I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To: Gogol Bordello
I Don't Like Them As Much As I'm Supposed To
Just about every man and his dog loves Gogol Bordello. Everyone seems to thrill at the prospect of punk hitting trad. arr. gypsy music headlong and creating a joyous rock ‘n’ roll wreck… But isn’t that what Dexy’s Midnight Runners were when they went rubbish?
Of course, the nature of this column requires me to only pick out the bad points. However, I will say that I’m aware that it’s a good thing this band are introducing a new crowd to music they may never have considered previously. And each to their own and all that… but it’s not as fun, is it?
Nope. To me, Gogol Bordello are just another daft novelty band set to wow those that can’t be bothered fishing around for the real deal. It you want mental experimentalisms mixed with punk attitude and a flurry of gypsy folk music, then there’s no better band in the world than the fabulous A Hawk And A Hacksaw. Live, this band are the most weird and brilliant thing you’ll ever see. Gogol Bordello on the other hand are all giddy showbizzery and rowdy cliches.
The tunes just don’t do it for me either. To me, it’s a weak-ass version of The Pogues (’trad music meets rock’ if you’re wondering why I brought them into the equation). It’s got a sniff of US college ska-punk about it (the worst music in the whole world ever, and that includes trance). It’s just another dog turd with a different sheen on it. If Gogol Bordello were a drink, they’d be your average brew with a scented twig stuck in it.
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Possibly related:
Can You Gig It: Gogol Bordello @ London Hammersmith Apollo, 8.12.07
Serbia’s Exit festival: where you can see Sex Pistols and Gogol Bordello rock an ancient fortress
I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To: Joy Division
I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To: Sex Pistols
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Gogol Bordello might be one of the most original punk bands to happen in the past, say, twenty-five years. They fuse romani culture with punk attitudes and cabaret-styled live shows.
As for your title, “I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To”, I’m kinda glad you don’t like them. People with their minds made up on things, closed out to other interjections, are not the sort of people who need to like GB, at all.
As for A Hawk and a Hacksaw, they are total shit.
They are ok for one or two songs but after that they are the same shit over and over…but they are sorta ok for a laugh…and i don’t like fuckin pikeys!