Brit rockers Kasabian have labelled boy band One Direction as "five little d--ks" for finding success in the US so quickly.
The band have made similar attempts to break into the stateside market, but frontman Tom Meighan says his band has endured gruelling tours without finding similar success.
"It's frustrating when you see five little d--ks like that take over America, it's horrific but you've just got to get on with it. They're a boyband for God's sake and there will always be room for boybands," Meighan told Gigwise. "They're kids. Let them eat the candy."
Speaking of Kasabian's experience in the US, he added: "We went to America and it was a harsh f--king tour we did. We did nearly eight weeks out there and it was f--king gruelling. It was the hardest we've ever been pushed. We did well, we won the war on terror on that one. We've got to keep going back and back."
Meighan added that the band have up to 30 song ideas ready for their next album recording, and that they might take extreme measures to find greater fame. "The next album might just be nine songs with no guitars and electronic drums," he said. "Imagine that. We'll be experimenting, that's for sure."
Meanwhile, guitarist Serge Pizzorno stunned TV viewers last night when he scored a frankly incredible goal as part of Soccer Aid, an annual charity football match which raises money for Unicef.
A-list Hollywood stars who took part included Will Ferrell and Edward Norton, but Pizzorno became the star of the match when his shot defeated the former England goalkeeper David Seaman, who has experience at 75 international matches.
Watch the stunning goal from the Kasabian guitarist here:
I can't imagine how awful it must feel to struggle that hard and achieve relatively little, then watch a few teens with very little talent get incredibly successful with minimal work. Must be heartbreaking.
Kasabian just keep going up in my estimation.
Saw the game, I would have been impressed if Van Persie scored that goal, it was just annoying that everyone kept calling Serge "Sergio"
Despite how god awful that band is, the image he passes with these statements is that he's butthurt. Except some few songs, I don't care that much about Kasabian, but I like to keep an open mind to everything in general.
By saying "they might take extreme measures to find greater fame. "The next album might just be nine songs with no guitars and electronic drums," he said. "Imagine that. We'll be experimenting, that's for sure."" it's like lowering your level in prol of success. I can't support something like that. I know that bands need money to survive and whatnot, but we're not talking about a local club band. We're talking about a fairly well-known band. Everyone who appreciates actual music can tell that talentless bands suck. It's like saying that Lil' Wayne can't play guitar. It's just common sense, and his attitude towards it bugged me.
I don't mind One Direction. In interviews they seem like 5 funny dudes rather than 5 little dicks. And I've never been a huge fan of Kasabian. But I understand it must be frustrating for actual bands to toil and toil so hard only to be swept under the rug by music for teeny boppers; but as they even said, you get on with it. It's always happened and it will always keep happening. The media know that young people is where the money is.
I can't imagine how awful it must feel to struggle that hard and achieve relatively little, then watch a few teens with very little talent get incredibly successful with minimal work. Must be heartbreaking.
It's not as if Kasbian aren't popular though, they're massive over here and tbh I don't think they're all that great. Better than One Direction though, of course.
spiff-corgi wrote:
I don't mind One Direction. In interviews they seem like 5 funny dudes rather than 5 little dicks. And I've never been a huge fan of Kasabian. But I understand it must be frustrating for actual bands to toil and toil so hard only to be swept under the rug by music for teeny boppers; but as they even said, you get on with it. It's always happened and it will always keep happening. The media know that young people is where the money is.
This one was my fault. Starting a comment with how I don't mind One Direction is only gonna get thumbs down on UG.
Despite how god awful that band is, the image he passes with these statements is that he's butthurt. Except some few songs, I don't care that much about Kasabian, but I like to keep an open mind to everything in general.
By saying "they might take extreme measures to find greater fame. "The next album might just be nine songs with no guitars and electronic drums," he said. "Imagine that. We'll be experimenting, that's for sure."" it's like lowering your level in prol of success. I can't support something like that. I know that bands need money to survive and whatnot, but we're not talking about a local club band. We're talking about a fairly well-known band. Everyone who appreciates actual music can tell that talentless bands suck. It's like saying that Lil' Wayne can't play guitar. It's just common sense, and his attitude towards it bugged me.
Amazing goal though.
You obviously didn't see Lil Wayne's performance on the VMA's last year.
