Kings of Leon's popularity & Eddie Vedder...

The Rock

The fiasco at Reading confused me. From what they showed on BBC, you could see Caleb getting frustrated because he didn't think the crowd was responding. Once or twice he mentioned that he had high expectations seeing as it was the Reading Festival, and he didn't want to say anything negative that might ruin it.

Thing is, I think it was a total mis-communication, because from the TV broadcast you can definitely hear the crowd and they are LOUD. There's no way it was just a mixing thing making it sound louder on tv, they were fuckin' loud. Just listen to them belt out the first line of Sex On Fire, but Caleb looks super pissed at that point as if there was no crowd reaction whatsoever.

Watch the footage and you can see the crowd going nuts for most of the songs too. Perhaps they just couldn't hear the crowd very well for some reason, who knows.

Getting pissed and storming off at the end was a bit much though. They even asked BBC not to show the rest of the set because they weren't happy with it. Meaning they were embarassed by their behavior lol.

I've liked KOL since I saw them open for PJ in Nijmegen, and I like the latest album. There are some duds on it, but there are duds on all of their albums. It's a good album with great tracks.

mikepegg44

I get tired of the whole, we don't want to be popular non-sense, No one made them sign a record deal. No one makes them tour, no one. Either do it and learn to live with it or quit. I promise you, the only reason I work is to pay the bills, and if I was a musician or an actor or whatever else that got me fame, nothing would change. I wouldn't like to be famous either, but with any job you have to take the good with the bad. Boo f'n who, your job isn't all sunshine and lollipops, sucks to be you.
And to the guy who said something about nickelback being able to make their last record, Apparently you have never heard nickelback. (which is a good thing)

FenwayFaithful

F KOL! I knew it was the beginning of the end when I heard Sex on Fire on the radio. These guys just look like complete tools now. Guys, take a cue from My Morning Jacket...DONT SELL OUT! Would you rather have $10 million and alienate your core fans or have $8 million and still be able to show your face at your local coffeeshop?

fife

FenwayFaithful wrote:

F KOL! I knew it was the beginning of the end when I heard Sex on Fire on the radio. These guys just look like complete tools now. Guys, take a cue from My Morning Jacket...DONT SELL OUT! Would you rather have $10 million and alienate your core fans or have $8 million and still be able to show your face at your local coffeeshop?

oh my god, do we still have the term selling out? what does selling out even mean? is it making money? is it decided that even if i like this song, i should not put in on my record because we might get popular? i guess it is better if bands put weaker songs are teh record and then release a double b-side cd with songs that were better than the records. (oh damm, i ready for the backlash)

like.echoes

Has this band changed its musical identity for the purpose of making money? I mean THAT's selling out for sure. But just becoming popular, winning some awards - this suddenly makes them sell-outs? And not cool to like anymore? I don't really get it.

vital5

I hope they win a grammy and speak out against 'Sex on Fire' lovers haha

well I like Sex on Fire... the song is fucking good... but people grabbed onto it because it has the word 'sex' in it. Kinda sad that people buy into that side of things and not for the song itself...

on the last post... they didn't sell out. Their record is good.. it's the whole sex in the name of a song thing.

fife

CranMalReign wrote:

fife wrote:

CranMalReign wrote:

When I saw them open for PJ in '06, I had barely even heard of them. My wife and I did dig their stuff tho, and considered them on of our favorite openeing bands we'd seen at a PJ show.

Then suddenly they are played every 4th song on the radio and I have become annoyed by them.

why are you annoyed by them. unless they are the DJ playing the song you should blame the radio station not the band

I fully understand your point, and even considered it before submitting my post. But then I considered the fact that I'm annoyed when their super-radio-friendly-over-saturated stuff comes on my playlist at home, too... So yah, those tunes annoy me now, not the means by which those tunes are delivered to me.

It's not *all* their fault. Doesn't change the annoyance factor tho...

EDIT: The super-radio-friendly-over-saturated stuff was there before I noticed them become oversaturated.

sorry i just hate it when people say shit about bands becuase they became popular on radio. Pearl jam in the early 90's was always on the readio and i was Ok with that. you can say that you don't like a band becuase the music doesn't interest you but don't say you hate a band becuase they are played on the radio alot.
i am not a big fan of KOL but that becuase i don't liek teh singers voice and find the music somewhat boring.

