Could it be that a popular music industry stuck in the mud and spinning its wheels might finally be inching forward by finding new life in something old? Time will tell. But theres no doubt that if the biggest band to emerge out of England in years (Chicago Tribune, 3/29/04) has anything to say about it, their catchy hybrid version of 70s and 80s heavy metal will breathe new life and excitement into the world of todays popular music. And if you thought the metal genre has long been dead, think again
Believe it or not, The Darkness can actually help us understand the mission field of todays youth culture and help us connect with young people for the sake of the Gospel. Our understanding and analysis of the band can help us shape a distinctively Christian response that includes a strategy for effective ministry connections.
The quartet known as The Darkness has heads banging and fists pumping at sold-out shows back in their native U.K., halfway around the world in Japan and right here on the other side of the big pond.
Its nearly 40 years since Steppenwolfs 1967 hit Born To Be Wild was on the charts. Music critics generally agree the song birthed heavy metal by containing several elements of the modern musical style along with the words heavy metal thunder in the lyrics. That thunder grew and raged for years with a long and diverse list of bands including Led Zeppelin, KISS, Def Leppard, Poison, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Metallica contributing to the genres enduring popularity. But with the arrival of grunge music in the early 90s and the post-grunge movement of the last few years, some believed heavy metal was gone forever.
But turn on your radio. Tune in to MTV. Or check the concert listings for your local venue. Chances are youll encounter The Darkness, a band thats burst into the mainstream of todays youth culture without precedent or warningand the kids are listening. As a result, we should be listening, too. Because The Darkness and their music are directing and reflecting youth culture, they serve as a valuable and helpful window into whats happening in the world of our children and teens. Where did they come from? Why are they so suddenly popular? What are they teaching our kids through their music? What purpose does their music serve in our culture? And what insights into todays youth culture can The Darkness give us that will serve to shape our ministry to children and teens?
The story of The Darkness
Two brothersJustin and Dan Hawkinsstand at the heart of the bands story. Born into an English working class family, the two boys were raised by a mother who loved music. When younger, she had hung out with The Rolling Stones. Consequently, music was always in the house and the boys grew to share her love. Unlike other English boys, Justin didnt like soccer. Instead, the straight-A student who was often bullied by his more athletic peers developed an interest in the guitar. He would spend hours practicing alone in the solitude of his room. In addition, he was fascinated with the voice, stage persona and scarves of Aerosmiths lead singer, Steven Tyler. Younger brother Dan also learned how to play the guitar. By the time he was 15, Justin was already playing and performing in local pubs. Eventually, the two teamed up with some friends and formed a cover band.
In 1997, Justin decided to pursue a college education and Dan headed off to London, looking to join a new band. While in London, Dan met Scottish bass player, Frankie Poullain. On weekends, a drummer named Ed Graham would visit and the guys would play together. Missing music, Justin left school and hooked up with the guys to form a progressive rock band known as Empire. They released several singles on the independent label Must Destroy and built a loyal local following through their live shows. These shows were legendary because of the bands showmanship. Eventually, they dropped the bands lead singer and the guys started to wonder if they should abandon their musical dreamthen came New Years Eve 1999. On the night before the new millennium, Justin took the karaoke microphone at his aunts pub and sang a rousing and energetic rendition of Queens Bohemian Rhapsody, complete with all the stage moves. When Justin sat back down, Dan told him the band would continue with Justin as the lead singer.
Now, four years later, its obvious Dans intuition was right. They called themselves The Darkness, says Justin, because, Frankie used to say, All music comes from the darkness, the part of you that has a need to express something thats caused by a cavity or void or chasm thats dark (mtv.com). The hard-working band continued to play pubs and local venues for three years. The last 18 months have seen The Darkness move out of the pubs and achieve worldwide fame. Justin says, Its been an astonishing year. If you had told me a year ago all this was going to happen it would have been unbelievable. Its unthinkable what happened (The Australian, 1/9/04).
Twenty-eight-year-old Justin Hawkins fronts the band vocally and contributes instrumentally on the guitar and keyboards. The energetic performer has been compared to Queens Freddy Mercury, both vocally and because of his flamboyance. Justin dresses in cat-suit unitards, plays a pink guitar, sports numerous tattoos (include a flame coming up out of his groin), and wears a nipple ring. Twenty-six-year-old younger brother Dan plays guitar. Frankie Poullain (32) plays the bass and Ed Graham (26) rounds out the quartet on drums.
They released several singles that went on to become hits. Their debut album was released in the U.K. in early July 2003. By August, they had garnered two coveted Kerrang! magazine awards for Best Album and Best Live Actbeating out The White Stripes and metal mainstay Metallica. Their album was released in the U.S. on September 16th and their popularity soared. Back home in Britain, the group won three times at Februarys Brit awards, including Best British Album, Best British Rock Act and Best British Group.
