Dear all,
I went to see Inspiral Carpets recently and I must say, they were pretty good. In fact, I wrote a review that's just been published in the 'You write the review' section of The Independent. I'm obviously happy, but I'm also a bit dismayed.
After seeing Kula Shaker in Norwich recently, I wrote a review of that gig too. I promptly sent it off to The Independent and heard nothing. Not a Dickie Bird.
It's possible that my review was not published because:
1. It was sh*t (which it could well have been)
2. It was gushing in its praise (which it was)
3. The Independent still refuse to give good press to Crispian Mills.
Anyway, I'm really annoyed. I would much rather 'do my bit' for my favourite band than a band who don't really come close (with all due respect to Inspiral Carpets).
So, the bigger question is - why has no f*cker in the UK music press picked up on Kula Shaker's return? Is it because they choose not too? Could it be because Kula Shaker's marketing is a bit flimsy?
I know this may have been discussed before, but I'd be interested to know if people believe there is a negative attitude (in the UK music press) towards Kula Shaker.

Maybe due to the conflicts of east and west and the differences that we have as a culture; the press dont want to give positively to those who promote unity and peace between?

I cant think of any groups (at present) who conjoin cultures this way.

Kula Shaker basically say: Cmon dudes we can all live together regardless of religions.

You know what ignorant people are like these days: everyone with a different background should be shipped off back to where they bloody belong......you know...same old fashioned cow clap.

Maybe it doesnt suit the agenda??

This is a newspaper you are talking about right?

Who reads newspapers anyway?

Sorry I forgot your question:

Whats wrong with Kula Shaker?

A) Not a damn thing in my opinion!

Except maybe that there are no gigs at present!

Oh yeah...& they aint released 'True love will find you in the end' yet!!

quote:

Originally posted by Pazzabee:
3. The Independent still refuse to give good press to Crispian Mills.

The Independent did a long and fairly favourable interview with Crispian last year, so I don't think this explanation holds water. It's quite possible that whoever edits the reviews section might have some kind of personal dislike of KS, but thankfully the paper as a whole seems a bit more enlightened than that.

quote:

Originally posted by drykid:
but thankfully the paper as a whole seems a bit more enlightened than that.

Fair point. I guess I must have missed that one. Perhaps my review was sh*t after all
Having said that, aren't you annoyed/perplexed/p*ssed off by the lack of coverage? I know KS haven't exactly 'put themselves about', but you would have thought that someone with any taste would have noticed by now.

quote:

Originally posted by Pazzabee:
Fair point. I guess I must have missed that one.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/f...es-again-464620.html

quote:

Having said that, aren't you annoyed/perplexed/p*ssed off by the lack of coverage? I know KS haven't exactly 'put themselves about', but you would have thought that someone with any taste would have noticed by now.

Not really; it's more or less exactly what I expected. I still remember how hostile things were last time around towards the end (I remember vividly watching the "news" on The Big Breakfast on Ch4 to hear them announce "And finally some good news to end with ... Kula Shaker have announced they're splitting up"...) So I fully expected press coverage to resume on that note. I think that over time things will change, because perceptions will be based on the music and things they're saying now, rather than the past. Dismissing people out of hand works best when all people have to go on is dim memories of ten years ago. Once people hear the band for themselves again and realise that the stuff that the band are making now stands up in its own right then lazy prejudices become harder to peddle.

They don't get coverage chiefly because after Nazigate the suspicions around them grew, the casual fans dropped away bit by bit (not exactly making K mark 2, and taking so long to make album 2 didn't help them ride it out either), a process which intensified after they broke up to the point that the 'standard reference' on Britpop, John Harris' book, dismisses them in one line (one line!) as crap. This is now the standard line on the band for the majority of indie music fans aware of their existence, journalists and joe public alike (with some exceptions of course. And when reviewers were forced to listen to the 3rd record or the live shows, they can't actually bring themselves to award lower than 3 stars in any case).

But that is really KS's #1 'problem'. A credibility mountain to climb. Discussion about quality of material, quality of promotion (admittedly, there wasn't that much of *that*) is all secondary to that fact.

