1. The Knack was an American new wave/power pop band from Detroit, Michigan, based in Los Angeles. They rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", which was an international hit in 1979. The power pop of "My Sharona", coupled with the band's retro 60s look, earned the band comparisons to The Beatles (though the band members themselves viewed the 'New Beatles' label as tongue-in-cheek). Many music critics hated disco, which dominated the music industry at the time, and were, at best, coolly receptive to other developing trends like punk, electronica, and heavy metal.
The Knack's hard rock influences earned them some critical credibility and massive commercial success with their debut album, 1979's 'Get The Knack'. The band had formed in May 1978, known at first as '20/20', and, after shopping their demo tape to various record labels without success, they began playing the local club circuit. Quickly gaining a following as musicians such as Tom Petty and Bruce Springsteen praised them, they finally signed with Capitol Records in January 1979. Reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, 'Get The Knack' has earned praise for decades, with Kurt Cobain in particular claiming it as one of his top fifty albums of all time.
While fans praised their new wave and power pop fueled sound, many critics still found issues with the group's in-your-face image in their lyrics, with accusations of misogyny popping up. After subsequent releases, the social backlash against the Knack (similar to that of The Monkees a generation earlier) was strong. Dave Marsh of 'Rolling Stone' in particular wrote, "In Fieger's lyrics, women are literally commodities whose chief purpose is to be brutalized." A 'Knuke the Knack' campaign emerged based on that as well as the perceived corporate-based over-hype. With their second album, '...But the Little Girls Understand', getting less commercial success (doing well, but not up to expectations), the band broke up mid-tour on New Year’s Day 1982. Besides the turmoil around the group, they also faced near total burnout among themselves, particularly given Fieger's drugs-heavy lifestyle, and the band members reportedly hadn't the energy to do much of anything after their third album, 'Round Trip', came out.
They re-united sporadically several years later and released a new album on January 16, 1991, titled 'Serious Fun'. A comeback accompanied by a public reunion and tour, it failed to reach either commercial or critical success but resulted in the hit single "Rocket O' Love", which reached #9 in Billboard's Mainstream Rock Chart. They continued playing through the 90s and into the new millennium, with 2003's 'Re-Zoom' (or 'Zoom') being their last studio album. Commercial airplay mostly eluded the group over the 90s, but a generation of new fans who loved 80s-era new wave music provided a devoted cult following. Lead singer and main songwriter Doug Fieger was diagnosed with cancer in 2005. Fieger battled the disease until his death on Valentine's Day 2010.
Fieger, a native of Detroit, Michigan, had previously played in a country rock band called Sky. Of the three other original members of the Knack (Berton Averre - Guitar, Prescott Niles - Bass, and Bruce Gary - Drums), Averre and Niles remained with the group as it ended. Gary died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2006. Several drummers had played for the group over the years, including Billy Ward (Serious Fun album), Terry Bozzio (Zoom album), and David Henderson as 'Holmes Jones' (Normal as the Next Guy and Live at the Rock N Roll Funhouse albums). Pat Torpey (Mr. Big) played the drums for the group right before they ended.
There are other artists with the same name:
2. The Knack was a short-lived 1960s American psych/garage band from Los Angeles, CA. They recorded for Capitol Records. Formed in 1965, the band comprising Mike Chain (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dink Kaplan (lead guitar, backing vocals), Larry Gould (bass, backing vocals) and Pug Baker (drums), formally débuted at The Ice House in October 1966 and released four singles in total, of which Time Waits For No One was the best-seller. They toured throughout the U.S. but worked most frequently in Hollywood.
3. The Knack was a mid-60's British band originally known as The Londoners, a moniker they adopted whilst paying their beat group dues in the clubs of Germany in the early 60s. Upon returning to the UK in 1965 and changing their name to the rather hipper The Knack (after the recently released Richard Lester film), they recorded half a dozen singles for Decca and Piccadilly including the mod R&B ravers "She Ain't No Good", "Time Time Time" and "Stop!". Their final single, "(Man From The) Marriage Guidance And Advice Bureau", featured a more mature acoustic sound, which nodded towards both The Kinks and the impending psychedelic explosion. They broke up in 1967 and leader Paul Gurvitz formed the band The Gun.
