Vocalist Eddie Argos (an ex-goth obsessed with Jonathan Richman and Vincent Van Gogh) had previously been in a band, The Art Goblins, in his hometown of Bournemouth. Their stage show would see him “playing a vacuum cleaner” and escaping from a sack. They sounded not unlike cult Glaswegians The Yummy Fur and had songs such as I Wanna Be Johnny Dean and Disco.
Another ‘project’ was The Welsh Elephant, who penned the should-be-classic Fuck The MSP (which contains the catchy refrain “Nicky Wire can suck my cock!”). Having moved to London and determined to be in another band, Argos found himself at a party in Mornington Crescent and set about hassling everyone there to join him. A webzine-editor and guitarist called Chris Chinchilla (a ska fanatic) thought this sounded like a good idea – after all, it was a good way to impress girls. Argos was more concerned about getting on ‘Top Of The Pops’. Chinchilla talked his German flatmate Freiderike Feedback (grunge fan) into playing bass, and thus they got a bass guitar for her off eBay. Argos had a friend from Bournemouth who’d also just moved to London. Ian Catskilkin (thinks he’s in Led Zeppelin, but with better hair) used to be in a heavy rock band called Orco and he agreed to join the new band. Another friend then overheard a German man (who NME would later say looks like “he should be in Interpol”) on a bus telling someone how he played drums and worked in Merc, the shop on Carnaby Street selling cut-price mod clothing. Determined to hunt him down, Argos and Chinchilla went to the shop. He wasn’t working that day, so they left him a note. Mikey Breyer (listens to nothing but Weezer) would then join the band, and that was it – May 2003, Art Brut was born.
Much like Bloc Party, Art Brut’s first gig was an independently promoted show at the Kentish Town Verge. Chinchilla had booked it before the band was ready, at which there was much complaining by his fellow bandmates. Mike’s drumkit had yet to be imported, so he played sitting down (he usually stands up to play). After a number of other gigs round London they recorded a demo named Brutlegs, containing early versions of Formed A Band, Modern Art and Moving To LA, and made it available on their website. Formed A Band first saw the light of day on the debut Angular Records compilation album. After a journalist came across this recording, he sent an MP3 to the label Rough Trade. Within an hour of getting it, the label’s A&R man was in touch offering to release Formed A Band as a single.
Suddenly the band were all over the music press, picking up fans and haters with ease. Many people expected it to be nothing more than a one-off novelty single. They played a triumphant Swedish festival where a guy interviewed them and got confused, thought they were from Manchester (and had all his questions based around the city), and compared them to The Sultans Of Ping. They were also offered the main tour support for Razorlight but had to turn it down due to lack of funds.
Formed A Band was released as a single at the end of March 2004. A gleeful call to arms of sorts, Argos shouts “formed a band! We formed a band! Look at us, we formed a band!” before going on to proclaim how he’s going to “write a song as universal as Happy Birthday” and “play it eight weeks in a row on ‘Top Of The Pops’”. It reached No. 52, selling 5,000 copies, and cropped up in many end-of-year polls as the one of the best singles of the year, including ‘Blender’ – the USA’s second biggest music mag after ‘Rolling Stone’ - who proclaimed them the best unsigned band in the UK.
The rest of 2004 saw them playing numerous gigs from Brighton to Manchester, as well as a first anniversary show at the Tate Modern where they were joined by a couple of a Argos’ heroes – The Vessel (David Devant and His Spirit Wife) and Les ‘Fruitbat’ Carter (Carter USM). As a stop-gap between singles, they offered the new, shaky Brutlegs 2004, this time containing versions of Good Weekend (the one that goes “got myself a brand new girlfriend… I’ve seen her naked TWICE!”), Bang Bang Rock And Roll and an acoustic version of Moving To LA.
The frenzied Top Of The Pops (not a Rezillos cover) was recorded with a number of bands guesting on vocals (including Ciccone, The Boyfriends, The Long Blondes, Abdoujaparov, Prozak, Rhesus and Luxembourg) for inclusion on the Angular Records compilation Rip Off Your Labels, while Moving To LA saw yet another recorded appearance, this time in live form from the Bath Moles on the compilation Bring Your Own Poison: The Rhythm Factory Sessions.
In December ’04, their second single finally saw the light. A double A-side of Modern Art and My Little Brother (with B-side These Animal Menswe@r), it was released on the Fierce Panda label and reached No. 49 – scoring the band a bigger hit than before and, perhaps surprisingly, the highest chart position Fierce Panda has ever had. All the sleeves of the 7” were hand-designed by the band and fans, including one messy session at a Queens Of Noize night at Camden Barfly which ended with the stage (and crowd) being covered in fluorescent pink paint.
The start of 2005 sees them having completed their debut album, pencilled in for release in March, and having picked up even more fans including Graham Coxon, British Sea Power, The Libertines, Hope Of The States and genius boy wizard Daniel Radcliffe. Even the Happy Mondays’ Bez has tried to get onstage at one point with them at the Barfly but was so wasted at the time he didn’t manage it, despite Catskilkin’s attempts at pulling him by his arm.
Sadly, they’ve yet to appear on ‘Top Of The Pops’. Perhaps ‘CD:UK’ will be more accommodating. It’s better, anyway.
In Late August 2005 Chris Chinchilla decided to leave the band for personal reasons and was replaced by former Art Goblin, Jasper Future.
Art Brut performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, on April 30, 2006, at Pitchfork Music Festival in June 2006, and at the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim and the Dour Festival in Belgium, in July 2006 and are due to headline the Two Thousand Trees Festival in July 2008. Art Brut also released a split 7" with We Are Scientists, which was only released in America. We Are Scientists returned the idea and covered Art Brut's song 'Bang Bang Rock & Roll' on the single. Their version of "Bang Bang Rock & Roll" is also available on their b-sides album Crap Attack.
