Saturday 28 March 2009

TIMES: KEANE ARE COOL AT LAST


"Just as I’m realising that the people who laugh most at Keane are Keane, in comes their tour manager. “Just a quick word before you go on stage, lads.” Everybody groans. “No really, I just want to tell you that you’re my favourite rock band in the whole world. And because I love you so much, please, please will you play my favourite song for me tonight.” Rice-Oxley is rolling his eyes, muttering to himself quietly, “Every night. Every single night.” Meanwhile Chaplin wonders which favourite song he wants: “Clocks?” Nope. “Chasing Cars?” Not that one. “I want the one about the weather!” demands the tour manager, “you know, Why Does It Always Rain on Me!” Everybody laughs at the old gag, because these three songs are by Coldplay, Snow Patrol and Travis respectively, musical classmates accused of the same middle-of-the-road safeness as Keane.

That particular joke may be drying up, too, though, since even Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol has told Keane that he thought they were brave to release Spiralling. The band were initially unsure about it. Rice-Oxley, who writes all the songs for Chaplin to sing, says: “I played the demo to the others and they said ‘Ye-ah, sounds like it could be good’, which is Keanespeak for ‘it doesn’t sound very good at all’. It felt a bit scary I suppose. But I love all that stuff: that big snare sound is from Man in the Mirror [Michael Jackson], and the song was inspired by When Doves Cry [Prince] and that song, Magic Dance, from Labyrinth, which I love. It took a while to convince everyone that it wasn’t just a bad joke.”
You can read the complete article here.

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