Trying to Forget the Crushing Defeats since 2009

Today’s post is part of a biweekly series, New Music Tuesdays. And yes, I stole that phrase from iTunes.

Do you remember that kid in Middle School that was utterly, effortlessly cool?

My middle school had one- his name was Kyle Simmons.

Kyle was almost stereotypically cool- he played in a band, listened to classic rock and bands you’d never heard of, and had long hair. If my sleepy little town had a record store, he would have worked at it. But he probably wouldn’t have judged you if you bought Top 40 music at his store- he was just that nice.

My friendship with Kyle was always a little bit odd because he was, in all seriousness, way cooler than me. My music tastes were burgeoning and I was branching out, but he discovered The White Stripes while I was still listening to Matchbox 20.

In 2006, one of the bands Kyle adored- The Raconteurs- signed a last minute deal with MTV to play music at the Video Music awards during the commercials. Hearing that an indie rock band had signed with a giant media conglomerate, I rushed to find Kyle and asked him what he thought about The Raconteurs “selling out”. I was sure it was going to be fire- ask a Metallica fan about “selling out” and they start to grind their teeth- but Kyle perked up and said one of the greatest quotes ever: “it doesn’t even matter- it’s just fucking awesome music, man.”

Flash forward to 2009, and some things have changed: Kyle is now in a band and calls himself “boog”, I (with the help of some nice clothes, some homosexuality and a slew of awesome girls) have gotten cooler, and another indie band is popping onto the Top 40 scene: Kings of Leon.

I first heard Kings of Leon on Q102-FM in Philadelphia, and it completely made my day: while Q102 generally spends its time advertising nightclubs using the word “sexy” every four seconds and playing endless renditions of “Boom Boom Pow”, to put Kings of Leon on the radio feels like a breath of fresh air, even if it’s followed by the ever-popular “Soulja Boy sings about having phone sex” song.

Many people are worried, though: if Kings of Leon shucks their indie roots (“Only By the Night,” their most recent album, is actually their fourth, the only album to produce a Top 40 hit) and goes commercial, will they lose their magic? Worse, will they become the next Daughtry, once hard rockers now destined for the “mommy listens to soft rock on the school run” channel?

To all of this, I channel my inner boog and tell you all this: it doesn’t matter.

There’s now two ways to get into the Top 40 with your music, I’ve found. The first is to be groomed to be a Top 40 artist: viral videos (the New Boyz and Soulja Boy), viral songs produced by well-known producers (Drake), or an all-out media blitz aimed at making you make it big (Lady GaGa on the Hills). While GaGa and Drake are doing well, the music coming out of hit factories today is pretty terrible.

The second is to make music- be indie, even- and wait for the record labels to come. The upshot of this is (generally) being able to keep your sound, to let your music do the talking. Kings of Leon took this approach and knocked one out of the park: while I haven’t heard early KoL (I have committed to buying every other KoL album after loving “Only by the Night”), even if it’s softer than previous attempts, it’s still bringing great music (great indie music, even) to the commercial airwaves. And that (unlike “I Gotta Feeling”, “You’re a Jerk,” and songs about Halle Berry) is exactly what we need.

“Only By The Night” by Kings of Leon: Win

P.S.: Remember when I told you that Kyle Simmons was cool and now goes by “boog?” His facebook page- with more information about his music and his story- is available by clicking here.