Cheap Trick with bigger balls. Aerosmith without any Tyler-ian pretension or bullshit power balladry. Motley Crue, if they weren’t completely retarded and didn’t suck. And, yes, a whole lot of vintage 1976 AC/DC, played with the same kind of the-world-could-end-any-second-now urgency. You can probably understand why I love this Supagroup band so much.
About a month ago, Supagroup dropped their latest white phosphorus fire-bomb of an album, this time called “Fire for Hire,” and I snatched it up as quickly as I could, remembering just how fucking *hot* their last el-pee, “Rules,” had been. “Fire…” is a wee bit patchier, but still packs a brass-knucks punch that puts most other bands to shame. The el-pee’s opening salvo alone is worth more than the price of admission. Seriously, at the risk of sounding like a complete fan-boy doofus, it’s been a *very* long time since I bought an album that comes charging out of the gates like this one does. The song behind the video I’ve posted above is track one. From this point to track… uh… six, this album is fucking unstoppable, skull-crushing, brilliant. I meant to post the three tracks that follow “What’s Your Problem Now?” to prove my point, but RTH seems to be acting up again, and you should just buy the album anyway.
So that’s the good news. This is real fist-pumping, head-banging, rump-shaking American rock and fucking roll, played with a seemingly near-desperate honesty and earnestness. Jolly good! The bad news is *not* that the riffs and general boogie-rock party vibe are completely derivative. (Who cares, and what isn’t?) It’s not even that many of the lyrics — when they’re not about getting fucked up and fighting for the glory of Rock — are about screwing underage chicks and getting your knob polished before they throw your sorry ass in jail. No, the bad news is that I’m 43 years old, and I love this stuff anyway.
Understand that I don’t love it for the same post-ironic reasons that many rock critic types seem to. See, I just don’t think Supagroup is kidding. I really think they *believe* — or that they *want* to believe — when they write things like:
So get yourself some drumsticks
Buy an old guitar
It’s time to take up arms, my friend,
It’s a rockolutionary war
This is a flag under which I’m prepared to march. Rock and roll is *real*, my friends. Like the rest of you, I hope, I’ve been to the rock mountaintop, and I’ve seen how small and simple the world looks from up there. The air may be thin, but it’s one of the few places where it’s crystal-clear. It’s a high — and why shouldn’t Supagroup, and Hrrundi V. Bakshi, and the rest of you, want to live there? For Supagroup, rock and roll might be a crackpipe, but, hey, it won’t rot your teeth or shrivel your balls. Pass me the torch!
So, yes, I’m turning a blind eye to the stupider, rock-as-giant-hard-on aspects of the Supagroup message — and I’m not dwelling on the fact that there’s one dick-wilting track on this new album that’s just a floppy leather hat and a holstered 12-string acoustic away from sounding like Bon Jovi. The album basically kicks major ass, and this is is one of those cases where suspension of rock cynicism is fully warranted. Long live Supagroup, and (almost) everything they stand for.
HVB
Mwall, as a former headbanger, I’m curious to get your thoughts here. Do you ever suspend that hyper-rational brain of yours, just to get a shot at the Rock pipe, or have you outgrown shit like this?
These guys are from my backyard. I’d heard of them but never heard them. I liked the song in the video, but not the guitar solo. I can’t really get behind anyone who would use the term “rockolutionary war.” The band in unfortunately named too. I prefer the Supersuckers.
Can’t get your wussy high tech video to play on my real man’s computer, bakshi. Give me the album or tell me how to get it cheap, and I’ll give you an answer. On look alone, they’re like the wrong ass-end combination of Monster Magnet and the Reverend Horton Heat. Or like Nashville Pussy if the band had no women.
First I’ve heard of ’em, sounds curious.
When it comes to spoof rock, the last record I really fell for was MILLENNIUM by Chicago’s The Goblins (wow, nearly a decade ago). They wore burglar style masks and wrote great hooks. They seem to have disappeared over the last few years.
Get those tracks up there, Hrrundi, and stop crying about RTH “acting up.” I don’t believe you. I need to hear these tracks for my own ears!
OK, “What’s Your Problem?” is a well-done version of an idealized version of ’70s rock that’s been bugging me for the last, I don’t know, let’s say few years. This reminds me of that song by the band that was featured on iPod commercials. I think they’re Australian…the song’s got a bit of a “Lost for Life” beat and similarly “inspired” lyrics… You know what I’m talking about. I guess what I’m saying is, there’s no harm in digging this Supagroup, but what’s the benefit? I ask myself that whenever I eat a caramel cream Cow’s Tail.
Oh, and here’s what I mean by “idealized version of ’70s” rock: bands doing this stuff nowadays have so much pep, are so eager to please. There’s no stench to what these bands are doing. They might as well be playing the DiFranco Family’s “Heartbeat (It’s a Lovebeat)”, know what I mean? The real stuff that HVB digs, like AC/DC and Cheap Trick, had a Penthouse/Playboy dynamic. These bands I hear working this medium today (including Sloan in their arena-rock guise) are like Mad magazine.
