After a three-year hiatus, the Kaiser Chiefs are returning with a new and distinctly original album.
They are allowing their fans to create personalized versions of their latest LP, “The Future Is Medieval.”
Fans have the opportunity to select their favorite 10 songs from a pool of 20 new tracks. They can also create their own album artwork for the $12 record and potentially sell their version through Facebook and Twitter, earning $1.50 for every copy sold.
These 20 songs were made available on the Kaisers’ website without prior promotion. The band acknowledges that this creative approach stems from their dissatisfaction with conventional album production.
Singer Ricky Wilson commented, “Once an album is completed, it typically gathers dust for at least three months while the marketing team orchestrates a major advertising initiative, after which we proclaim to the media how amazing we are.”
Ricky conceived the “create your own album” concept while vacationing in Cornwall with a friend involved in online marketing.
“Fans have the chance to choose their songs and artwork, as well as the sequence of the tracks, allowing them to engage with albums once more,” Ricky, 33, elaborated.
“We’re not asserting that our method is a template for every band to follow, but it’s more productive than lamenting, ‘Oh, the music industry is collapsing…we’re all finished!'”
Nicky Hodgson, the primary songwriter and drummer, believes that the requirement to write 20 songs has resulted in their most diverse album to date. “We relish crafting hit singles,” insists Nick, who is also 33. “When attempting to generate 20 hits, they can take on a variety of styles.”
However, this is precisely where the Kaisers err significantly. It doesn’t truly matter what genre you compose in. The length of the song is irrelevant as well. Moreover, an artist shouldn’t deliberately aim to compose a hit. If one identifies as an artist, it should stem from genuine passion, reflecting what is authentic and deeply personal. Nicky Hodgson comes across as the epitome of a nerd (and we’re merely 11 years into this century) proclaiming, “We enjoy writing hit singles.” Quite frankly, it would be more appropriate in the future to acknowledge that you occasionally craft catchy tunes, at the very least avoiding such a disingenuous statement.
The Kaisers’ debut album was indeed enjoyable. It wasn’t exceptional, yet it featured a handful of great tracks. It was gifted to me upon its release, but I didn’t give it a proper listen until 2008…and I found it quite enjoyable. I’m not sure why I delayed for so long. I suppose the notion of “let’s all dress up as if we’re part of Oliver Twist with a country vibe” struck me as a bit pretentious…similar to when a drummer aspires to be the frontman but fails miserably opens his mouth…yes, Nicky…pretentious.
Furthermore, this whole idea of “fan involvement” feels rather pretentious as well. While I could claim it’s an intriguing concept…it’s really not. Can you picture Michael Angelo painting a masterpiece, later inviting his enthusiastic fans to complete it for him because he believes it will boost his popularity? He might have been a media darling too, who knows.
Nonetheless, one thing is undeniably true, Ricky. It seems you’ve guzzled one too many glasses of Scrumpy while in Cornwall…you must have.
The only band that indulges in hard cider and dons attire similar to yours is The Wurzels. You evidently attempted to emulate them, and now you’re trying to match their drinking habits. You stand no chance. They look superior to you, consume harder drinks than you, and compose better songs than you. Who could forget,”I’ve got a brand new Combine-Harvester?” They’re a classic band… something you will never be… so just stop aspiring to be The Wurzels.”
I just wish the fans would recognize that this is merely another media-driven pile of nonsense from a band that has lost its touch… let’s be realistic, lads… you hardly ever had it.
And please don’t start telling us that you grew tired of making music/albums like everyone else does. Don’t insult our intelligence. As I just mentioned, it’s simply a marketing gimmick for a band that hasn’t quite hit the mark yet. I’m willing to be patient as I believe the first album had so much potential. But what really frustrates me is the rubbish they produce… come on, lads, give it a break, won’t you… just focus on crafting something that isn’t forced… something genuine, unlike so much of what’s out there today.
This new collection of songs is already being likened to “Be Here Now” by Oasis, which is another load of rubbish that I listened to once, then replayed the two tracks I like and never touched it again. I’m not the only one… most people I’ve spoken to about Oasis’ third album have done exactly the same.
They have a track titled Man On Mars, and since they were stuck on the lyrics, they reached out to David Bowie for assistance. Many of us would likely be thrilled with that, but the Kaisers turned it down… gosh, this band truly ARE full of themselves.
They should’ve asked me for some lyrical help; I’m quite good at it… here’s something I recently scribbled down… it would have worked perfectly for their track Man On Mars:
There’s a bloke who left Earth and he went to Mars,
It’s because he heard the Kaisers play their songs on guitars,
He got up and left and that was it,
He said as he waved to his wife he said, “I won’t be back until the Kaiser Chiefs stop being shit”.
I know, I know… I’m just exceptional, but the man who went to Mars may be gone for quite some time. I genuinely hope the album bombs terribly due to their marketing approach. It feels like a cheat, if you ask me.
Lastly, yet another ridiculous statement from front-man Ricky on fans making their own album, “At least, with this idea, everyone’s almost guaranteed to like the album they buy”… well, I certainly EXPECT that. But if fans had a desire to create their own album, wouldn’t it be refreshing to do it the traditional way, like writing some songs and recording an album without any sales gimmicks?
You might give it a shot one day Kaiser Chiefs… you might actually produce something worth listening to.
by Wallace McTavish
