Watch this performance very closely, because it may contain clues as to what comes next in the “rock that sets the TRL contingent’s dialing digitals aflame” pantheon. German band Tokio Hotel, who Kate had a run-in with a few months back, made their American TV debut yesterday, and if anything, they’re instructive in the way that they’re something of a MySpacian melting pot, visually: the Shotgun Messiah haircare aesthetics on the lead singer, the laid-back Abercrombie-bro style exhibited by that other guy, and the dreads worn by the lead singer’s brother combine to turn the band’s visual profile into some sort of ragtag comic-book army. And their shyness in interviews should serve as some sort of camouflage for an unrelenting musical assault, right?
Well… not so much, unless you think dishwater-gray alt-rock is really ass-kicking and/or fun. Between the outre fashions and the “last half-hour of Headbanger’s Ball” name you’d think that Tokio Hotel would at least have some sort of King Diamond-like aural spectacle in their music, but alas. I guess these days sticking out because the way 25% of your band looks is more than enough to make the Internet go nuts.
Exclusive video: Tokio Hotel TRL performance [MTV Buzzworthy Blog]
I’m seriously pissed that I liked that fricking guitar in the song… Dammit Maura! Why’d you have to post this?
This is sooooo horrible!!!
I think the singer is actually Shia Lebeouf…or at least it looks like Shia, if he had really stupid hair. Ahhh, Ok. I see what the girls like about it now.
That singer is pretty. I’d make out with her.
That freeze frame — yikes.
Wow. Possibly the worst shit I’ve heard in at least a year. But yeah, Shotgun Messiah!
Not a single dude in the audience, as far as I could tell. . .
This is so goddamned awful that I had to come out of comment vacation to state how goddamned awful this is. If this is the future, then the future clearly sucks.
It’s times like these that I’m thankful for IT putting an old version of Flash on our work comps, meaning I can’t see this shit.
Sometimes, I’ll use superlatives for fun (e.g. X sucks; Y is terrible; Z is the most boring shit I’ve ever heard). Usually, it’s because I’m a bit of an internet asshole and I think strong opinions are easier to fit in the space of a comment box, when the truth is that X, Y, or Z are okay but they don’t move me.
That said: this is the wost shit I’ve ever seen. They are objectively horrible. I hope I haven’t cried wolf too many times, but I really mean it … really.
So this is on Interscope over here. No wonder Trent left.
I love German music, examples…
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but Tokio Hotel is just so generic I want to puke.
Oh god, that hurts. I see enough of this guy at work. This is the first time I’ve ever actually heard their music. :(
It’s as if the band members played Rock Band and decided to make themselves look like their avatars in the game. Yikes.
@Signal to Noise: I was thinking the same thing. This band looks like 3D CGI.
I heard a rumor they may be touring with the Jonas Brothers. I find that both appropriate and COMPLETELY adorable.
@Panasonic Youth: To be fair to that poor lead singer kid…he just recovered from throat surgery within the last month, nein?
wow… there really are no words.
These guys are on the first wave of Geisha-emo. Hold on to your butts.
I didn’t know Sonic the Hedgehog could sing…
Wait, where’s his eyepatch?
It’s nice to know that they haven’t changed since I spent six solid months hearing them everywhere during study abroad. God. Damn. It.
jesus, that was awful.
That singer looks like Avril Lavigne dressing up as Nikki Sixx.
Kinda looks like Bjork, too. I wonder if he’s feisty in airports.
The singer looks like a 21st century rock star, according to 80’s futurists and “cyberpunk” writers. Is the song a cover? Or does it sound so much like a trillion mallternative rock songs that it sounds like a cover?
@Cam/ron: The singer looks like a 21st century rock star
He’ll be perfect for the reboot of The Fifth Element by Christopher Nolan and Michel Gondry.
It’s like they went in for a Neuromancer makeover, but only had enough cash for one guy.
[blog.newsok.com]
does it mean i’m getting old if i don’t understand the appeal of this?
@walkmasterflex: No, it’s just the corpse of rock and roll being ice picked in the chest that you are hearing.
@ObtuseIntolerant: Throat surgery, his balls finally dropped, same difference.
I adore Tokio Hotel, but I know this performance was terrible. I cringed everytime the chorus started. But it’s hardly their fault. Honestly, it’s unfair judging Bill directly after vocal surgery. Pre-surgery shows were phenomenal. Their music may not be inspiring or deep, but look at their target market. It’s fun and spirited and they clearly enjoy themselves. I’m so sick of bands lacking the entertainment value, and with no one to look at. I’m not going to a concert that lacks eye candy when I can just listen to the perfected version on a cd at home.
I’m with Tenno–the guitar sound during the verses is effing hot. Kelly Clarkson would MURDER this tune.
Altogether, I’m not mad at these kids. I mean, if you ever fantasized about hooking up with an Anime character, Bill’s your boy! Plus his hair is endlessly fascinating.
And the obsession begins. This will be so much more fun than Pretty Ricky!
I’m with Tenno–the guitar sound during the verses is effing hot. Kelly Clarkson would MURDER this tune.
Altogether, I’m not mad at these kids. I mean, if you ever fantasized about hooking up with an Anime character, Bill’s your boy! Plus his hair is endlessly fascinating.
And the obsession begins. This will be so much more fun than Pretty Ricky!
I’m with Tenno–the guitar sound during the verses is effing hot. Kelly Clarkson would MURDER this tune.
Altogether, I’m not mad at these kids. I mean, if you ever fantasized about hooking up with an Anime character, Bill’s your boy! Plus his hair is endlessly fascinating.
And the obsession begins. This will be so much more fun than Pretty Ricky!
Am I the first person to notice that the logo associated with this band is almost entirely identical to that of the Temple of Psychic Youth? Genesis P. Orridge, etc??? The logo that Husker Du? also made a variation of around the same early 1980’s time frame?
So now any old timer who has the original tattoo is going to be branded a tokio hotel fan? Scary.