Sleaford Mods Aren't Wankers
Sleaford Mods aren’t wankers
The NME Awards have
finished for another year with, again, results even more predictable than last.
But the one nominee that made no sense to me was Sleaford Mods being nominated as “Worst Band”. Up against 5 Second’s of Summer, Little Mix, 1D, U2 and Nickleback, it’s no wonder that this
Nottingham duo didn’t win the award however, it makes no sense to me that they
were even nominated in the first place.
After reading through some of the comments under their Youtube videos describing them as “wankers” or “total-garbage” I dug deeper and read more comments throughout a few more forms of social media. It then became apparent to me that there are a fair few people out there that really dislike them- and by that I mean really hate them. Is this purely down to their music? Or are people intimidated by their working-class, sweary rants which, let’s face it, don’t hold back?
The following opinion may piss Sleaford Mod’s off however, I do put them in a similar category to Slaves (despite their social media arguments) in the fact that they are writing songs about current issues including cultural and political. But how come Slaves are seen as a much more popular band when they are doing exactly what Sleaford Mods are doing. Yes, there are those that will argue that Slaves are doing it in a more conservative way and in a way that appeals to a wider audience but doesn’t that contradict the whole purpose of writing songs that contain lyrics that oppose the following of society’s rules and guidelines.
The Nottingham duo's songs contain lyrics that mould their tracks into punk poems being spat over a repetitive beat. They also contain almost every swear word imaginable and this angry pair are happy to use the word absent from most songs, “cunt”, to help them make their points. By using this word, it makes the songs feel like they are being said by an angry friend in a social situation. This word is used every day in, what looks like Sleaford Mod’s natural habitat, local pubs. By not being afraid to spatter this word out of their songs it makes the tracks feel more relatable as they unapologetically rant about working-class dis-satisfaction.
Jason Williamson, lead singer, is just your average, middle aged man that has bounced from job to job, been on the doll before and had a coke addiction however he is the one with the balls to stand up in front of a crowd and shout with conviction all the things he’s angry about. In 2012, Andrew Fearn joined the band and their first album was titled “Wank”. Williamson claimed that the band have matured since then but presumably he is referring to their sound as in 2014 they released EP “Chubbed Up” which contained lyrics and song titles with the same maturity level with the song “Pubic Hair Ltd” and the lyric “baa baa crack sheep, have you any rock?”
Their song ‘Jolly Fucker’ is an ironic title and it seems they are singing about average people in everyday life. With lyrics such as “I rot away in the aisles of the Co-Op mate, no prob” and “I better watch my words, Two pint buzz and loads of office turds, Push in? Don't push me, I was here first you cunt. Can't you fucking see?” they do enjoy touching on everyday activities but adding a twist of punk-style fury by articulating these lyrics in an anger-induced way which sounds like a coked up, more opinionated Mike Skinner from The Streets.
Their music is something very different that we haven’t really heard before and their gigs are fuelled with punk characteristics and 100 times more liveliness and rebellion than any other bands in the UK. Their music stands on its own in the sense of the intensity of its rage however, without bands like this music would really all be the same, commercialised shit and let’s face it, this band are the polar opposite to commercialised. So by nominating them as “Worst Band” in the NME Awards, we are conforming to society’s brainwashing lectures of what music should be however, these unlikely contenders for stardom might just be what we need in the limelight next.
After reading through some of the comments under their Youtube videos describing them as “wankers” or “total-garbage” I dug deeper and read more comments throughout a few more forms of social media. It then became apparent to me that there are a fair few people out there that really dislike them- and by that I mean really hate them. Is this purely down to their music? Or are people intimidated by their working-class, sweary rants which, let’s face it, don’t hold back?
The following opinion may piss Sleaford Mod’s off however, I do put them in a similar category to Slaves (despite their social media arguments) in the fact that they are writing songs about current issues including cultural and political. But how come Slaves are seen as a much more popular band when they are doing exactly what Sleaford Mods are doing. Yes, there are those that will argue that Slaves are doing it in a more conservative way and in a way that appeals to a wider audience but doesn’t that contradict the whole purpose of writing songs that contain lyrics that oppose the following of society’s rules and guidelines.
The Nottingham duo's songs contain lyrics that mould their tracks into punk poems being spat over a repetitive beat. They also contain almost every swear word imaginable and this angry pair are happy to use the word absent from most songs, “cunt”, to help them make their points. By using this word, it makes the songs feel like they are being said by an angry friend in a social situation. This word is used every day in, what looks like Sleaford Mod’s natural habitat, local pubs. By not being afraid to spatter this word out of their songs it makes the tracks feel more relatable as they unapologetically rant about working-class dis-satisfaction.
Jason Williamson, lead singer, is just your average, middle aged man that has bounced from job to job, been on the doll before and had a coke addiction however he is the one with the balls to stand up in front of a crowd and shout with conviction all the things he’s angry about. In 2012, Andrew Fearn joined the band and their first album was titled “Wank”. Williamson claimed that the band have matured since then but presumably he is referring to their sound as in 2014 they released EP “Chubbed Up” which contained lyrics and song titles with the same maturity level with the song “Pubic Hair Ltd” and the lyric “baa baa crack sheep, have you any rock?”
Their song ‘Jolly Fucker’ is an ironic title and it seems they are singing about average people in everyday life. With lyrics such as “I rot away in the aisles of the Co-Op mate, no prob” and “I better watch my words, Two pint buzz and loads of office turds, Push in? Don't push me, I was here first you cunt. Can't you fucking see?” they do enjoy touching on everyday activities but adding a twist of punk-style fury by articulating these lyrics in an anger-induced way which sounds like a coked up, more opinionated Mike Skinner from The Streets.
Their music is something very different that we haven’t really heard before and their gigs are fuelled with punk characteristics and 100 times more liveliness and rebellion than any other bands in the UK. Their music stands on its own in the sense of the intensity of its rage however, without bands like this music would really all be the same, commercialised shit and let’s face it, this band are the polar opposite to commercialised. So by nominating them as “Worst Band” in the NME Awards, we are conforming to society’s brainwashing lectures of what music should be however, these unlikely contenders for stardom might just be what we need in the limelight next.
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