Braindead

Congratulations to the Kaiser Chiefs who have released what is not only their worst tune but also the most irresponsible piece of music they've ever written!

So for those who've been living under a rock and have escaped being exposed to "Never Miss A Beat", you can count your lucky stars that you haven't heard the following lines:

1.) "Why didn't you go to school/I didn't want to"
2.) "It's cool to know nothing"
3.) "What do you want for tea/I want crisps"

I presume that the Kaisers were thinking of releasing this song as a bit of a satire against the increasing problem of laziness and "something for nothing" in society today. However this bitter irony will probably be lost on many of the people who listen to and enjoy the Kaisers' music, which is where the problem starts.

In the states people started accusing M.I.A. of glorifying guns and violence in her music (particularly "Paper Planes"). Maya sensibly replied: "The intelligent 5% of the nation will probably work out that it's irony and it'll get lost on the rest." I doubt the Kaisers will fall into the same trap because of who they are and what they've, ahem, achieved.

However, it is clearly irresponsible for such a mainstream band to seemingly "back" the actions in their lyrics, even if it is tinged with irony or satire. In discussing this point with friends, they also acknowledged that younger people might listen to the song and start a mini-rebellion against learning. We can't have that now, can we?

I've written a couple of pretty angry posts this week haven't I? Maybe I'll get back to happier posts next week. I'm hoping to grab my hands on Ladyhawke and Friendly Fires and possibly if I have enough left in my budget the old Raconteurs album too - for now I'm letting my anger melt away.

T: Kaiser Chiefs

Ahh, Kaiser Chiefs.... King of the "ITV Rock" movement. I will admit to having bought their first album "Employment" but I was totally lost off by "Yours Truly, Angry Mob". I thought that was with good cause, since "Ruby" - their anthem - and "Angry Mob" were both bland and mystifying. The Kaisers? Angry? Surely not!

But hey, this was the best Kaiser Chiefs' performance I've ever seen! Ricky Wilson still works the crowd a bit too much, expecting them to sing along to nearly every single song. Just leave it to "I Predict A Riot" Ricky, then leave them be. They even performed some new songs, one of which was absolutely hilarious. "We Want History" is a strange song, especially since the chorus says, "History, it's a mystery". Hmmm, yes. I can see they were up all night thinking of that line.

But the crowd love them and I suppose if you didn't like the look of Rage Against The Machine and Ian Brown then these were a fun alternative. I'm still not won over and I probably never will be. On a purely performance level, they had a good light show and the songs were performed well. Bravo on that level.