It’s quite simple and innovating. Select 10 songs out of 20, design your cover and finally, but not at least, pay £7.50 and download. Released on their official website on June 3, 2011, this is the way the band decided to deliver their fourth album, “The Future is Medieval”. If you want all the 20 tracks, you will take off from your pocket/wallet 15£. Fans, customers, will also be able to share their version of the record with other people once it has been created, and earn £1 each time it is purchased by someone else. It’s an original way to promote your stuff, but still, I’m wondering how marketing, management, expensive videos, t-fuckin’-shirts and all the accessories took over music and we ended up having music business where the music actually is quite secondary.
On the other hand, it’s quite ok that you can listen these songs and decide if it’s worth or not to pay for them, it’s almost cool that they make you feels like matter and involved in the construction of the album, well, the idea, let’s admit it, it’s catchy. Perhaps, user fuckin’ friendly. Still, I believe, now days a band should play their ass off and sell their CDs at the gigs in the good-old-fashioned way, back to the basics, face to face. But I also admit it, a band from New Zealand or South Africa probably will never make it to Toronto, San Francisco, Berlin or …Leeds.
Back in 2005, “Employment” and songs such “I Predict a Riot” and “Everyday I Love You Less and Less” shakes my loudspeakers, Kaiser Chiefs seems to be a modern, potent, up to date version of The Clash, a furious, honest, credible band. But nothing’s left forever, isn’t it? And Kaisers Chiefs – I think – became victims of their own success, not “Yours Truly, Angry Mob” from 2007 and not “Off with Their Heads” from 2008 had the same energy, vibe and charm. Positive media attention is bloody harmful.
Up to date, Kaiser Chiefs sounds like a blending of some left overs and updated themes from The Clash and The Stranglers, still they have some exciting moments, pulsing themes, catchy vocals, gloomy textures and winning guitar themes.
The 20 tracks listeners can choose from are:
‘Back In December’
‘Can’t Mind My Own Business’
‘Child Of The Jago’
‘Coming Up For Air’
‘Cousin In The Bronx’
‘Dead Or In Serious Trouble’
‘Fly On The Wall’
‘Heard It Break’
‘I Dare You’
‘If You Will Have Me’
‘Little Shocks’
‘Long Way From Celebrating’
‘Man On Mars’
‘My Place Is Here’
‘Out Of Focus’
‘Problem Solved’
‘Saying Something’
‘Starts With Nothing’
‘Things Change’
‘When All Is Quiet’
10 songs? Back In December, Can’t Mind My Own Business, Dead Or In Serious Trouble, Fly On The Wall, I Dare You, Little Shocks, Long Way From Celebrating, Out Of Focus, When All Is Quiet and maybe Saying Something or Starts With Nothing. The catch, because there is always a catch, is that Kaiser Chiefs have probably 12-13 better songs, so if you want them all you will end up paying 15£ for all the 20 songs while at least 5 of them are totally forgettable. No business like… snow business.
I hope I will be still around when all that post-capitalist crap will crack down definitively.