FenwayFaithful

fife wrote:

FenwayFaithful wrote:

F KOL! I knew it was the beginning of the end when I heard Sex on Fire on the radio. These guys just look like complete tools now. Guys, take a cue from My Morning Jacket...DONT SELL OUT! Would you rather have $10 million and alienate your core fans or have $8 million and still be able to show your face at your local coffeeshop?

oh my god, do we still have the term selling out? what does selling out even mean? is it making money? is it decided that even if i like this song, i should not put in on my record because we might get popular? i guess it is better if bands put weaker songs are teh record and then release a double b-side cd with songs that were better than the records. (oh damm, i ready for the backlash)

Hold on, let me clarify...I see where your coming from. However, I think for 100% of the people on this message board, at least PART of the allure of PJ for them is the fact that they have always shunned the radio airplay, MTV videos, etc. We respect/admire that they politely say no and let their live shows do the talking. Bands such as KOL take a distinctly different route to success and for lack of a better phrase, that's selling out, no? What am I misunderstanding?

The Rock

It is stupid to say they have sold out. They're not in commercials endorsing razors or grilling machines or god knows what else. It's not their fault they've made good songs that the radio has latched on to.

And anyone who says Sex On Fire is a bad song needs their head examined. It's great to sing along to and has a great hook.

CranMalReign

fife wrote:

sorry i just hate it when people say shit about bands becuase they became popular on radio. Pearl jam in the early 90's was always on the readio and i was Ok with that. you can say that you don't like a band becuase the music doesn't interest you but don't say you hate a band becuase they are played on the radio alot.
i am not a big fan of KOL but that becuase i don't liek teh singers voice and find the music somewhat boring.

Nah, I don't hate them for it. I actually think they're a cool band, and I like most of what I know from them now (which happens to be older stuff since I went looking). I just turn them off when they're on the radio b/c I'm annoyed I'm listening to them play the same song again. It's a fine line.

FenwayFaithful

The Rock wrote:

And anyone who says Sex On Fire is a bad song needs their head examined. It's great to sing along to and has a great hook.

You know what else was great to sing along to and had great hooks? Disco. How did that turn out? Not well. KOL will be as irrelevant as disco in 2 years.

The Rock

FenwayFaithful wrote:

The Rock wrote:

And anyone who says Sex On Fire is a bad song needs their head examined. It's great to sing along to and has a great hook.

You know what else was great to sing along to and had great hooks? Disco. How did that turn out? Not well. KOL will be as irrelevant as disco in 2 years.

There's no way you just made comparisons between KOL and disco in terms of relevance.

Ed Vedder was reluctant to put Better Man on an album because it was too poppy. I think he realises now that it was a stupid fuckin' way to look at it, seeing as it's become one of the most beloved singalongs in the band's catalogue. Songs don't always have to be dark and edgy and sound a bit off-kilter. Nothing wrong with creating a catchy song. There are also catchy rock songs on KOL's first couple of albums.

So, Sex On Fire has thrust KOL into a ridiculously bright spotlight. That doesn't mean they suck, it just means that there will be the inevitable backlash that comes when any band reaches megastardom.

mjb

like.echoes wrote:

Has this band changed its musical identity for the purpose of making money? I mean THAT's selling out for sure. But just becoming popular, winning some awards - this suddenly makes them sell-outs? And not cool to like anymore? I don't really get it.

Actually - I think that's exactly what they did. I can't put my hands on it, but I read some press pieces with KOL from around the time the latest disc was released which suggested chart dominance was somewhat of a goal. Let's not ignore the obvious changes in both their musical and personal style over the last 2-3 years. This is not the same band I used to like. Sorry.

like.echoes

mjb wrote:

like.echoes wrote:

Has this band changed its musical identity for the purpose of making money? I mean THAT's selling out for sure. But just becoming popular, winning some awards - this suddenly makes them sell-outs? And not cool to like anymore? I don't really get it.

