James Arden checks out the garage rockers latest album.
The Christian rock band from Brighton bring religion to the masses.
Recipe for modern R'n'B album: liberal helpings of guest rappers and an overdose of sexual euphemisms.
Well, it worked, didn't it? Now that I have your attention, you may want to look away. This is not a column for the faint-hearted. Today I'll be looking at bands who like to use the term 'fuck', 'bollocks' and 'shit' spread over their band names, song titles and album covers. And not in that order. It seems there has been a rise in the use of expletives simply to elicit a response. Is this just for good publicity? Or is it 'cos they're so damn bad and they 'just don't give a fuck'?
Swearing in music became most popular during the 70s with people like the Sex Pistols. Having nothing for an album cover but a bright yellow background and the words 'Never mind the bollocks here's the Sex Pistols' stamped all over it was done for shock factor, just like their track 'God save the Queen' and 'Anarchy in the UK'. They quite simply couldn't give a shit, which was highlighted when Johnny Rotten swore on TV in 1976.
Obviously the buck doesn't stop there. Artists to have jumped on the offensive bandwagon since then include Fuck…I'm Dead, Fuck the Facts and just plain Fuck. New music however, has seen something of a revival. Holy Fuck, Fuck Buttons and Shit Disco have all emerged on the radar within the past two years, though it leads you to believe that they have nothing else to offer. In the case of Holy Fuck, the lo-fi improv band and Shit Disco, the new rave wannabees, they are nothing more than…shit. For want of a better word.
So is it all for show? To get yourself noticed? It certainly gets your name known, but what's the point if you don't have the credentials to follow it up with? Why not just go for a quirky and/or funny title like 'Think locally, fuck globally' by the Gogol Bordello. It's not just offensive, it rhymes. Or band names like Does it offend you, yeah? No swearing, but essentially the same message without having to brand yourself with the word 'shit'.
In the case of Holy Fuck, the lo-fi improv band and Shit Disco, the new rave wannabees, they are nothing more than…shit.
Fuck Buttons however, is a different matter. Because they're actually good. Their sound isn't in your face, it isn't trying to grab you by the balls and make you stand to attention, nor is it there just to give you a heart attack. It's good in it's own right, which makes their expletive name seem pretty irrelevant once you listen to their music. They've managed to reverse what seemed to be the only point of having swearwords for titles, and it's pretty refreshing to be honest. It's a way of showing Holy fuck and snotty try-hards like Shit Disco exactly where they can shove it.
Swearing is used to offend, to shock, to insult. If bands are going to use words like 'fuck' or 'bollocks' for effect, then they should either do it like the Pistols did and go all out, or do it in the quiet, understated way of Fuck Buttons. None of this pussy-footing around. There's no point in that.
comment deleted by a moderator The Sex Pistols were around in the 70s! Cos it would be ridiculous to expect a music journalist to know a small fact like that of course.
Thanks for pointing out that typo. As you can see later in the same paragraph Loulla lists the date 1976 so she is well aware The Sex Pistols are from that era. The date has now been modified within the article.
I'm more concerned about the critical beating she gives Holy Fuck than any accidental inaccuracies. Lo-fi improv band?!
We're going to be having words, E-Smith.
They may not describe themselves that way...but wikipedia certainly does. You've gotta have a bit of band bashing.
Check it, Rackstraw.
comment deleted by the author Sorry that I don't rely on wikipedia for my categorisation of bands.... ooooooh!
Get me.
H-Fuck's Lovely Allen is an amazing peice of uplifting electronica, a bit like Sigur Ros if they grew some balls, without a whiff of anything I'd associate with lo-fi about it! Check out the review of the single in next Tuesday's "singles club" (which will say just that, mainly because I'm writing it...)
I do agree with Loulla on one point though, not sure about the necessity for the sweary name.
p.s. Fuck Buttons are boring.
p.p.s. Does It Offend You Yeah? are brill, good work getting a mention of them in there Smithy 
xxx
This article, and column, for that matter, serves no purpose other than to massage the ego of the author and provide a medium for the publication of, what is in essence, a rather very narrow clique.
Everyone's gonna disagree on genres of bands. It's probably fair to say that going of the categorizations of Wikipedia or Last.FM will be agreeable with the majority.
You forgot to mention Anal Cunt and GWAR - their whole purpose is to offend people (albeit tongue-in-cheek), with songs like "You Converted To Judaism So A Guy Would Touch Your Dick", "Women: Nature's Punching Bag" and of course...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWoAXXbzFBg
A narrow clique of people who are interested in music and like to read about new bands/comment on that music? Not that narrow, I would suggest.
The article doesn't even cover a narrow range of music - here we veer from 70s punk, electro, nu rave, and noughty's gypsy-punk - so really there's something here for quite a lot of people.
Even if you don't accept that - it's really just a comment article about band names which, fine, might only be of interest to people who are interested in bands and music culture, but this is a music section, and you can't expect us to cover the entire range of the world's music in each article...
What kind of thing would you like to see written about in this section? We're always on the lookout for passionate new writers so I'd love to see you at our arts meeting in Langwith upper JCR (up the stairs in the room adjoining the bar area) at 12:45 on Wednesday.
Cheers,
Ben Rackstraw
Arts Editor 
Mitch, that's fucking hilarious!
I'd also like to bring to attention the brilliant "The Man Don't Give A Fuck" by the Super Furry Animals, which claims to have the most uses of the F-word in one song (although wikipedia has some more info) - and is also a TUNE.
Although I would suggest that the Wiki idea works well when you have a massive group of people editing the entry, when it's a relatively small band you have to be more careful about what level of representation you attribute to it - fewer fans means fewer wikipedia writers, which means more chance of opinion seeping through.
That's a boring argument though, back on to the music-based controversy!
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