With the current single, John Diva – »the king of the high heel« – does away with gender stereotypes in a highly entertaining way. For John nothing is easier than that, he is after all the Barbie and the Ken of hard rock in persona.
While other genre bands have been telling the same pussy jokes for years and years, John Diva & The Rockets Of Love are definitely not stuck in the 80’s with their lyrics.
»A touch too much a little macho, like a blast from the past, babe« John Diva sings over dirty bluesy guitars and a heavy drum groove, before he is flanked by juicy brass sections in the chorus, which is also sparkling with ambiguities remembered from the best years of bands like Aerosmith.
Back to the lyrics, which express the band’s libertine and rebellious element like no other song on the current record: »We value being different types, different men than in 1984. Basically, rock music is conservative, when you consider which images are maintained and that it is predominantly male-dominated. If you look at the protagonists of 80’s glam metal, I don’t know how many of the gentlemen I could actually spend an evening talking to about anything other than their cars« says John Diva himself.
BOYS DON’T PLAY WITH DOLLS is lyrically a bow to the double meaning and an invitation to read between the lines – and thus in times like these almost a political statement: »I’m tough enough like a feminine man …. and twice a man than a republican. «
It is seductive that the song musically serves all the clichés of the genre – blues rock with a horn section, cowbell groove and a sprawling guitar solo by Les Paul aficionado Snake Rocket. This creates a gap between sound and message, which is great fun. And that brings us to the core business of the Rockets: in the end everything is always a big party – and in your mind’s eye you can see the champagne corks flying by the dozen while a sweaty rock band blasts the club.
Also a quote from John about the song: »JDATROL has always been an offer for participation. We don’t exclude anyone, everyone is welcome – no matter what you wear or who you want to be tonight.«
In the sense that you shouldn’t be dictated to how you look, behave, dress or who you can love, this song is rock and roll through and through – in which it takes a big, grinning middle finger against everything that is called the establishment.
The song is available on all digital platforms: https://orcd.co/johndivaandtherocketsoflove_boysdontplaywithdolls
