What to make of The Darkness?

[brainwashed_youth]

Ok, if you've been paying any attention to the music world recently, you've heard about this British rock band called The Darkness. I don't know what to make of them. Ya, the music is good classic rock. But their video for "I Believe in a thing called Love" is probably the dorkiest, gayest thing I've ever seen(no offense to dorky gays,lol). Problem is, I love that video. It's funny as hell, the band doesn't take themselves 2 seriously, and the music is really good.

What does everybody else think of this band?

[boxster]

1. Their singer might be the worst rock singer on the planet.

At least the worst rock singer with a hit record. The guy is horrible.

He's like a male Mariah Carey. At least she can sing on key.

[YEM]

4. I guess you guys don't get it.

Tongue planted firlmly in cheek!

[boxster]

16. Of course it is. Should we be buying it?

No. The music is fine; the guy's voice is crap. Sorry, I just like my vocals not to sound like chipmunks going through a wood chipper.

[afraid_of_the_dark]

22. Cheeky Brits...

The morning radio show guys interviewed the lead singer of The Darkness about a month ago on the radio... the members of the band know that you either "get it" or you don't. They are a parody band, and they fully admit it. In fact, they probably make fun of themselves more than they have been made fun of by others! I'm not a big fan of the song, but I still think their whole schtick is hilarious. For instance, the lead singer said that they were trying to revive rock after Nirvana killed it, something I would have been pissed off about if he hadn't been (halfway?) kidding...

[Screaming Lord Byron]

2. Dreadful, maybe even abysmal. They're not even sincere

Bunch of pretentious art-student wankers.

[Red_Storm]

6. So, you don't like them?

[Screaming Lord Byron]

9. No, they're fabulous. Particularly the pants.

[Whitacre D_WI]

10. No way, dude, they're brilliant.

And they're ENTIRELY sincere in their parody!

I do think it is SELF-parody as well. They seem to both genuinely love the '80s hair-metal AND poke fun at it at the same time.



Of course -- is it just me, or does the singer sound more like Robert Smith than like a metal singer?

[meegbear]

3. I've only seen the video at the gym with the sound down ...

but from what I can figure out, they're a cross between Queen and Spinal Tap.

[Blue-Jay]

7. Queen and Spinal Tap. Man, you nailed that one!

Although, Spinal Tap has achieved god-like status in my book.

The Darkness hurts my ears.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

19. Queen knock-off....

I think they're fun in a campy sort of way. But I'd probably never buy any of their CD's. Lotta fluff, no substance (unlike Queen).

[mr blur]

20. But surely, that's exactly like Queen?

Possibly the worst rock band ever

[CrownPrinceBandar]

24. Hardly...

Bay City Rollers, maybe. Queen, the worst, no. I wouldn't even pu t The Darkness in that category.

[vi5]

5. I look at it two ways...

If I'm separating it (which I try to be able to do), the image and the whole shtick is dreadful.

However, if you remove that and just listen to the song and the record the riffs and the playing seem 100% sincere and just good time rock and roll.

Is it gonna change the world? No. Is it my favorite band or album? Not at all. But it's a decent change of pace.

[LoZoccolo]

8. I'm seeing them at the end of March!

At the Vic in Chicago!

But yeah it's like a revival of the heavier side of glam-rock, which never really took itself completely seriously to begin with. I think it's cool compared to a lot of the murky nu-metal stuff that they play too much of on the radio.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

11. the music is cool

i haven't heard anything resembling classic rock in the mainstream in a while, but the singer is too over the top for me. he is a charicature, and that kind of turns me off. screw them.

[brainwashed_youth]

12. he's suppposed to be

He's supposed to be like that. A goofy Brit who lives in the 80's. I think it's genius.


On the downside, the lead singer has the absolute shittiest looking teeth in the world. I don't want to stereotype, but it seems like every Brit I see has shitty teeth. I remember seeing Pirates of the Caribbean and thinking "Damn, Keira Knightley has really shitty looking teeth".

[T_i_B]

17. Well they ARE from Lowestoft

And it's not like a small Suffolk town like Lowestoft is going to be the fashion capital of the universe is it?

The Darkness are OK, but for goodness sake don't take them seriously folks. They are just a good laugh really.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

18. see that's the thing

if they would just play the music that is fine, but all of this throw back stuff makes me ill. i would prefer some originality to sillyness. i am not saying sillyness is bad, but in this context it does not work for me.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. I Like Them

It's a refreshing return to people writing their own songs, playing their own instruments, and having a hand in their own production. Even though it's slickly produced, it's still organic.

And, i saw the performance on Letterman. They were pretty solid as a live band. That's a good thing too. No lipsynching; no tricks!
The Professor

[tigereye]

14. the video I saw was hysterical

Led Zeppelin, Queen and sets from Dr. Who rolled into one. I thought it was a great relief from pretense.

[fudge stripe cookays]

15. I first heard them on KFOG from SF

And they made fun of them constantly in a "Make or Break" contest they had.

But I had to admit, I least they're DIFFERENT. To me, everything sounds the same anymore.

Still haven't seen the viddy yet, but I'm sure I'll giggle a lot. These guys just entertain me. I laugh at the song, I laugh at them, but I still enjoy them.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

21. They are on my last nerve...

Every other song on MTV and VH1 is this stupid crap. I'm not impressed. They need to just go away.
Duckie

[Cush]

23. retro crap

parody or not