=
×

Julian Cope presents Head Heritage

Head To Head
Log In
Register
Unsung Forum »
When did indie music go tits up?
Log In to post a reply
88 messages
Topic View: Flat | Threaded
Moon Cat
9577 posts

Edited May 05, 2013, 01:38
Re: When did indie music go tits up?
May 05, 2013, 01:08
That's not really a good comparison. Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind are driven by the comedy first and the music second. Both brilliant (well, being the same people helps!) and there is genuine affection in there too, but they are comedy projects with well observed music attached.

The Darkness are a rock band that see the silliness in rock bands. Massive, inherent difference. For a start, they just wouldn't have shifted the number of records they do if it was all just a larf

It's just not simply parody, though but I would agree, that it helps if you like the source material to begin with to, for want of a better phrase, 'get it'. There's a huge difference between just taking the piss out of something - any schmuck can do that (and badly probably) -and paying homage to something that you know is inherently ridiculous but in your heart of hearts, and, against the accepted critical mores of the day, loving it anyway.

The Darkness are essentially a tribute band to the music that they grew up with and the music they like and they music that they want to play. The fact that they, or rather more Justin Hawkins, dresses it up in a coat of absurdity, reflects an affectionate nod to the sillier aspects of rock. It doesn't matter what genre it is, no one will pull off a better nod and wink piss take of something than the true fan because no one else will see the detail and recognise it for what it is.
If they wanted to be the Barron Knights that you suggest, then there are much easier ways of doing it. The fact that they choose to make well-crafted pop-metal with as much nods to the melodic twin-guitar rock of Thin Lizzy (Dan Hawkins' fave band) and 70s Brit rock as to the supposed hair metal siginifiers indicates a labour of love, not just cheap shots fired at easy targets.
An interesting thing; early on in their career The Darkness supported the then reasonably lauded Stereophonics. On the tour one of the latter came up to one of the former and said something along the lines of "We love you lot, you get to play on stage what we do in sound-checks" to which the reply was, not unreasonably, something like "Well, why don't you just play what you want?"

You know, I don't expect any of this to make you like them - that isn't even an issue and for both our sakes, I'm not gonna bash my head against that wall. But I think you get them very wrong, or rather, just don't get them at all.
In reply to:
Re: When did indie music go tits up? (keith a)		 Replies:
Re: When did indie music go tits up? (IanB)
Re: When did indie music go tits up? (keith a)
Re: When did indie music go tits up? (keith a)
Topic Outline:
Unsung Forum Index