Rosetta West and Johnny Goodtime Reviewed
Rosetta West – Devil #9
Nobody expects that the Devil would ever be boring. Everyone, even those who hate him/her, assumes that the Devil must dress well, have a sense of humour, and not take things too seriously. All would be disappointed if that were not the case.
Maybe this is why it is so often summoned, especially in pop songs. No, it’s not because pop music is inherently evil. It’s just that, most of the time, pop songs are about frivolous and rather dull things like love, cars, and girls.
Rosetta West have made a name for themselves for playing blues music the wrong way on purpose. The band sounds like a Billy Gibbons side project, but approaches their sound as if all the stories you ever heard about Robert Johnson must be true.
“Devil #9” is one of the group’s hookiest outings to the point of being a veritable pop moment. But things are still wild in those recordings. Everything sounds like it’s been recorded on a cassette that nearly got swallowed up by the delta. It’s evil, it’s fun and, thankfully, it ain’t no bore.
Johnny Goodtime – Johnny Goontime
Nothing’s worth taking too seriously. Nothing’s important enough. And that’s one of the reasons I know that all those kids tattooing their faces and playing bass guitar in black metal bands aren’t all that serious about the Devil, burning churches and the lot.
In fact, for the wonderful variety of entertainment designed to be shocking, it’s hard to find something that makes you, at least, utter a small gasp. All these people trying very hard to make the world appear frightening and unfriendly simply make it seem dull and predictable.
Nah, the real people I worry about are the kinds that would start a music project like Johnny Goodtime. These are the ones you gotta watch out for, the ones where you never know where you stand.
“Johnny Goontime” is a joke song, surely. But can you really be so certain when the singer’s cheerfully delivering lyrics about being in an abusive sexual relationship with the horned-one himself? Can you really get comfortable with these sharp garage-rock chords infiltrated by vocals that sound like they were captured by mistake through a radio antenna? Nah, you gotta worry. Sure, you chuckle, too. But mostly, you worry.