It's another hipstercore band. Don't waste your time.
Hipstercore? What does that even mean? Kasabian are currently one of the biggest rock bands in the UK. They're as mainstream as you can get. They are not a hipster band.
I hate One Direction with a passion. Their fame is supported by little girls who only care for looks. Its like they all got lost in Old Navy and walked out as a handful of fruits.... Music is terrible sometimes
Yeah never heard of either bands, but obviously this chode is just a douche saying shit like that, its no wonder his tour was harsh. Good on this "One Direction" band for striking a chord across the pond, someones jealous ass should take some notes!
Also, I think I have a decent grasp of why bands such as One Direction find success while lots of other, better artists don't get a shot at it.
The music industry doesn't actually give 3 shits about musical proficiency. They just want a product that they can sell.
Kasabian, for example, is a band they can't sell in the US. They're not the greatest of musicians, they don't have a specific audience they can be flogged towards, and they don't have their looks working for them.
As a result, they're not a viable choice to market towards the foreign market.
One Direction is utterly terrible as a "band". They need autotune to actually sound like they're not being tortured.
However, their looks will make 12-year-old girls swoon and their "music" is all the rage with that same audience. As a result, they're an easy band to market in a foreign country. That said, One Direction still sucks more balls than the collective Red Light District.
It's another hipstercore band. Don't waste your time.
What? Hipstercore? Really? Possibly the most meaningless derision I've heard in a while.
I'm no real fan of Kasabian, but I saw them support BRMC in 03 or 04. To be fair, they've put in the hard yards and done some real work over the years.
Kasabian's comments make them look pretty immature. They must not have a PR manager. The two bands are in completely different genres and are aimed at different crowds. Comparing the two is ignorant and chances are if you are doing it you are a music snob.
I completely understand his frustration, but even mentioning those guys gives them more publicity than they're worth. The best we can do is ignore them and pretend they don't exist. It is unfortunate that talented musical acts have such trouble finding big success.
It isn't like they're taking over here. All I ever hear of them is that they're taking over, and it's usually from this website. They made appearances on Regis and Kelly once, and then Nickelodeon plays their stuff sometimes. I've never once heard them on the radio, heard anybody talk either way about them in public, or even seen one of their albums for sale.
Kasabian's a hit or miss band for me. Half of their songs sound like Shoot the Runner, and Half sound like Club Foot. I like the second half.
Kasabian's comments make them look pretty immature. They must not have a PR manager. The two bands are in completely different genres and are aimed at different crowds. Comparing the two is ignorant and chances are if you are doing it you are a music snob.
True, but this is UG remember, being logical and open-minded will only get you thumbs down.
How is this any different then all the other bands who work endlessly to sell 1000 tickets while the black eyed peas are playing at the superbowl? Talent does not always equate to success, stay true to what you love and people will respond.
The gap between UK and US is bigger than I thought. For all you yanks: Kasabian are massive over here, I suggest starting with their older stuff, Club Foot is THE car chase song, from there you cant really go wrong.
Some people on here are really flaming Kasabian, but I'll tell you something that everyone who has seen them will agree with; they are one of the greatest live bands out there. I went to their show in Aberdeen Scotland last year [with low expectations] but the visual spectacle and the calibre of the performance was truly something else. The only band I have ever seen that is better is GN'R - and I've seen A LOT of bands.
The gap between UK and US is bigger than I thought. For all you yanks: Kasabian are massive over here, I suggest starting with their older stuff, Club Foot is THE car chase song, from there you cant really go wrong.
I'm in the states and Club Foot was the first song I heard by them, probably through myspace back in '05 or around there. I now own three of their LP's/EP's. Empire is my least favorite and I bet more Americans would recognize them as the band who plays the theme song from Kiefer Sutherland's TV show I've never seen than as an "indie-" rock band.
never listened to kasabian, so i can't have an opinion on them, but i like the gy already, if that's his opinion on one direction. Same old temporary pop that just got lucky enough to ass-rape Cowell...
Kasabian may be huge in the UK but hardly anyone in America cares about them. I bought one of their records back in like....06? Didn't really care for it and that seems to be the opinion here of most of the people I know. Now I don't claim to speak for America but this article obviously supports me.