Actually - I think that's exactly what they did. I can't put my hands on it, but I read some press pieces with KOL from around the time the latest disc was released which suggested chart dominance was somewhat of a goal. Let's not ignore the obvious changes in both their musical and personal style over the last 2-3 years. This is not the same band I used to like. Sorry.

Don't apologize to me, I don't even listen to them!

blondieblue227

mjb wrote:

Actually - I think that's exactly what they did. I can't put my hands on it, but I read some press pieces with KOL from around the time the latest disc was released which suggested chart dominance was somewhat of a goal. Let's not ignore the obvious changes in both their musical and personal style over the last 2-3 years. This is not the same band I used to like. Sorry.

yeah they wanted to be super popular in the US.
it bugged them they weren't.

FenwayFaithful

mjb wrote:

Actually - I think that's exactly what they did. I can't put my hands on it, but I read some press pieces with KOL from around the time the latest disc was released which suggested chart dominance was somewhat of a goal. Let's not ignore the obvious changes in both their musical and personal style over the last 2-3 years. This is not the same band I used to like. Sorry.

Well put. These guys were Alt-Country in their first two albums!

ledvedderman

Had they got a push from the record label early on, "California Waiting" would have been HUGE. Soooo...who really gives a shit. The new album isn't terrible. I'd like to see where they go from here.

fife

CranMalReign wrote:

fife wrote:

sorry i just hate it when people say shit about bands becuase they became popular on radio. Pearl jam in the early 90's was always on the readio and i was Ok with that. you can say that you don't like a band becuase the music doesn't interest you but don't say you hate a band becuase they are played on the radio alot.
i am not a big fan of KOL but that becuase i don't liek teh singers voice and find the music somewhat boring.

Nah, I don't hate them for it. I actually think they're a cool band, and I like most of what I know from them now (which happens to be older stuff since I went looking). I just turn them off when they're on the radio b/c I'm annoyed I'm listening to them play the same song again. It's a fine line.

thats fair, for many bands i get tired of hearing certain songs all teh time. that includes Pearl Jam. there is a radio station in Toronto and about 2 a year they have a "grunge" weekend and i hate it becuase they will usually only play like 5 pearl jam songs and they are always teh same song: Evenflow, Alive, Daughter, Dissdent and then something from teh newest record. i love all those songs but i get tired of hearing them all the time.

doompony

i bloody love sex on fire and that whole album. sure it could be a completely different band, but i would probably still like that band. and say things like "gee that guys sounds a little bit like that guy with the amish hair from kings of leon".

fife

FenwayFaithful wrote:

fife wrote:

FenwayFaithful wrote:

F KOL! I knew it was the beginning of the end when I heard Sex on Fire on the radio. These guys just look like complete tools now. Guys, take a cue from My Morning Jacket...DONT SELL OUT! Would you rather have $10 million and alienate your core fans or have $8 million and still be able to show your face at your local coffeeshop?

oh my god, do we still have the term selling out? what does selling out even mean? is it making money? is it decided that even if i like this song, i should not put in on my record because we might get popular? i guess it is better if bands put weaker songs are teh record and then release a double b-side cd with songs that were better than the records. (oh damm, i ready for the backlash)

Hold on, let me clarify...I see where your coming from. However, I think for 100% of the people on this message board, at least PART of the allure of PJ for them is the fact that they have always shunned the radio airplay, MTV videos, etc. We respect/admire that they politely say no and let their live shows do the talking. Bands such as KOL take a distinctly different route to success and for lack of a better phrase, that's selling out, no? What am I misunderstanding?

pearl jam has not really shuned radio play, they still release songs to the radio for play. pearl jam is a different band than KOL but i think 1 big reason is that Pearl jam got huge from their 1st record, where they release 4 songs to the radio. KOl didn't have the same path. just like Pearl Jam wanted people to hear their music (which is still true to this day) so does KOL. pearl jam still releases videos to MTV and Muchmusic (that a candian channel)

Let KOL find their path, their next record might be a "no code" type record. we hav eto say that just becuase you don't follow teh Pearl jam way doesn't mean you are selling out.