The band released their second album, It's a Bit Complicated, on Mute Records produced by Dan Swift , who has also worked with artists such as Help She Can't Swim, Victorian English Gentlemens Club, Kasabian and Snow Patrol. The first single to be taken from the album, "Nag Nag Nag Nag", was released on 20 November 2006, featuring the b-side "I Found This Song in the Road" and 5 live tracks from the Eurockéennes de Belfort Festival 2006. The song made Single of the Week in The Guardian's "The Guide" section. In 2007 they played on the American NME Rock and Roll Riot tour with The Hold Steady. In the United States, the album reached #14 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and #32 on the Independent Albums chart.
On 1 March 2008 Argos revealed on his blog that Art Brut have amicably left EMI. In August 2008 Eddie Argos announced on his blog that the band have been recording songs for the third album. In late 2008 Art Brut returned to the studio to record their third LP Art Brut vs. Satan which was released on April 20th 2009. The album was produced by Frank Black formerly of the Pixies.
In September 2013 the band announced that long serving members Mikey Breyer and Jasper Future were retiring to be replaced with Toby Macfarlaine (guitar) and Stephen Gilchrist (drums).
2) Art Brut is a freejazz and improvisation group
Art Brut is:
Frank Wilke – trumpet
André D. – bass
Vasco Ribeiro Morais – percussions, voices
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Art_Brut/art_brut/
André D. on Souncloud: http://soundcloud.com/darius-improvise/tracks?format=html&page=1
Other review: http://dariusimprovise.blogspot.fr/2013/06/art-brut.html
Bang Bang Rock and Roll
Art Brut Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bang, bang, rock and roll
Bang, bang, rock and roll
I can't stand the sound of the Velvet Underground
(White Light! White Heat!)
I can't stand that sound the second time around
Met the sweetest girl
Sold me a pill
And it made me feel ill
Watch my body
Twist and jerk
I just wanna find a drug that works
Bang, bang, rock and roll
Bang, bang, rock and roll
Bang, bang, rock and roll
I can't stand the sound of the Velvet Underground
(White Light! White Heat!)
I can't stand that sound the second time around
I don't want a girl that's with the band
I just want a girl that's gonna hold my hand
No more songs about sex, drugs and rock and roll
It's boring!
Bang, bang, rock and roll
Bang, bang, rock and roll
Bang, bang, rock and roll
I can't stand the sound of the Velvet Underground
(White Light! White Heat!)
I can't stand that sound the second time around
Once is enough!
Once is enough!
Once is enough!
Once is enough!
The lyrics of Art Brut's "Bang Bang Rock and Roll" speak of the singer's disillusionment with the rock and roll lifestyle. At the start of the song, the repeated "bang bang" sounds create an atmosphere of chaotic energy, which is then reinforced by the lyrics elaborating on the singer's frustration with the Velvet Underground's sound. He can't bear to listen to it again because it represents the same old tired image of the decadent, underground rock culture.
The song takes on a more melancholy tone as it progresses, with the mention of the "sweetest girl" who sold him a pill. In the world of the song, the drug doesn't work as he desires, and he is left contorting in agony, searching for meaning in the rock and roll lifestyle. The repeated phrase, "once is enough" represents the singer's final disillusionment with the scene. He no longer wants to hear songs about drugs, sex, and rock and roll. It's all become boring to him. Instead, he merely wants a girl to hold his hand.
Overall, "Bang Bang Rock and Roll" by Art Brut is a song that expresses disillusionment with a specific era in rock and roll, with repetitive imagery and lyrics that build upon each other to create a sense of chaos and frustration. While there is still some undercurrent of passion in the music, the singer ultimately decides that he's had enough of the life and wants something different.
Line by Line Meaning
Bang, bang, rock and roll
Let's get excited and enjoy some rock and roll music!
Bang, bang, rock and roll
Rock and roll is here to stay and will always be fun!
Bang, bang, rock and roll
Rock and roll is so great, let's say it one more time!
I can't stand the sound of the Velvet Underground
I don't enjoy hearing the music of the Velvet Underground.
(White Light! White Heat!)
This is a reference to a Velvet Underground song that the artist particularly dislikes.
I can't stand that sound the second time around
Hearing the Velvet Underground's music a second time is just as bad.
Met the sweetest girl
The singer has met a girl who is attractive and nice.
Sold me a pill
The girl sold the artist drugs.
Tasted like shit
The drugs the artist took tasted terrible.
And it made me feel ill
The drugs caused the artist to feel sick.
Watch my body
The singer is observing their own physical reaction to the drugs.
Twist and jerk
The artist's body is exhibiting unusual and uncontrollable movements.
I just wanna find a drug that works
The singer is searching for a drug that will have a desirable effect.
I don't want a girl that's with the band
The singer is not interested in a girl who is romantically involved with a musician.
I just want a girl that's gonna hold my hand
The singer desires a simple, loving relationship with someone who is emotionally supportive.
No more songs about sex, drugs and rock and roll
Songs about these topics are played out and uninteresting to the artist.
It's boring!
The artist finds these types of songs to be unengaging and tiresome.
Once is enough!
The singer has had enough of hearing the Velvet Underground's music and doesn't want to hear it again.
Once is enough!
The singer is now repeating the message that they don't want to hear this music anymore.
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: CHRIS WARD, EDDIE ARGOS, FREDERIKE SIEPE, IAN WILSON, MIKE BREYER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind