DIwhy

Album: UK Grim (2023)
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Songfacts®:

  • "DIwhy" is Sleaford Mods' satirical take on artists who boast that they're creating music on their terms. They think they're more credible going down the DIY route, but in reality their output is a louder and more aggressive version of what's already out there.

    You look like Fred Dibnah and your haircut's crap
    You're in a shouty band, you're not original, man


    The hip-hop driven song exposes the hypocrisy and lack of originality of many "edgy" artists.
  • The song is also a reminder that substance is more important than style. "DIwhy" opens with Williamson saying:

    Excuse me mate, you've just dropped one of your tattoos
    I just seen it over there


    "I walked by one bloke, and he's got a ladder on his thigh. A ladder. There seems to be a uniform with certain underground music people and tattoos," Williamson told Mojo magazine. "I got into trouble with a load of DIwhys, noise artists on Twitter last year, arguing about Spotify. I put up a post, 'stop being so f---ing edgy - just work around it.' Everyone knows it's s--t. Grow up."

    "And all of them techno noise artists with 2000 followers piled in," he continued. "'The special people,' as Jeff Barrow Of Portishead calls them. That's who 'DIwhy' is about. You look on their feeds and you get the impression they believe that there's something bigger than reality. It's the curse of Twitter - people lose their bearings. Your music is not very good and you look like everyone else. That's not Spotify's problem."
  • "Diwhy" takes aim at "post-punk dross" acts that came in the wake of Sleaford Mods. NME asked Williamson if he's expecting any backlash for the song.

    "I don't think there will be. People have had a pop and I can't see them coming at me again – they’ve exhausted themselves and I've exhausted myself. The battleground has been deserted and all we can see now are a few swords and severed limbs," he said.

    "These people view themselves as some kind of Spartans for music social justice and some kind of moral high ground," Williamson continued. "They're just as bad as anyone else. I didn't get into this game to sit in the top room of a pub playing to four people forever. If they're feeling a bit pissed off because we travelled through their scene and knocked them all dead – then what can you do?"

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