In sum, it reminds me too much of Tenacious D.
By the way, Dan, the Baffler (sarcastic anti-corporate journal that comes out every year or so) published a list of future Goblins projects that was absolutely hilarious. I would be very interested in hearing some of their prime material.
Hey, Mod, two things:
1. I sent you the tracks in question. See if you can get ’em up. I tried again, and no dice.
2. I need to set you straight on this “authenticity” jag of yours. I’m tempted to point out that Supagroup actually does seem to “walk the walk” when it comes to boozy, blowjobs-backstage rock lifestyle-ism, since that seems to mean so much to you. But there’s a bigger point at hand here.
To me, there are subgenres of rock that merit (in fact, require) slavish imitation, and others that sound increasingly stupid the closer to source material you get. I can’t explain why these lines exist, but I’m convinced they do. I suspect that the reason boogie rock, and the blues, and trad jazz, and old-school soul *work*, where punk rock, 70s prog, Beatles/jangle pop, 80s boy groups, hair metal and new wave do not, is that the former made no claims to being anything other than material designed to get your ass shakin’ and your beer forearm workin’. The latter staked their claim on style, innovation and currency as much as anything else — so recreating them faithfully is a fool’s errand, artistically speaking. To your thoughts about that Ausralian band, Jet: the problem with those guys, and Wolfmother, and any number of other retro-rock enterprises, is that they seem to be claiming that all the simple, old, formulaic music they play is somehow new and novel again. Supagroup makes no such claim.
I liked that, HVB. I like the hyperbole in your write up. I like the nearly nekkid woman in the video with a skunk for a wig. I like how the hand claps end in a female butt clap. I like how they don’t bother to reinvent the wheel, they just spin it faster. I like their message (I think I have the message right, “let’s rock and party and ROCK!”).
I think they have a stupid name, but then again I think Two Cow Garage is one of the coolest bands in the world and that’s the dumbest name ever. So thanks for turning me on. I’ll order one of their albums and I’ll have a blast driving around thinking about joining that Rockolution!
Hrrundi, while you make a good point about Supagroup not claiming to be anything than what they are, where do you draw the line?
Should we be more accepting of other expressions of artistic honesty, such as “Silly Love Songs”?
Dr. John, THAT is a good question! Off the top of my head, I’d answer it this way: it seems to me that pop music, in this star-centric era of ours, is near-equal parts personality/style/intention/’tude and actual musical content. Artists can very easily get a pass on the former while failing on the latter. I think — I *think* — that measuring the former is a more objective affair, and that the grades we assign the music are far more subjective (i.e., do we *like* it). “Silly Love Songs” is a tune that gets a C+ in P/S/I/’T quotient, and a C- in musical content, at least from me. (Gotta love those counter-melodies in the outchorus!) “What’s Your Problem Now” gets a solid B+ for P/S/I/’T, and a solid A- on the groove.
Really? That almost seems optimistic. You think there’s still a role for actual musical content? Please explain.
Hrrundi,
I can totally see why you would like them. Me, I need more in the way of songwritng/arranging – you know melodies, dymanics, breaks, etc.
All thier “tunes” seem to come from the riff-o-matic 3000 but the band themselves seem comfortable in that style.
-velv
Andyr wrote:
Thank you for pulling out my favorite form of dismissive insult. I wanted to raise the bar – and I might later, when I’m done with this crazy day – but you cut to the chase.
Jim
I could also drop – “They are pretty good for that sort of thing” too
What’s next, Velv — “they play with a lot of intensity”?
Why not turn the tables on this lack of intensity?
“It’s got all the elements of a good pop song.”
First mental impression: “Didn’t I see these guys play the Jersey Coverband Club circuit 25+ years ago?…”
And “are they serious?”
HVB wrote:
No, I don’t care whether they’re doing lines off a hooker’s nipples or not, I care about whether they are doing anything but turning yet another facet of rock into a Broadway show performance. I guess it’s conceivable that someone will turn a once sincere form of rock, even one I don’t necessarily care for in its authentic form, and make it into something great, but the reason I get hung up on some notion of authenticity is not for authenticity’s sake but because I care greatly that people are doing something with their life that they care about. Life’s too short and life has major sucky parts to it, so don’t give me this Johnny Bravo version of AC/DC when you’re really too chickenshit to be Van Halen, leaping about in Spandex and bad hair. I could be wrong, and I made many assumptions based on a promotional video, but I really think I’d have more respect for them – AND STILL NOT LIKE THEM OTHER THAN TO SAY THEY KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING – if they just embraced their inner ’80s Jersey cover band, as mrclean pointed out.