The Dandy Warhols - You Are Killing Me

 

 

 

 

 

1.   Who are they?

The Dandy Warhols are from Portland, Oregon. Alot of good bands come from there.The Dandy's are an alternative rock band with a big Britpop lean, as Stereogum noted, “the best American Britpop band of all time”.

You Are Killing Me (Jan’16) is a stand-alone single from the men who have been ripping it up since 1994. A new album is in the works.

2.   What kind of tune is You Are Killing Me?

You Are Killing Me is an indie rock tune with a nasty big guitar groove reminiscent of Weezer or The Jesus and Mary Chain and able assistance from crunchy rhythm a la Carl Barat and the Jackals or The Clash. This is juxtaposed with smooth, soft vocals that create an intimate milieu.

3.   Who do The Dandy Warhols sound like?

You Are Killing Me sounds like a good Weezer song like Buddy Holly. The man at Stereogram was minded of The Cars.

During a career that has spanned more than two decades they have been compared often to The Brian Jonestown Massacre but also The Von Blondies, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Britpop greats like Suede, Pulp and Kula Shaker.

4.   What’s the good word from the press?

Louder Than War were succinct, "chugging and anthemic". Stereogram rehashed tired stereotypes of the band saying the new tune is “a hooky, efficient chugger that reminds me, weirdly enough, of the Cars, while it still has that old pretty sense of stoner drift to it.” Exclaim have the last word, You Are Killing Me is "palm-muted riffage, ethereal backing coos and retro-pop charm."

“So you're making news and changes
You should have made before you started killing me”

 

5. Who are The Dandy Warhol's influences?

The Dandy Warhols are broadly influenced by old school stuff like Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and The Stooges, Queen and The Rolling Stones.

More specifically though you can see they get their roll from some of the Britpop greats like The Verve, Pulp, Radiohead, Suede, Blur and The Charlatans.
 

 

6. Why should I listen to You Are Killing Me?

You Are Killing Me is about the death throes of a relationship with lyrics everyone can relate to. The juxtaposition of the vocals and guitars mirrors the love/hate dynamic in the end of a relationship. It is a bloody good song and a great return to form from some legendary old indie rockers.

7. What other good tunes do The Dandy Warhols have?

The big one that brought them fame and fortune was of course Bohemian Like You.  The next slice of greatness is Used To Be Friends and You Were The Last High is quite smooth.
 

8. Anything else I should know?

David Bowie was a big fan of the Dandy Warhols getting them concerts and they supported him on his 2003 A RealityTour as well as covering one of his tunes together, White Light/White Heat.

They re-arranged and performed the Mythbusters theme music which was used by the show until 2015.

The Dandy Warhol's have just signed to Dine Alone Records who are home to a variety of artists including The Cult, Alexisonfire, Fidlar and Heartless Bastards.

 

The long wait goes to David Bowie whose sad demise the world is lamenting and who obviously quite liked The Dandy Warhols. This is the disgracefully under-rated alternative rock band he formed with three other band members, the awesome Tin Machine. He made two albums with Tin Machine from 1988 to 1992 and sold over two million albums. Under The God (1989) was one of their finest, the only real ‘hit’ from a band who were grunge before grunge was a thing. The album producer Tim Palmer, after producing both Tin Machine albums, went on to produce Pearl Jam’s legendary 10 in 1991. These were the originals though. These were four good bastards who rocked hard.

 

“White trash picking up Nazi flags
While you was gone, there was war
This is the west, get used to it
They put a Swastika over the door”