Kings of Leon should have been big in the United States awhile ago, really.
After the release of its first album, “Youth and Young Manhood,” author Dave Eggers gave the band his stamp of approval in Spin, saying the group was “two-door muscle cars and Piggly Wigglies and racist uncles and upholstery that stinks of smoke.” Which he meant as a compliment, of course.
But hipsters shrugged. The band got huge in the UK, and nothing else much happened here. Kings of Leon released two more albums. Again, both huge in the UK, again, cricket chirps in the US.
Then, the group wound up on Saturday Night Live in 2008, released a top 10 album, beat Radiohead and AC/DC for a Grammy this month, and sold out Madison Square Garden.
It’s all a bit inexplicable. The group’s new songs are no better than earlier tracks. And it’s impossible to argue that a chorus like, “This sex is on fire,” from the group’s Grammy winning single, is stronger than, “Say, while you’re trying to save me, can I have back my lonely life,” from the group’s third single ever, “California Waiting.”
Whatever the case, Billboard wrote about the group’s US success. Check out that article and more below.
- Kings of Leon considered selling themselves to the press as a multiracial act. (Billboard)
- Leonard Cohen is touring again because his manager stole his fortune while the singer was Zen-ing out in a Buddhist monastery. Which, as reasons to tour go, is at least a little rock ‘n’ roll. (NY Times)
- Still cursing myself for not getting tickets to see David Byrne’s Seattle show. (New York)
- Green Day talk about their new album, which won’t be horrible or pretentious at all. (Rolling Stone)
- Jonas Brothers can trigger the evacuation of some floors at Rockefeller Center. (LA Times)
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