The music of The Darkness
Perhaps the most striking mark of the bands music is their energy. While heavy metal music has always been fast and furious, The Darkness doesnt pound home the standard metal messages of darkness and rebellion. Instead, theyve set out to help kids forget the sadness and tears of post-grunge by helping their listeners have funsomething the band hopes will put smiles back on their fans faces. Their only intentional rebellion comes in the form of Justins thumbs-up to the crowd after every song. He rationalizes the positive gesture as a rebellious contrast to the raised middle finger so much music waves at the world.
The bands sound combines elements of the classic rock of the 1970s (think AC/DC, Queen, Thin Lizzy, etc.) with the sounds of 1980s heavy metal, including bits of power pop metal, hair metal and glam metal. The Hawkins guitars provide plenty of power chords, riffs, solos and classic heavy metal bridges. Poullains bass and Grahams drums pound away in the background. Justin Hawkins lead vocals feature falsettos and an incredible multi-octave range in a combination Hawkins himself describes as a straight Queen (Blender.com). The entire package is incredibly catchy, melding all these elements along with melodic hooks and tight harmonies in a sound thats been called ostentatious retro-rock (Washington Post, 12/31/03). Justin Hawkins says, We play bombastic, big-balled, tight-trousered rock. Rock of that nature has been ridiculed for many a moon. But people
are tired of f___ing boring s___ (Rolling Stone, 10/2/03). He believes the band has taken the best of metals past and refined it into something even better, calling it rock with the benefit of hindsight, or retro-futurist (VH1.com).
Lyrically, the songs are simple, straightforward and easily understood. Still, the band makes use of double-entendre regularly.
Because The Darkness is a band tailor-made for performing, nothing captures the bands ethos better than the concert setting. Justin says the concert should always be a multi-sensory experience (The Australian, 1/9/04). He says, The main motivation for our gigs is to make sure everyones having a good time
Were not there to gripe and get our thoughts across on political issues, were there to make sure everyones like this: Woooaaarrrgghhh!! You f___in rock! (The Fly, 5/03). The typically sold-out crowd gets into it as the band plays the rocker part to a teejumping around, scissor-kicking, changing costumes, etc. Its a show full of flared pant, bad puns, recycled 80s metal riffs and enough lights to land a jumbo jet at OHare (Chicago Tribune, 3/29/04). The Fly says that experiencing a Darkness live show is the most fun you can have without resorting to illegal drugs, illicit sex or getting wired on a truckload of Space Dust (5/03).
Some critics have likened The Darkness to the parody-band Spinal Tap, a comparison thats easy to make based on their sound, appearance, music and sense of humor. But they claim to be serious about what they do, denying they are a tongue-in-cheek act. Instead, they claim to be four guys working hard to do what they absolutely love doing. Either way, theyre very good at what they do. Critic Andy Pemberton goes so far as to say, The Darkness plays old-fashioned heavy metal with such élan that at times they ascend to pop musics Olympian heights (
blender.com).
Permission To Land (2003)
The bands debut album title announces their arrival on the pop music scene. A press release says, Permission To Land is less of a request to moor the goodship Darkness, rather a demand to shift the rest of the s___ cluttering up rocks runway. Described by the Washington Post as the most totally awesome album of 2003 (12/31/03), the disc debuted on the U.K. charts at #2 and went to #1 just one week later. To date, its sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S., 1.3 million copies in the U.K., and over 400,000 copies in the rest of Europe.
The cover features a naked female runway attendant guiding a star-wars-esque spaceship to a landing. The albums content confidently announces the arrival of The Darkness.
Right out of the gate The Darkness kicks it into high gear on the fast-paced Black Shuck, a tune referencing an epic poem about a ghostly dog that is rumored to have haunted the Hawkins home area of East Anglia since Viking times. The dog, known as Black Shuck, is associated with death and has supposedly stalked churchyards in eastern England. In the song, the dog visits the Blytheburg Church and kills the priest and parishioners. In true heavy metal fashion, Justin Hawkins screams the chorus, Black Shuck/Black Shuck/That dog dont give a f___.
Pre-released as a single in the U.K., Get Your Hands Off My Woman (See lyrics on page 5.) quickly went to #6 on the U.K. charts. The singer confronts a drunk and surly man who is coming after his woman. While he says he has no right himself to claim her as his own, his obsession with her drives him to confront her pursuer. Listeners assume that the pursuer violates her, leaving Hawkins angrily calling him, you c___.
Also a pre-released single, Growing On Me offers an example of the bands use of double-entendre. At one level, the song is about a girl that he cant get rid of and his wavering on whether to get rid of her at all: I cant get rid of you/I dont know what to do/I dont even know who is growing on who/Cos everywhere I go youre there/Cant get you out of my hair/Cant pretend that I dont careits not fair. But on a second level, the song is said to be about venereal/genital warts or some other sexually transmitted disease: Youre really growing on me
Sleeping in an empty bed/Cant get you off my head/I wont have a life until youre dead/Yes, you heard what I said/I wanna shake you off but you just wont go/And youre all over me but I dont want anyone to know/That youre attached to me, thats how youve grown/Wont you leave me, leave me, leave me alone. The songs concept video begins with the aforementioned space ship coming to earth. On its way, a pterodactyl flies onto the spaceships back and starts mating with it in mid-air. As the ship comes in for a landing, it drops four eggs containing the band members. The old dinosaur of heavy metal has spawned a new child.
The hit single I Believe In A Thing Called Love was originally released by the band as an EP in August 2002. Recently, the videofeaturing a clip of Hawkins in the nudewas in heavy rotation on MTV. The song provides examples of the bands use of lyrical rock clichés, another reason why their sincerity is questioned: I believe in a thing called love/Just listen to the rhythm of my heart/Theres a chance we could make it now/Well be rocking til the sun goes down/I believe in a thing called love/Ooh!/I wanna kiss you every minute, every hour, every day/You got me in a spin but everything is A.O.K!
The thing called love is further clarified on the albums next song, Love Is Only A Feeling. Also a hit single release, the song is a classic heavy metal power ballad. The singer doesnt know whether to believe in life-long monogamy and the idea of one true love. His emotional experience undermines his ability to commit or understand the true nature of love: Love is only a feeling/Drifting away/When Im in your arms I start believing/Its here to stay/But love is only a feeling/Anyway. Consequently, we shouldnt get caught up in it.
Givin Up is a first-person account of heroin addiction. (See lyrics at right.) The song doesnt confess the singers commitment to give up heroin. Rather, what hes giving up on is caring about life itself. On a positive note, the song reveals the apathy and hopelessness that can come with abuse.
Escape is the theme of Stuck In A Rut. The singer vows to high-tail it out of the rut he finds himself in because of where he lives: Kiss my arse, kiss my arse goodbye/Propelled by a carriage of aluminum am I/No more to rot in this sty/Turn my back on this s___-hole in the blink of an eye. He says hes going to go away but never says where that place is other than that its where I wanna be. Still, the song ends with him singing that hes stuck in a rut for eternity.
Friday Night is a very simple love song about a grammar school sweetheart. He confesses his desire to love her and to have her love him back: Hey you!/Could you ever fall for me/The way I fell for you/And do you dwell upon the thoughts I occupy/Or do you give yourself things to do. The last line humorously addresses the bands simple lyrical style: God the way she moves me/To write bad poetry.
A couple whose love has grown cold is the topic of Love On The Rocks With No Ice. They are enduring their existence with each other without addressing their problems: So many issues we should address/Cos our lives just dont correlate/All the emotions that we suppress/Bite our tongues until its too late/Were not as close/As we always used to be- you and me/In the eye of the storm/We keep each other warm.
The album comes to a close with another double-entendre, Holding My Own. (See lyrics at right.) This time, he sings to his former object of affection. He proudly tells her its no problem that hes left because hes doing just fine without her. But on another level, the song is clearly about his ability to fulfill his own sexual needs through masturbation.
Whats the draw?
A surprise to many, The Darkness has connected with a wide-ranging and growing audience for many reasons. Examining these reasons offers us valuable insight into the values, attitudes and behaviors that make up the changing cross-cultural mission field of todays youth culture.
First, the music of The Darkness is catchy. The band writes and performs straightforward music that draws listeners in. While it lacks complexity, the bands repertoire is packed with magnetic hooks. The music has a holding power. These are the kind of tunes that get in your head and stay there.
Second, familiarity has bred popularity. A year and a half ago these guys were playing in smoky pubs. But in a true nod to the power of MTV and radio exposure, The Darkness now find themselves in the mainstream of popular music culture. This group of nobodies are now somebodies thanks to the power of the airwaves.
Third, they are committed to putting on a good show. Justin Hawkins and his band mates are working hard to entertain their diverse audience. The music is fast and loud. They dont stand behind their mikes. These guys are full of energy as they change costumes, move around the stage, and employ all kinds of theatrics to create a very exciting, energetic and flamboyant musical package thats a novel breath of fresh air in todays popular music industry.
Fourth, the emerging generation is looking for something new and refreshing. So, the music and energy of The Darkness is connecting an older musical genre with a new young audience. Justin Hawkins recognizes this fact: people feel like theyre discovering something for themselves. Were not part of any trend and thats what sets us apart (The Times, 8/15/03).
Fifth, the older generations love the bands retro feel. Almost 20 years have passed since heavy metal and its various sub-genres were dominating the airwaves. Yesterdays metal fans are now in their adult years and, like all generations before them, they are longing to recover and feel something of their past. Music has always had great power to carry people back to an earlier time and its memories. This accounts for the growing connection yesterdays teens have with todays Darkness.
Sixth, The Darkness is a normal band that has identified with their fans. These guys are not untouchable superstars. They have no desire to achieve the lofty heights of superstar status and its trappings. Instead, they want to be able to connect with their fans. I dont want to be an aspirational band, says Justin Hawkins. I want people to be able to relate to what Im singing about. Were not going to be showing off about the size of the Learjet were traveling in and how many drugs we take or thousands of women we have sex with. I find all that a bit sad really (The Times, 8/15/03).
Seventh, the music emits and emotes power. Teenagers have always gone through periods of feeling helplesssome more than others. At times, those feelings come with the breakdown of family and loss of other relational connections. Young people with weakened family and peer relationships are looking for something to help them overcome their sense of powerlessness. As with the heavy metal music of years gone by, the music of The Darkness has the ability to temporarily meet this need in some small, yet not insignificant, manner.
Eighth, these guys have a sense of humor and they want to make people happy. This is one of the reasons why their heavy metal integrity has been questioned and some wonder if they are a parody band. Elton John says, they bring fun back to rock and roll. They dont take themselves seriously (People, 2/9/04). Were going to take all these kids that are made to cry by Staind and Disturbed and all the rest of these horrible post-grunge bands to our gigs and send them out with smiles on their faces, says Justin Hawkins (VH1.com). Kids are looking for a refreshing laugh and fun experience. So far, its working.
Ninth, The Darkness is a band ripe for popularity in our postmodern world. While they have set limits for themselves, these guys affirm an anything goes individualistic morality in their music. One example of their commitment to postmodern pluralistic tolerance is the single they released last Christmas. Justin Hawkins says the song, Christmas Time (Dont Let The Bells End) is an acknowledgement that tis the season which affords us a greater tolerance and brings folks together.
And finally, even though their music lacks lyrical complexity, its themes still connect. Kids identify with and gravitate toward music that reflects their life issues and feelings. The simple, early adolescent-oriented themes of The Darkness capture the emotions kids feel regarding self-image, love and sexual expression.
How should we respond?
Believe it or not, The Darkness can actually help us understand the mission field of todays youth culture and help us connect with young people for the sake of the Gospel. Our understanding and analysis of the band can help us shape a distinctively Christian response that includes a strategy for effective ministry connections. How then, should parents, pastors, educators and youth workers respond to the music of The Darkness and those who are embracing it as their own? Can they teach us anything about the emerging generations, their culture and the role of the church in todays changing cultural climate? Heres some analysis and suggestions:
First, we should applaud and affirm The Darkness for their resolve to be positive. This is a band that has looked at the current music culture and the kids it represents, and has seen their agony. They know that kids are hurting and they want to do something about it. For The Darkness, that something is to provide temporary relief through an escape experience that puts a smile on ones face. While we know this type of joy cant be lasting, we can affirm the band for their resolve to lead kids out of their misery.
Second, we should challenge the bands messages where those messages fail to affirm biblical truth and a Godly lifestyle. While the band does say theyve set limits on their behavior, their limits extend beyond the bounds of what God has established to be good, true, proper and right. Not surprisingly, the band reflects the party mentality prevalent in todays youth culture. We have rules of engagement, says Dan Hawkins. The general rule is that if there isnt a gig the next day and you want to go for it, anything goes. But everyone knows exactly where the line is. No one gets sympathy if they cross it. It happens to everyone though. Its just not in our nature to say no (Rolling Stone, 2/19/04).
Third, The Darkness reveals how important a visual, sensory experience is to our kids. This sends a strong message to the church. Naturally, our message of truth must be stated propositionally. But for too long we have failed to make propositional statements in ways that engage more than the mouth of the sender and the ears of the receiver. We must begin to incorporate multi-sensory experiences into our communication of the unchanging Word if we hope to engage the hearts and minds of our kids.
