nine years ago) link

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

DavidLeeRoth, Thursday, 13 November 2014 13:57 (nine years ago) link

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.

billstevejim, Thursday, 13 November 2014 16:35 (nine years ago) link

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

joni mitchell jarre (dog latin), Thursday, 13 November 2014 16:37 (nine years ago) link

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

Welcome To (Turrican), Thursday, 13 November 2014 16:43 (nine years ago) link

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.

DavidLeeRoth, Thursday, 13 November 2014 17:57 (nine years ago) link

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

EveningStar (Sund4r), Sunday, 16 November 2014 21:01 (nine years ago) link

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.

billstevejim, Sunday, 16 November 2014 21:32 (nine years ago) link

four months pass...

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

maura, Thursday, 2 April 2015 15:30 (nine years ago) link

at least in terms of riff

maura, Thursday, 2 April 2015 15:30 (nine years ago) link

eleven months pass...

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

calstars, Friday, 25 March 2016 17:21 (eight years ago) link

two months pass...
one year passes...

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

calstars, Friday, 1 December 2017 15:26 (six years ago) link

one year passes...

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

I Accept the Word of Santa (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 15 December 2018 12:55 (five years ago) link

it works

gabbnebulous (darraghmac), Saturday, 15 December 2018 13:08 (five years ago) link

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

calstars, Saturday, 15 December 2018 17:41 (five years ago) link

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

Le Baton Rose (Turrican), Saturday, 15 December 2018 22:34 (five years ago) link


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