Song Of The Week: 1/6/19

Song: "Stop The Clocks" (unplugged version)

Artist: Donots

Album: "Stop The Clocks" EP

Year: 2008

Place Of Origin: Ibbenburen, Germany

Years Active: 1993 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Stop The Clocks" appears to be a song about wishing that you could stop time to try to overcome a multitude of bad decisions that you've made in your life. The vocalist seems like he's buried in lies, perhaps lies that's been told to him or lies that he's made to others, but I think it's more lies that he's made to himself. It seems like it's a very hopeless time for him and he can't seem to make it stop. The original version of "Stop The Clocks" appears on the Donots' 2008 album "Coma Chameleon". My song of the week is a stripped down, unplugged version that appears on the 2008 "Stop The Clocks" EP.

DONOTS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1996 - Pedigree Punk (Headshock Records)
1998 - Tonight's Karaoke-Contest Winners (Headshock Records)
1999 - Better Days Not Included (GUN/BMG Records)
2001 - Pocketrock (GUN/Burning Heart Records)
2002 - Amplify The Good Times (GUN/BMG Records)
2004 - Got The Noise (GUN/BMG Records)
2008 - Coma Chameleon (Solitary Man Records)
2010 - The Long Way Home (Solitary Man Records)
2012 - Wake The Dogs (Solitary Man Records)
2015 - Karacho (Vertigo Berlin/Universal Records)
2018 - Lauter als Bomben (Solitary Man Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF THE DONOTS:

The Donots formed as a band back in 1993, hailing from Germany. The band's first two albums, 1996's "Pedigree Punk" and 1998's "Tonight's Karaoke-Contest Winners", were distributed by local German label Headshock Records. Around this time, the Donots garnered some supporting slots on European dates for bands such as Blink 182, Propagandhi, No Fun At All, No Use For A Name and Samiam. In 1999, the band signed a major label deal with GUN Records, which is a German subsidiary of American label BMG. The band's popularity began picking up steam with the release of 2001's "Pocketrock", which featured the hit single, "Whatever Happened To The 80's". That album charted at #67 in Germany. Their next album, "Amplify The Good Times", proved to be even more successful for the Donots and when they released a surprise cover of Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It", the Donots really began taking off in Europe. 2004's "Got The Noise" reached #33 on the German charts but even with that success, the Donots decided to part ways with the major label and create their own label, Solitary Man Records. The first record released on the band's own label was 2008's "Coma Chameleon". The single "Stop The Clocks" would prove to be the band's biggest single. It would go on to be nominated for best single in Germany that year. With the arrow pointing up for the band, in 2010 they released "The Long Way Home" and earned an opening slot on Green Day's European leg of their "21st Century Breakdown" tour, exposing the Donots to an even wider fanbase. 2012 saw the band release their highest charting album, "Wake The Dogs", which peaked at #6 on German charts. Surprisingly, the support tour for this album marked the first time the band played dates on U.S. soil, supporting Flogging Molly on the east coast and Anti-Flag on the west. In 2015, the Donots decided to release a full album in their native German language called "Karacho". The band later released an English language version of the album called "Carajo!". Most recently, the Donots released yet another German language album in 2018 called "Lauter als Bomben". I'd say the first half of the Donots career saw them playing a pop punk/skate punk style on most of their albums. By the time of "Coma Chameleon", the band began experimenting with a more mainstream, melodic rock sound, but still kept some pop punk elements most definitely. I think their shift in style was more or less growth and maturity when it came to songwriting. While the band has been successful, especially in their native Germany and surprisingly in Japan, success did not happen too much for them in the States. I would have never heard of them if not for hearing one of their songs in a Playstation Baseball game years ago! I'm forever grateful for that video game because it introduced me to a pretty damn good band! If you're a fan of bands like Millencolin, Ten Foot Pole, Samiam, I Against I or Sugarcult, then you should do yourself a favor and check out the Donots. They won't disappoint!

TEN DONOTS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. So Long (featuring Frank Turner)
2. We Got The Noise
3. Wretched Boy
4. Saccharine Smile
5. Stop The Clocks
6. We Took The Long Way Home
7. Break My Stride
8. Outshine The World
9. All The Weight Of The World
10. Today