#50 - Phil

The Darkness

Permission to Land

2003

I hate 80s rock n’ roll. For all the wonderful things the decade offered in its pop music, the hair bands were not its strongest asset. But when The Darkness came along in 2003 and I heard “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” for the first time, I knew this band was special. Even though they looked and sounded just like another 80s hair band, they seemed to possess the perfect balance of not taking themselves too seriously while still showcasing a tremendous amount of talent as both musicians and songwriters. I was impressed and curious.

Then I bought their album. Permission to Land is an epic achievement of extreme catchiness, crude humor, and killer guitar riffs! Besides the album’s lead single - which I still defend as one of the decade’s greatest - there are some tracks on here that will make you laugh hysterically if you listen hard enough. One of my favorites has got to be “Growing on Me,” a song that could be about a woman the lead singer’s falling for… or it could just as easily be about genital warts! “I wanna shake you off, but you just won't go / And you're all over me, but I don't want anyone to know / That you're attached to me, that's how you've grown / Won't you leave me, leave me alone?” It’s nearly Dylan-esque. -P.W.

This is a band that definitely had to grow on me. This album came out in my Junior year of high school when I was just starting to explore different kinds of music with the help of Mr. Rosborough. I remember him being really into this record and playing it a little more than I would have liked. They annoyed the hell of out of me. Steve even went as far as to wrap his own copy of the CD as a “gift” for my 17th birthday just to piss me off. But I must say, I slowly fell in love with the sheer ridiculousness of this band. I must admit, however that I unfairly remember them as a sort of novelty not unlike my treatment of Bang Bang Rock and Roll by Art Brut. Permission to Land deserves more credit than this. - Ryan

A band with their tongues firmly in their collective cheek and some serious balls resulted in '03's "Permission to Land". It's a great record with a sense of humor and straight-up burning riffs to back it all up. How in the hell did this falsetto break into early-naughts mainstream? - Steve