Think you’re Tenacious D’s biggest fan. Well, unless your name is Jack Black, you’d be wrong.
Black thinks his latest record, Rise Of The Fenix released in May, is a better listen than Foo Fighters, Tom Waits, Jack White and Gotye combined.
Speaking to Reuters, the funny-man claimed, “I do love [Jack White’s] Blunderbuss, I love the Foo, I love Tom Waits, his new record is incredible… and Gotye… but our album is better.”
Thought he’s notorious for his comedy stylings, Black’s commitment to Tenacious D’s latest album, their first in six years, is no joke. He’s made noises about his serious intentions recently, saying “I want to blow minds. I don’t want people to smile—I want them to cry.” The duo even enlisted a handful of celebrity pals for their latest video entitled To Be The Best.
Meanwhile, Black said in the same interview that he and musical comedy partner Kyle Gass, don’t get the respect they deserve as musicians, “because we’re clowns, we don’t get that kind of love.”
“Since we had our last album, rock and roll completely died,” he continued,”what killed it? Was it Axl Rose in the library with a wrench, or was it Lady Gaga in the pantry with the pliers? We don’t know but we’ll figure it out” he added.
“Thank God for The D, riding in on their white stallions to rescue rock and roll.”
Their third studio album finds the duo “exploring some deeper, darker material,” according to Black. The title track, a country-tinged rock song about the duo’s phoenix-like rise, even expresses a desire to write a bona fide hit. Crossing over to the mainstream is a serious concern for Black and Gass, and according to Reuters, they’ve even been seeking advice from celebrity pal (and no slouch in the hit-making department himself) Mr. Dave Grohl.
“I’ve always wanted to have one of those hits on the radio,” confesses Gass, “but we haven’t really been able to crack that code. I think we’re trying this time a lot.”
Black is adamant their third album is “in all seriousness, better than any album out there right now. In a hundred years’ time, no one will remember Gotye or the rest, but the shining beacon of The D — they’re going to start religions after us.”
Is Black taking the mickey? or does he really want Tenacious D to be a house-hold name?
Make up your own mind as you stream the duo’s rockomedy masterpiece below
