DANKO JONES - "I Am Mortified By The Recent Succession Of Softer Bands Hogging Up Airtime, Critical Acclaim And Hipster-Doofus Approval"

April 30, 2013, 10 years ago

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Toronto rocker DANKO JONES recently launched a column at Canada's Huffington Post. Following is an excerpt from his latest article:

"Growing up I had to abide by my parent's rules. Holed up in my room, I found sanctuary through music and it had to be music they disapproved of in order to feel some sense of autonomy. I found that the louder the music, the more disapproval I received from authority figures. As such, the anger emanating from these loud bands mirrored my adolescent frustration and my musical curiosity eventually drifted towards more satanic and occultist rhythms.

I still remember stealthily turning down the volume at home when Tom Araya of SLAYER would get to the line 'learn the sacred words of praise hell Satan' on Altar Of Sacrifice and only listening to IRON MAIDEN's song 'Number Of The Beast' with headphones in order to avoid a household blowout with my parents.

And it was this constant danger quotient that became irresistible to me and other like-minded kids. This supposedly diabolical music remains my most favourite because it found me at a time when I was most impressionable and innocent. Only now, I turn up the volume when someone screams out 'Satan' into the mic.

And as successive generations embraced this music, the way they articulated this fandom became increasingly extreme. Pastimes such as smoking pot, underage drinking, vandalism and headbanging turned into heroin usage, church burning and murder. There undoubtedly had to come a turning point where the younger generation headed in the opposite direction. Thus, the state of music we're left with today -- THE LUMINEERS and MUMFORD & SONS.

Just like my mom disapproved of OZZY OSBOURNE's Speak Of The Devil album cover, I am mortified by the recent succession of softer bands hogging up airtime, critical acclaim and hipster-doofus approval. Please don't misunderstand, I am fully aware the pendulum of popular culture must swing from soft to heavy and back again in order to maintain an equilibrium. I, myself, love soft music for that very reason of balance. But when did all these bands decide that dressing like the Amish Mennonites was cool?

This quaker-like style that I've coined 'Pioneer-Chic' (trademark 2013) comes with its Grammy-nominated musical accompaniment and has become the soundtrack to college kids 'slumming it' in hostels across Europe. By the way, 'slumming it' doesn't get any better than when you dress up and pretend to be from a world where there's no such thing as modern plumbing and looking like you travel by horse and buggy.

To counter this, there has been a recent crop of bands that stand in direct audible opposition to this new folk movement, harking back to the awesomely noisy '90s. Bands like PISSED JEANS, SHINING (Norway) and METZ (who I've raved about before in this space) sound like the successors to JESUS LIZARD, THE MELVINS and THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS.

In order to get what I perceive to be an oncoming trend on solid, noisier ground, I submit 10 lost '90s noise albums for all to search out and let into your lives. Anything to counter the 38-million YouTube views these Pioneer-Chic (trademark 2013) bands get nowadays..."

Go to this location for Danko's rundown.

Danko Jones have added some festival shows to their European tour in support of their new album, Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue. The new festival shows have been booked for June and July (**).

The band's schedule is available below:

May

2 - Wiesbaden, Germany - Schlachthof
3 - Saarbrucken, Germany - Garage
4 - Dresden, Germany - Reithalle
5 - Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall
7 - Nürnberg, Germany - Hirsch
8 - Linz, Germany - Posthof
9 - Dornbirn, Austria - Conrad Sohm
10 - Milan, Italy - Factory (Area 3)
11 - San Alberto, Italy - Maximum Festival VI
12 - Marseille, France - Le Moulin
14 - Barcelona, Spain - Music Hall Barcelona
15 - Madrid, Spain - Sala Arena
16 - Porto, Portugal - Hard Club
17 - Lisbon, Portugal - TMN Ao Vivo
18 - Santiago de Compostela, Spain - Sala Capitol
19 - Gijon, Spain - Sala Acapulco

June

14 - Interlaken, Switzerland - Greefiend Festival
20 - Bratislava, Slovakia - City Beats **
23 - Clisson, France - Hellfest
29 - Helsinkie, Finland - Rock The Beach **

July

4 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Metaltown
19 - Dour, Belgium - Dour Festival
20 - Holte-Stukebrock, Germany - Serengeti Festival **
24 - Nyon, Switzerland - Paleo Festival Nyon **

August

2 - Kostrzyn On The Oder, Poland - Woodstock Festival
9 - Eschwege, Germany - Open Flair Festival DE
10 - Berlin, Germany - Ehemaliger Flughafen Tempelhof (Rollfeld) - supporting DIE ÄRZTE
11 - Berlin, Germany - Ehemaliger Flughafen Tempelhof (Rollfeld) - supporting DIE ÄRZTE

Danko Jones (the band) released the official video for the Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue album track, 'I Believed In God'. Watch the clip below along with a behind-the-scenes of the making of the video in the footage below:

On April 9th, Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue was reissued via iTunes. The reissue features an exclusive, brand new, unreleased track called ‘Crazy In Bed’. The track was recorded during the Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue sessions.



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