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Death From Above 1979: The Hope Of Exorcising The Ghost Of Bad Taste

A band who rocked like bastards.

Posted 19th January 2011, 3:35pm in Blogs by Joe O’Sullivan
Joe O'Sullivan

Joe O'Sullivan

Writer

Death From Above 1979: The Hope Of Exorcising The Ghost Of Bad Taste Death From Above 1979 are (I can say are - not were!) a band that hold incredibly important significance, especially for myself. They were the band that popped my gig cherry. They didn’t so much pop it as lavishly smother it with dynamite. That’s right - the first live music I ever encountered was Jesse and Sebastian, providing first support for The Killers at the Astoria (RIP) in 2004. I’d never heard DFA before, had just been told by the guy handing out badges outside that we had to go and see them - that they would blow my mind. They had cool badges so we thought “Yeah let’s do it!”.

I hated them. Thought they were just noise, total garbage. I’m ashamed to say it now but I much, much preferred the other support - The Gliteratti (even typing that hurts to this day). As far as I could make out, it was two bearded fellas pissing about on drums and bass, calling it music. I completely ignored their existence, as whispers began across various internet forums - “this album is going to be immense, their live show will change your life”. What had these other people seen that I hadn’t?

Then I heard 'You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine' whilst at a friends house. Suddenly, it ALL clicked. I began to kick myself that I hadn’t paid attention at the support show. That if I’d only known the songs, I could have appreciated it, I would have understood! Hindsight is a muthahubbard, it truly is.

For those of you who haven’t heard Death From Above 1979 - and if you’re reading this site, it’s likely you’re in the minority - the reason the internet is awash with buzz right now is thus: 'You’re A Woman, I’m A Machine' is one of the albums of the 00s. It is one of the best debut albums to ever be released. It was the gateway to hard rock for an awful lot of people. I personally have DFA1979 to thank for hearing Lightning Bolt, Nine Inch Nails, Mclusky, A Place To Bury Strangers, Japandroids. Without them, my ears wouldn’t have been open to that spectrum of rock music. They were an incredibly important band for my generation - for any other generation, they were still a band who rocked like bastards. Whilst only one date has been confirmed for this reformation, it gives hope. Maybe now I’ll be able to see them again and finally exorcise the ghost of bad taste.
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