I don't really care for One Direction either but they're much more people friendly and they appeal to the current market. They also have the best song writers writing for them. And by best i don't mean highest art form, I mean these guys know how to make a catchy song-there is a science to it. Of course they're going to do well.
Kasabian's comments make them look pretty immature. They must not have a PR manager. The two bands are in completely different genres and are aimed at different crowds. Comparing the two is ignorant and chances are if you are doing it you are a music snob.
True, but this is UG remember, being logical and open-minded will only get you thumbs down.
Yet you get thumbs up haha. But agreed. I frequently see the most reasonable and well thought out comments getting slammed here.
He mad. If you're playing music in order to be "successful," you're not doing it right. Who cares about being successful if you're doing what you love?
I find it absurd that overnight, they have fans, radio airplay, and an arena tour in the United States while producing that same generic sound that every boy band has had in the past 15 years. Even for their targeted demographic (which obviously ISN'T any of us), they sound extremely boring and rehashed. Hell, even Justin Bieber sounds fresh and interesting compared to them and his latest single sounds just like Justin Timberlake solo.
And I like Kasabian, but at the same time I'm not too surprised. Their sound is Madchester influenced, which wasn't really that big of a hit in the US back in the late 80's/early 90's with bands such as The Stone Roses and Inspiral Carpets. Kinda unfortunate, since imo they're a cool band.
I wouldn't worry too much about One Direction, no one, not even teenage girls are really taking them seriously. I was talking to a friend of mine who is going to their show later this year and she said.."I don't really like their music but they are cute." Just another 1-2 Year flash in the pan.
I wouldn't worry too much about One Direction, no one, not even teenage girls are really taking them seriously. I was talking to a friend of mine who is going to their show later this year and she said.."I don't really like their music but they are cute." Just another 1-2 Year flash in the pan.
But in these 1-2 years they will make a ridiculous amount of money so they'll be good for the rest of their lives.
Have One Direction really achieved big success in the U.S.? I just haven't seen it. Usually when a boy band goes big you see them whether you want to or not.
I get what he's saying,
but personally, in the scheme of things, if I had a choice between the two: looking back I'd much rather be able to say: "yeah, we worked our ass off touring, promoting, getting our name out there as best we could, writing music that we love and comes from our hearts and in the end it paid off"
than to say: yeah we noticed a trend that was goin on at the time, latched on to it and some label writes songs for us, doesnt take much talent to do what we do and in a few years we'll be forgotten"
One Direction ****ing blows, just like any other pop act out there.
BUT... People need to realize these bands have to exist, you can't expect a 15 year old girl to turn on Tool and be like "Oh wow, this is awesome!" Some people like music to have depth, but some people are perfectly content with having music for the sake of music without anything deeper. Nothing wrong with that. Just like you can have people that name every member of their favorite football team, and people who only watch the Super Bowl, 99% because of the commercials.
It's another hipstercore band. Don't waste your time.
Hipstercore? What does that even mean? Kasabian are currently one of the biggest rock bands in the UK. They're as mainstream as you can get. They are not a hipster band.
You realize that despite being all about the "obscure and underground", hipsters have the most mainstream sensibilities to ever claim obscurity, right? That's why they're all trend-following *******s. See Sonny Moore?
It's perfectly fine for hipsters to be mainstream, but it is absolutely impossible for them to be into anything genuinely raw or underground. It is incompatible with their nature.
Eh. Until newer Rock bands start having balls again, I'll be over here listening to Motorhead and other bands that actually have guitars and, more importantly, riffs.
He sounds really butthurt that a real band doesn't get the attention it deserves over a "band" that's probably made up like Blue or Backstreet Boys. I can get that, I'd be frustrated too but I wouldn't sell out on my next album just so I would finally get what I want. No guitars, no drums? You're gonna make a solo album with just vocals as instruments? Don't be a queef, brah
Biebers fame and fortune only lasted for a couple of years. Then One Direction came out. Same thing will happen to them, and to all you people who say they will never die, thats exactly what I thought about Bieber when he first came on to the scene. As for Kasabian, no idea who they are
I didnt realise so many people hated Kasabian, i think theyre awesome. I can see where hes coming from, being in a struggling band myself, its a bit annoying that groups like one direction dont seem to have to work for anything...
...Things like this in the music industry makes me wanna kill myself.