17.9.08

Tonight's News, Pt. 1

So my initial fury at Kaiser Chiefs has waned considerably due to two things: Band has become a living hell and I need to constantly remind myself that the band is actually good at making music and "Never Miss a Beat" is an anomaly. Let's start with the first issue.
I haven't mentioned band in any entries recently because it's too horrible to think about. If I think about how crappy band is I become annoyed and annoyance and frustration aren't going to do any good. You see the scholarship I get from the music department is dependant on my performing in band. Also the reason I get paid $6.70 a week is partially due to the fact that I am both the band aide and a lab aide. Drop one and I lose scholarship money and job money. Since I'm hoping to put some of that into a nest egg for when I graduate, kinda can't lose any of it. And while both those factors are important and good reasons for not thinking about how crappy band is, the other, more salient and less money involved reason, is that Prof. Bartram (who is making band a living hell) will go back to being just the orchestra conductor at the end of this year and Prof. Naylor will be back and band will be wonderfully fun again. So, to summarize, band is crappy because Prof. Bartram treats us like we are high school students and makes me want to bash my head in with all his nonsense about breathing (which everyone should be able to do since we're in college). However I have no choice but to ignore this horribleness and wait with anticipation for next year when I will graduate back to college.
The second issue (KC are good at making music and "Never Miss a Beat" is ananomly) has to do with the fact that, after breaking down and listening to Employment, I decided that I should give "Never Miss a Beat" a proper listen instead of one where I'm not really paying attention. I listened to the song three times. It's crap. Sophs said it was a badly done derivative of a b-side the band recorded three years ago called "Sink that Ship" but I think it draws from the bands desperate desire to be socially and politically relevant. But no matter the source material, the outcome is mediocre at best and shitty at worst. The verses have no real meaning and the chorus is utterly pathetic. Worse than "Ruby" which in my opinion is really saying something. Sophs' hope is that Mark Ronson, who produced most of the album, hasn't ruined the band, but I don't think it has anything to do with Ronson. Being socially relevant is hard when you're writing for a pop audience (reference: the entirety of Rip It Up and Start Again) and while I'll never stop loving this band (no matter how many times I try to stop loving them) they are at their best when their social relevance is either vague or life-based. I somehow doubt that any of the members of KC "know nothing" and so the platitudes that fill the verses and chorus sound idiotic. Write what you know about applies to song writing as well.
What all of this boils down to though is something I've said before and will more than likely repeat over and over and over: KC are the aural equivalent of chocolate for me and always will be.
Part Two of Tonight's News will be posted shortly.

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