Monday, November 28, 2011

Indisputable proof that Kings of Leon have sold out

I was checking out the recruitment video used by Cara (owner of Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, Milestones, Kelsey's, and Montana's) when I noticed a familiar melody. At the 3:45 mark (as phrases like 'Total Rewards', 'Competitive Salary', and 'Discount Programs' moved across the screen) the guitar track from "Use Somebody" blasted in the background and it became clear to me that Kings of Leon are in it for the cash.


Now it could be that Kings of Leon feel strongly about the merits of Swiss Chalet sauce and so they wanted to lend a hand to the corporate overlord that manages their favourite casual and family dining establishments, or it could be that they are money-grubbing, corporate lackeys consumed by avarice with no regard for artistic integrity. My money is on the latter; Kings of Leon's money is piling up.

88% of Cara's business comes from generic restaurants but the other 12% is airline catering. In other words, Kings of Leon decided to sell their music to a company that is responsible for the terrible food you get from Air Canada. It's ironic because a lot of people accused Kings of Leon of conforming to the lowest common denominator after their last album came out and now that same album is being used to promote airline food, the culinary equivalent of beige. Neither is particularly offensive or remotely enjoyable.

Here's Liam Gallagher on Kings of Leon's last album, "Only by the Night":

“But it seems to me they've gone for the bucks, man. When they first come out I was going, "Who the fuck is this?" They were cool and now they've all got their sleeves cut off. And I'm not dissing them because I fucking really like them, but it's like they've got this U2 sound and you can do better than that.”

And here's Caleb Followill:

"Our real fans, the ones who've been there for the past five years, are in the front row p**sed off. They'll turn their backs on us during Sex On Fire and Use Somebody, put their middle fingers up. I get it. We're definitely sellouts."

I don't really get why Cara thought using "Use Somebody" was a good idea either. I mean, sure, the lyrics talk about needing someone and the video is meant to fill vacant positions, but do you really want to tell prospective employees you are going to "use" them?

No comments:

Post a Comment