Monday, June 14, 2010

Song Of The Day - 6/14/10

The Darkness
"I Believe In A Thing Called Love"
Permission To Land
2003

Wow, a new entry! I must confess, since I started using Twitter, blogging just seems so last year. Exceeding 140 characters? Come on, how much time do you think one has during the day?

Anyway, I've been sitting on this one for awhile now, and every time it pops up on shuffle I remind myself about putting up this SotD. Enjoy.





First time I came across this was while seeing this video. Watching it at that time, I thought it had to be a joke. There was no other explanation - the stringy haired lead singer (Justin Hawkins) with the stereotypical bad British dentistry, the 70's era one piece suit front slit down below the navel, the headband, the whole Cock Rock vibe - no question, this was a Spinal Tap homage.

I had to admit though, the song was spot-on. If these guys were doing a parody, it was a damn fine parody. It didn't hurt that the video was flat out awesome, loaded not only with the elements mentioned above, but also with laser shooting guitars, a wind-in-the-face guitar solo in front of a 10 story stack of amps, giant mutant crustaceans, a spaceship, and our (allegedly) sexy lead singer singing on a circular bed a la Austin Powers. Did I mention the part where he is naked?

Repeated listening resulted in an absolute love of this song. It's a perfectly crafted throwback to mid-70's glam/metal, without a shred of the self-important bullshit that affected so many bands of the time.

The Darkness, predictably, couldn't ride this wave for very long. Like many of the singers whose style he appropriated, Hawkins went into rehab for alcohol and cocaine abuse, and left the band shortly after completing his stint in 2006. He was last seen fronting a new band, Hot Leg. The remaining members formed a band called Stone Gods, from whom little has been heard.

The Darkness' All Music entry: