Art Brut – Bang Bang Rock & Roll

General CommentI love this song, especially about the part about the Velvet Underground. When he says "I can't stand that sound the second time around, once is enough!", I think he's taking a well-needed shot at bands like The Strokes who cite the Velvet Underground as influences as use that as an excuse for making mediocre music.

I love Art Brut. Witty bastards!

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  @CharlatanSin

General CommentI just love this song. It's way too true. Art Brut were just online now and I commented them; it was pretty magical.

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  @hooray4dolphins

General Comment(on myspace, i mean.)

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  @hooray4dolphins

General Commentyeah, I think this song is a shot at so-called "retro revivalists" who do their best to immitate the VU, but in a more comercially viable style. i like how he laments about how rock n roll has become a cliche, denouncing what is the essence of rock n roll (sex and drugs), but at the same time what is more rock and roll than rejecting the usual values? it's not rebellious, it's reactionary. Art Brut kicks ass.

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  @Storm&Stress

General CommentI think this has more to do with rejecting what the Velvet Underground sang about and embodied and glamorized (sex, drugs, and rock and roll), rather than the way that their music sounded. The background singers sing "white light white heat" because thats one of the VU's best drugs songs. They arent singing "sweet jane" or whatever. Also explains the verse about buying bunk drugs from some girl. Eddie Argos is a huge Modern Lovers fan and is basically trying to be the 2000's version of that band, and they were all about being a normal person and not about crazy sex and drug abuse and whatever. the "i don't want a girl whose with the band, i just want a girl that's gonna hold my hand" lyric is basically a paraphrase of the Modern Lovers song "someone I care about". the drug and sex fueled rock cliche life is just not the reality of the life Eddie and his band have lived i guess, same as with modern lovers and most bands. and its unusual to find bands like art brut, ML, the Undertones, etc who make honest music that is still rock and roll. Anyway, I think of this song as really more an anti-libertines song than an anti VU song. my 2 cents.

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  @enjoymywaffles

General Commenthaha, I'm such an idiot. I thought instead of them saying "White Light, White Heat", it was "Why not! Why not!" as if the back up was asking him why he didn't like VU. It confused me. xDD I got it, I got it.

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  @spleemckee

General Commentenjoymywaffles's input was really interesting, but then again, I do think it refers more to the Velvet Undergroud than to the Libertines for example (I can't recall too much Libs songs dealing with the sex, dugs and rock'n'roll... ok, some of the are, but not in a cliche way) .

I get this song as the other side of the coin of Bad Weekend. In Bad Weekend Eddie (in Art Brut there is never 'a protagonist', it's always Eddie) slags the indie scene and popular culture, with everyone conforming around the hyped bands, while he wants to listen to something different.
But here, he's not so keen about the people who think they are so special because their favourite album is that unlistenable album by VU, White Light/White Heat. As the VU always were a commercial failure and never sold too much (unlike the underrated Doors for example), it's easy for people who consider themselves as people with a good taste to like them.
But it seems like Eddie is looking for a simple good pop songs, like the one his band plays, and just can't stand the sound of the Velvet Undergroud. It's like a kick in the face of those people who understand so much, to show no respect at one of the rock'n'roll biggest taboos.

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  @hadar

General CommentThe "Met the sweetest girl / she gave me a pill / tasted like shit and it made me feel ill" is inspired by the opening line of Monster Magnet's "Tractor".

This song seems to be against writing songs about drugs. Enough said.

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  @lazaruspit