Fourth, this is music that reminds us of our need to be deeply creative. One of the criticisms of this band is their lack of creativity and lyrical depth. While they are talented musicians, their music and performances are recycled from days gone by. Theres nothing new here. Christians would do well to take note of our need to avoid these traps as we reflect the image of our Creator in our music, art, and other creative ventures. We must set the bar higher and higher in a never-ending pursuit of creativerather than copy catexcellence.
Fifth, The Darkness issues a call to continually trumpet the biblical sexual ethic to our kids. In faithfulness to current cultural attitudes, the band mistakenly defines, understands and lives love in feeling-oriented terms. We must recover the biblical definition of love as commitment. In addition, we must teach our kids the proper place of sexual experience and expression within the bounds of the marital covenant.
Sixth, we must proclaim the life-giving message of the Gospel that frees young people from being stuck in a rut for eternity. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He calls all who are weary, worn out and burdened to come to him for rest. He is the way out of the eternal rut and into eternal life.
Seventh, The Darkness offers an interesting case study in how negative messages can be carried on the wings of upbeat, catchy tunes. Many listeners will be drawn to The Darkness by the magnetic nature of the music. We must remind them that music is more than the tune. It is also a message. That message can easily be assimilated if ones guard is down.
Eighth, this is a great musical package to use to teach kids media evaluation skills. The simple musical and lyrical message of The Darkness affords leaders a wonderful opportunity to use CPYUs How To Use Your Head To Guard Your Heart music evaluation tool with your group. There is nothing cryptic or hidden in their music. They are an easy and great band to use for evaluation purposes.
Ninth, if your kids are listening to The Darkness, you must discover why thats the case. As stated previously, some are drawn to the catchy nature of the music. But if they are listening because of their connection to the musics themes, you must discover and address the root causes for the attraction. Music can be a helpful tool to lead us to discover where our kids are confused, hurt or struggling.
Tenth, if your younger kids express an interest in The Darkness, lead them in some other direction. Because of the musics themes, this is one band that shouldnt be a part of their musical diet.
Eleventh, dont be surprised if The Darkness paves the way for heavy metal to reach the masses. In the early 90s, bands like Green Day led the charge for neo-punk music to expand punks audience from the disenfranchised youth to the regular kid. I believe The Darkness is a neo-metal band that could signal the start of metals return to a larger and more mainstream audience. If thats the case, the audience will be very, very young.
And finally, Im guessing that The Darkness has the potential to become a darling of the homosexual community. The homosexual community has always had their favorites in the world of popular music. Justin Hawkins flamboyance, showmanship and Freddy Mercury feel just might propel the band to a place of prominence in the gay community.
Will The Darkness be a flash in the pan? Only time will tell. But with four U.S. tours scheduled this year, opening spots with The Rolling Stones, and the scheduled release of a new album before 2005, theyre at least going to make some noise. We need to be listening.
Get Your Hands Off My Woman
You are drunk and you are surly/In Latino lover mode/We all know whats on your agenda/Weve broken the code
Ive got no right to lay claim to her frame/Shes not my possession/You c___.
Get your hands off my woman motherf_____/Get your hands off my woman you motherf_____.
October, youve got six hands too man/And you cant keep them to yourself/Youre too fat and too old to marry/So they left you on the shelf.
Ive got no right to claim her frame/But you soiled my obsession/You c___.
Givin Up
My mamma want to know/Where Im spending all my dough/Honey all she does is nag, nag, nag/But I wont apologize/Id inject into my eyes/If there was nowhere else to stick my skag
All I want is brown/And Im going into town/Shooting up as soon as Im back/My friends have some good s___/All I want is some of it/Gimme, gimme, gimme that smack
Well Ive ruined nearly all my veins/Sticking that f___ing s___ into my arms
Oh, oh ,oh, oh , oh, oh, oh/Givin up, givin up, givin a f___/ Oh, oh ,oh, oh , oh, oh, oh/Givin up, givin up, givin a f___
Getting off my face/Theres a dragon I must chase/Honey, Im the scourge of all mankind/And everyone but me/Is destined just to be/Salves to the remorseless grind/But I found myself an easy way out/Sticking that f___ing s___ into my arms/Into my arms
Holding My Own
Baby, everything has fallen into place/My life is so exciting now Ive got my space/Like a splash of water on my face/Lately Im doing what I can to pleasure me/Im finding time to focus on my fantasies/Im satisfied in my own company
I dont need your permission/To take this matter into my own two hands
Cos Im holding my own/Give or take a tear or two/Im holding my own/No matter what I put myself through
Lady, all we seem to do is talk about/We take apart and analyze our ins and outs/Honey, I would rather do without
No-one to answer to/I wont spend another lifetime begging you
Theres a spring in my stride/Theres a twinkle in my dying eyes/Cos Im holding my own
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