Art War
The Knack Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and oldenberg's really gone soft in the brain
now dali just wants to be cornholed
with one of those crutches he sold to man ray
yes calder was hung up on mobiles
and rauchenberg gives a particular pain
now art's just another distraction
bourgeois what's the deal
don't want no dada
no don't try to hand me no fantasy
it's for surreal
when your taste is confined to their palates
and their pictures are easily framed on your walls
did you ever consider the malice aforethought
contained in that trivial parcel of art
van gogh does a flip in his casket
rafaels and da vincis are moved down the hall
to make way for neimans and no ones
like rock and roll portraiture by guy pellaert
tell me what good is color on canvas
just who will it feed tell me who will it save
and do they expect us to stand this barrage
of collage and potage and potage st. germaine
the people who work for a living
don't need to ask questions from cradle to grave
they don't need di carlo to tell them
what's good and what's bad and what's really insane
The Knack's song "Art War" is a commentary on the state of modern art in the late 1970s. The lyrics express a disillusionment with the contemporary art scene, and a rejection of the prevailing art movements of the time. The opening lines, "No I don't give a shit about Warhol / And Oldenburg's really gone soft in the brain" set the tone for the rest of the song. The band is unimpressed with the work of two leading figures of the pop art movement. They find Warhol's work shallow and Oldenburg's recent sculptures uninspired.
The song goes on to critique other contemporary artists who the band sees as having lost their edge. Salvador Dali is ridiculed for selling out and Guy Pellaert's rock and roll portraiture is dismissed as unoriginal. The band also questions the value of art in general, asking "what good is color on canvas / just who will it feed, tell me who will it save?" The message of the song is clear: art should not be treated as a commodity or a distraction, and true artistic expression should not conform to any preconceived notions of what is fashionable or popular.
Line by Line Meaning
no i don't give a shit about warhol
I do not care about Warhol.
and oldenburg's really gone soft in the brain
Oldenburg has lost his creative edge.
now dali just wants to be cornholed
Dali is willing to do anything to get attention.
with one of those crutches he sold to man ray
Dali is willing to use his own art to get attention.
yes calder was hung up on mobiles
Calder had a fascination with mobiles.
and rauchenberg gives a particular pain
Rauchenberg's art is painful to look at.
now art's just another distraction
Art is just a form of entertainment.
like tv commercials that won't go away
Art is constantly being pushed onto us like advertisements.
bourgeois what's the deal
What's your problem, Bourgeois?
don't want no dada
I don't want to be involved in Dadaism.
no don't try to hand me no fantasy
I don't want to be sold a fantasy.
it's for surreal
I prefer the surrealism movement.
when your taste is confined to their palates
When you only like what the critics tell you to like.
and their pictures are easily framed on your walls
When the art you like can simply be hung on your wall.
did you ever consider the malice aforethought
Did you ever consider how malicious the intent behind the art might be?
contained in that trivial parcel of art
In that insignificant piece of art.
van gogh does a flip in his casket
Van Gogh would be turning over in his grave.
rafaels and da vincis are moved down the hall
Masterpieces by Raphael and Da Vinci are being replaced.
to make way for neimans and no ones
To make way for mediocre art.
like rock and roll portraiture by guy pellaert
Such as the commercialized rock and roll portraiture by Guy Pellaert.
tell me what good is color on canvas
What good is art that does not positively impact the world?
just who will it feed tell me who will it save
Who benefits from art that lacks a true purpose?
and do they expect us to stand this barrage
Are we supposed to accept the overwhelming amount of meaningless art?
of collage and potage and potage st. germaine
Mixing different types of art together, like a pot of soup.
the people who work for a living
The working class.
don't need to ask questions from cradle to grave
They don't need to be told what to like their whole lives.
they don't need di carlo to tell them
They don't need art critics to tell them.
what's good and what's bad and what's really insane
They can determine for themselves what is good or bad, and what is truly groundbreaking.
Contributed by Camilla G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.