All right, without that video to distract me I see what's going on with these guys. Despite their nods toward AC/DC and other bands with a real '70s stench to them, "Born in Exile" and the chorus of "Lonely at the Bottom" betray their real role models: they're Van Halen trying to play "Radar Love"! This makes a lot of sense to me; it explains the vaudeville/Hey kids, let's put on a show! vibe I get from these guys. They are good...at what they do...if you like that kind of stuff. I'll even go as far to say as "They're good," but I could easily spend the rest of my life not listening to these three songs again. Will my home be spared by the crusade if I paint my door with lamb's blood? I just ate at a Greet restaurant.

Gah. I'd loan out the term, "all filler, no killer". I think that The Darkness work this shtick a whole lot better, and smarter. And Supagroup totally broke cool rule #1 in their promo photos on their band's website by wearing THEIR OWN BAND'S T-SHIRT. Yuck.

Better than Warrant.

I just ate at a Greet restaurant.

Steve's? Nice one.

Yes, it was good - and Greek, as you know I meant to type.

SallyC sez:

I think that The Darkness work this shtick a whole lot better, and smarter.

I say:

Groan! What's with the assumption that it's a "schtick"? Even more troubling is your suggestion that such a schtick could be "worked" "smarter." It can't -- at least not in my book. If you ask me what I think of the Darkness, going back to my Key Rock Quotients, I give them a huge, glaring F double minus in the PSI'T integer, and an occasional B+ in the head-bangin', ass-wigglin' department. This "schtick" you speak of is a subset of PSI'T -- hence, the Darkness' overarching sub-par rating in my book. Abusing Rock history to achieve high PSI'T points is beneath contempt.

Hrrundivbakshi, what do you think about my Van Halen take on these guys? You don't think these guys are "showmen" more than the animalistic stooges who made up the best boogie rock? I think that's where SallyC is getting the "schtick" read on the band.

Hrrundi sez:
What's with the assumption that it's a "schtick"?

Sally sez:
Hmmm... the running through fire? The hair and the sunglasses? The fur hat and the goofy rock poses? Okay, I'm gaffing their general Look. Granted certain bands may have some of these qualities, but to have all the rock qualities at once - it just seems calculated and aware, when their whole theme seems to say lets have fun with this, but also - let's be serious. Seriously rock. But I can't be serious about this kind of rock because it's not being serious - you know? I'd rather see a million bands cover Kiss and AC/DC, then hear these songs in my mind after they've played out.

Can someone go over PSIT with me again?

I was afraid someone would ask Hrrundi to clarify this PSI'T thing. It sounds like math to me. Sorry folks, I'm taking down the site!

Hey Bakshi:

These guys rock--thanks for the tracks. On the basis of these tracks I would buy a record of theirs. So screw the popsters on this list who are Afraid of Rock.

On to the details: "Born In Exile" definitely reveals a a Van Halen fetish, as the Mod suggests. The band tries to go punk with it, in some measure successfully. But the Halen rip-off is a little too apparent.

So the biggest weakness of this band is too much speed and not enough of their own sound. On the basis of these tracks at least, they're not quite as good as the modern versions of the hard rock sound that I most admire, Soundgarden and Monster Magnet. Those bands can be hit and miss in their songs, but they always have an identity. By the way, next time Mr. Mod calls for hard rock without stupid lyrics, I want to hear him reckon with those bands--and without mentioning ELO.

This stuff reminds me also of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band you were touting a few weeks back; they've got attitude, and balls out rocking, but their playful sense of identity remains a little derivative. But I'd put this in the car, more than once, for a rocking good time.

Seriously: the band is at the meeting ground of AC/DC, Van Halen, and Monster Magnet. Two of these bands you know, but what about Monster Magnet? You should own a copy of their album Powertrip. You should be walkin' the walk to "Space Lord."

Rock out, my friend.

I LOVE Monster Magnet, and I just reviewed a band who's live show sounds like a cross between Sabbath and Monster Magnet, but whose record, sounds like neither. A really cool group named Stardeath And White Dwarfs from Oklahoma City. I just don't see the connection here with Monster Magnet. Except for the hard rock part, but Monster Magnet are completely different to what this is. This is clean rock, even though they want it to look dirty. It's too clean because it's too calculated!!! I would have to agree with you that not enough of their own originality is thrown in, if it were, I might try to understand them a bit more.

When I watched the video yesterday, there was something to the sound I couldn't put my finger on. Somehow Sally Darkness comparison jolted it loose -- Urge Overkill in boogie rock mode. Not the look, not the thought behind it, just the sound.

There's no way the booze & backstage blowjobs thing can not be schtick at this point, even if the people doing it may not be fully aware that it's schtick.

What BigSteve says! When I'm drinking straight from the bottle of Jack while getting a blowjob backstage I think of how I'd rather be sipping my coffee, catching up on Rock Town Hall.

Mr. Mod sez:

You don't think these guys are "showmen" more than the animalistic stooges who made up the best boogie rock?

I say:

Good grief, man. This is a *very* troubling question. One: the suggestion that showmanship is somehow a demerit, in *any* rock sub-genre, is downright baffling. Two: what's this bullshit about boogie rock being played best by "animalistic stooges"?! What, other, "greater" forms of rock are the domain of well-groomed, pointy-headed bookworms wearing cologne and ruffled collars? Forget PSI'T -- we need a complete matrix -- no, wait, a catalog of Venn diagrams -- to properly cross-tab intelligence, good breeding, and etiquette requirements of those who play the various kinds of Rock we pore over in these Halls. To that, I say: a.) you seem to be the perfect man for *that* job, and b.) please watch the following:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU_sq5L3d4A

I watched the video. I'm down with that schtick. Is it OK if I call it "schtick?" Now you, my friend, answer my questions regarding Van Halen and the difference between vaudevillian showmanship and animalistic stooges - and, most importantly, the proper ratio of each valid approach to rocking in many if not all subgenres of rock. Please don't get hung up on any peripheral stuff you might sense in what I'm asking. These are very straightforward questions that I'm sure you can help us answer.

When I watched the video yesterday, there was something to the sound I couldn't put my finger on. Somehow Sally Darkness comparison jolted it loose -- Urge Overkill in boogie rock mode. Not the look, not the thought behind it, just the sound.

Yes. 100% spot-fucking-on. They are, in sound and in attitude, the new Urge Overkill.

I was never convinced we needed the OLD Urge Overkill, myself.

What BigSteve says! When I'm drinking straight from the bottle of Jack while getting a blowjob backstage I think of how I'd rather be sipping my coffee, catching up on Rock Town Hall.

IS THIS TRUE??!! Someone give him an editorial, and some Jack for his coffee.

I much prefer and want the "schtick" and fun of The Upper Crust --maybe not every day, but once in a while is great! Why can't people just talk like that nowadays, and why can't rock shows take place somewhere, say, like, in the House of Commons. The next evolution of rock is all about people dressing up in full heavy metal gear. For jousting, while axeing.

Isn't everything in rock n' roll "schtick?" At least Supagroup's schtick is better than some BS tortured artist or sensitive guy routine. I always loved walking into a show in a small place and seeing some band that thinks they're way bigger than they are come out and be way too big and way too over the top. I think Supagroup is always gonna give you more than your six dollar ticket's worth.

It may seem calculated, but it seems like it's with a wink and a smile, where someone like Jet seems to have derived their inspiration less from Iggy Pop than Princess Cruise Lines, and they seem to think we should take them seriously. The Darkness never seemed to have the sense of humor they should have - they seemed like they actually thought they came up with something on their own. I suppose that fine line for the over the top hard rock is finer than most. At least Supagroup is on the right side of the line most of the time.

I think this crystalizes into the question of how much weight we, individually, put into "schtick" and "fun" verses(or in addition to)a bands musical output.

For me, its about the music, maaan. Look, schtick, "mak scahu" mean nothing if it ain't in the groove's (wax grooves)

I get a little tired seeing the wreckage that results from musicians pursuing hedonism single-mindedly. It can be very liberating listening to this kind of music, but we're adults, and we can integrate this attitude to varying degrees into a more varied relationship with life and music. But listening to party bands who lack self-awareness makes me feel like an enabler of destructive behavior.

The connection with Monster Magnet isn't sound, it's the rockolutionary attitude and look: a macho posturing of lyrical exaggeration and supabright bursts of color. Are Supagroup an L.A. band? I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised.

I wanted to save the backstory until after everybody weighed in with an opinion, but Supagroup are nominally from New Orleans. I say "nominally" because the Lee brothers (who claim relation to Bruce of some sort) are actually from Alaska, from whence they escaped after being brought up by an extremely strict fundamentalist preacher. Their Mom, actually. So it seems that their love of rock's rebelliousness and their horny, booze-fueled, uh, zest for life are quite genuine. Supposedly. Anyhow, I like 'em.

And to Mod's tortured point about the axis between Supagroup and classic Van Halen -- I don't see the cheeseball Vegas entertainer thing in Supagroup at all. What I *do* see in them is Van Halen's Rock = Party = Chicks = Party = Booze = Party = Rock perspective on life. And that's not such a bad thing to enjoy vicariously, even as an old geezer.

The Darkness never seemed to have the sense of humor they should have - they seemed like they actually thought they came up with something on their own.

I thought that until recently, when Justin Whatizname was a guest on the BBC series Top Gear, being interviewed while wearing a giant belt buckle that said, in scrolling LED lights, "JUSTIN OUT OF THE DARKNESS." I still think their music sucks, but points for style.

SallyC sez:

I'd rather see a million bands cover Kiss and AC/DC...

I warn:

Be careful what you ask for!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd8ili54e8g

Whoops, sorry, I meant to post this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mvchQfZ8XU

That was terrible, please pick me up tickets for the next Supagroup show!

great48 - that belt buckle is the best waste of rock star money I've ever heard of. That's just beyond hilarious. I would love to see that. It's too bad The Tubes aren't still workin' it. Fee Waybill would have rocked a belt buckle like that. He'd have maybe even adapted the technology into a T shirt or something even better than a belt buckle.

Wait no more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1IrXDbbRsU

The belt buckle makes its appearance at 7:20.

Like the musical equivalent of a frozen dinner: the contents do not live up to what is promised by the packaging.