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.
― stevie (stevie), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 08:38 (twenty years ago) link
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.
― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 08:44 (twenty years ago) link
― Enrique (Enrique), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 09:11 (twenty years ago) link
― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 09:16 (twenty years ago) link
― dave q, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 09:31 (twenty years ago) link
― dave q, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 09:32 (twenty years ago) link
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.
― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 09:51 (twenty years ago) link
― dave q, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 10:01 (twenty years ago) link
― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 10:09 (twenty years ago) link
― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 10:35 (twenty years ago) link
― DJ Mencap (DJ Mencap), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 10:54 (twenty years ago) link
― a, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 10:58 (twenty years ago) link
- 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.
― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:14 (twenty years ago) link
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.
― Michael Jones (MichaelJ), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:52 (twenty years ago) link
― Ronan (Ronan), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 15:48 (twenty years ago) link
― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 15:54 (twenty years ago) link
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.
― Bryan (Bryan), Monday, 29 September 2003 02:05 (twenty years ago) link
― dave q, Monday, 29 September 2003 08:41 (twenty years ago) link
― Ronan (Ronan), Monday, 29 September 2003 13:07 (twenty years ago) link
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.
― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Monday, 29 September 2003 23:16 (twenty years ago) link
― m.s (m .s), Thursday, 16 October 2003 06:22 (twenty years ago) link
― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Thursday, 12 February 2004 23:57 (twenty years ago) link
― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Thursday, 12 February 2004 23:59 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 February 2004 00:00 (twenty years ago) link
Rock slut Harry said 'You can't fake that shit' about one of the bands at the Astoria in 'Faking It'. I laughed then.
― pete s, Friday, 13 February 2004 00:24 (twenty years ago) link
― Mr Deeds (Mr Deeds), Friday, 13 February 2004 07:56 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 February 2004 16:12 (twenty years ago) link
― nate detritus (natedetritus), Friday, 13 February 2004 16:28 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 February 2004 16:28 (twenty years ago) link
― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Friday, 13 February 2004 16:29 (twenty years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 13 February 2004 16:30 (twenty years ago) link
― Jon Williams (ex machina), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 02:29 (twenty years ago) link
― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 02:32 (twenty years ago) link
― mark p (Mark P), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 02:34 (twenty years ago) link
I haven't been this confused by the over-analysis of a band since Andrew W.K.
― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 02:34 (twenty years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 03:00 (twenty years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 03:02 (twenty years ago) link
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.
― hahaha, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 10:01 (twenty years ago) link
― dleone (dleone), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 14:00 (twenty years ago) link
Yes, they're the greatest British rock and roll band of the past ten years, but they still SUCK!!
― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Sunday, 7 March 2004 17:27 (twenty years ago) link
― RJG (RJG), Sunday, 7 March 2004 17:29 (twenty years ago) link
― stephen morris, Sunday, 7 March 2004 17:49 (twenty years ago) link
― dave q, Sunday, 7 March 2004 17:52 (twenty years ago) link
― Chris Jones (Crackity Jones), Sunday, 7 March 2004 17:57 (twenty years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 7 March 2004 18:22 (twenty years ago) link
― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Sunday, 7 March 2004 20:46 (twenty years ago) link
― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 7 March 2004 21:06 (twenty years ago) link
― The Lady Ms Lurex (lucylurex), Sunday, 7 March 2004 21:15 (twenty years ago) link
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!
― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 23:06 (nineteen years ago) link
― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Tuesday, 12 April 2005 23:07 (nineteen years ago) link