Only Matthew Followill (2nd from left), seems fully confident in ALL of the Kings of Leon's musical selections - his cousins and bandmates (from l - r) Jared, Nathan and Caleb Followill are, for some reason, more reluctant to make direct eye contact.
If you're somewhat familiar with the band Kings of Leon, you've probably noted the change in musical direction from their debut 2003 EP Holy Roller Novocaine to their 3rd full-length album (and 4th proper release overall) Because of the Times in April of this year. The band has gone from a raucous, Southern rock-flavoured sound(no doubt inspired by the band members Tennessee/Oklahoma preacher's sons/nephew roots) to one that's more, dare I say, orchestral/power-pop in nature.
The band have made no secret of their changing influences, noting in particular their admiration for U2, a band who brought the Kings along as openers on their 2005 tour. The Kings went even further when, around the time of their most recent release, the fine Followill boys participated in the iTunes Celebrity Playlist series, collectively offering up about 30 selections which, they say, were in constant rotation over the past two years while they were touring and recording.
Given the band's musical evolution, the list makes perfect sense. There's the nod to their simpler upbringing (Roger Miller, Thin Lizzy), the discovery of The 60s (Nico, The Stooges, The Ronnettes), a little 70s punk (The Clash, The Buzzcocks), the new wave gloom of the 80s (Joy Division/New Order, Cocteau Twins, Bauhaus), 90s wall of sound (Spiritualized) right on up to the musical hodge podge that has marked the better half of this new century (Broken Social Scene, M83, Clinic). There's even a little classical music thrown in for good measure (Mozart).
Aside from the fact a good chunk of these songs lead me to reminisce about my high school/university days and, thus, make me feel quite old, the list overall presents a rather simple game of "spot the influence". Though, I must admit that there was one particular track that, when I first saw it, made me do a double-take and then collapse into a fit of giggles. Scroll down the list to see if you can pick it out, too. Hint: it's not the Pet Shop Boys.
- Grass Animal Collective
- All We Ever Wanted Was Everything Bauhaus
- Everybody’s Happy Nowadays - The Buzzcocks
- The Guns of Brixton - The Clash
- Evergreen The Brian Jonestown Massacre
- Lover's Spit Broken Social Scene
- Temporarily Blind Built To Spill
- The Return of Evil Bill Clinic
- Lorelei Cocteau Twins
- Six Different Ways The Cure
- Glass, Concrete and Stone David Byrne
- Save It for Later The English Beat
- Your Hand In Mine Explosions In The Sky
- Desire (Come and Get It) Gene Loves Jezebel
- I Wanna Be Your Dog The Stooges
- Atmosphere Joy Division
- Don't Save Us from the Flames M83
- Papa Was a Rodeo The Magnetic Fields
- Halloween The Misfits
- Ceremony New Order
- These Days Nico
- West End Girls Pet Shop Boys
- Invisible Sun The Police
- Hey - Pixies
- Love My Way The Psychedelic Furs
- My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died Roger Miller
- Be My Baby The Ronnettes
- Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space Spiritualized
- The Boys Are Back in Town Thin Lizzy
- Snow Don't Fall Townes Van Zandt
- With or Without You U2
- Reservations Wilco
- Lacrimosa Orchestra Sinfonica dell'Universita Cattolica / Coro Sinfonico di Bie Mozart: Requiem
- Making Plans for Nigel XTC
- But Not Tonight Depeche Mode
Desire by Gene Loves Jezebel?!? BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Good lord, where in the world did they manage to get a hold of that goth-y/new wave, flouncy, weird-twin-thing, tune? And how does it become such a staple of their personal and professional lives that they actually refer to it as an influence?!? Though, since I first came across this list just over a week ago, that damn song seems to invade my mind and escape from my lips without warning or provocation. Um, OK, I see how that works now.
Of course, all the above listed tracks - including the one by GLJ - are available for download on iTunes.