It's really sad. The press has decided the band is sh*t years ago, and now it's conventional wisdom not very many people are willing to challenge. And "Joe Public", I surmise, is happy he has detected on time that it's actually uncool to like Kula Shaker.
With the German press, things are a bit different, they seem to think, hey, just another 90s band comeback, how unimportant. So they're not actively hostile, but still in a way condescending. "Wasting time and space on hasbeens? Oh no, but the record's not bad by the way."
Still, every little poser new in the business is getting attention and, at times, adulation.
*Sigh*. It's making me sick.

quote:

Once people hear the band for themselves again and realise that the stuff that the band are making now stands up in its own right then lazy prejudices become harder to peddle.

My point exactly, drykid - but how will they ever hear it if they don't know it's out there in the first place?
Aside from the article that you've kindly alluded to, what other positive comments have we seen from the great British music press? Sweet Fanny Adams - apart from a few, indistinct, piddly one-liners about how good KS used to be and how (now they're back) they're not anymore.
It's about time KS pushed the publicity boat out a little bit more. They've made a cracking album (a million-times better than most of the drivel that's pedalled about by the so-called 'Bright Young Things' nowadays). I just think it's high-time that they forced it into the British consciousness more forcefully, otherwise they're in danger of being one of those forgotten-about-blast-from-the-past type bands - and we (or they) don't want that.
I don't want to appear negative, just realistic. I think their music needs to be peddled much more than it currently is.

quote:

Originally posted by Pazzabee:
It's about time KS pushed the publicity boat out a little bit more...I think their music needs to be peddled much more than it currently is.

Strangefolk was almost like a warmup/test phase in many ways: marketing, promotion etc.

Album number 4 will certainly be pushing the boundaries in creativity and innovation.

Lack of media coverage doesn't worry me in the main. But, I do get frustrated by the apparent lack of respect regarding the band's live performances. They put on a bloody good show, head and shoulders above many of the most 'popular' bands. I saw the Long Blondes last night and I have never been so bored at a gig (serves me right some of you may say!!). It really was horrendous and it proved to me how KS wipe the floor with so many other bands. Ah well, the main thing is WE enjoy it, WE get to buy their music and WE get to seem them live.

quote:

Originally posted by K:

quote:

Originally posted by Pazzabee:
It's about time KS pushed the publicity boat out a little bit more...I think their music needs to be peddled much more than it currently is.

Strangefolk was almost like a warmup/test phase in many ways: marketing, promotion etc.

Album number 4 will certainly be pushing the boundaries in creativity and innovation.

Wow! Exactly the same things were said about what Cowboys and Indians was going to be like after 1234, and look how that performed!! Now I feel so reassured!!

quote:

Originally posted by Dance In My Shadow:
Lack of media coverage doesn't worry me in the main. But, I do get frustrated by the apparent lack of respect regarding the band's live performances. They put on a bloody good show, head and shoulders above many of the most 'popular' bands. I saw the Long Blondes last night and I have never been so bored at a gig (serves me right some of you may say!!). It really was horrendous and it proved to me how KS wipe the floor with so many other bands. Ah well, the main thing is WE enjoy it, WE get to buy their music and WE get to seem them live.

I dunno, I think they have always had a lot of respect as a live act. Despite what reviewers say about their songs, they usually end up coming out with how well they perform technically and how 'in tune' they all are with one another on stage. Obviously, we see them as the whole package musically and as a live act. Sadly, a lot of others don't.

I think what's wrong with Kula Shaker is Crispian Mills' mouth, Nazigate etc. If ever there was a diagnosis of foot in mouth disease it would be him. Plus the spirituality thing, no one really wants to hear about stuff like that these days. And frankly what they're doing isn't exactly innovative or new. It's like comfy blanket music, makes you feel happy and warm but doesn't particularly excite or challenge you. In these days of bands appearing and disappearing every three seconds, if it's not new why would you bother to write about it? As for album four pushing boundaries I strongly suspect it will be a mix of Indian and folk music, rebirth of the Potters and all that.

quote:

I think what's wrong with Kula Shaker is Crispian Mills' mouth, Nazigate etc. If ever there was a diagnosis of foot in mouth disease it would be him. Plus the spirituality thing, no one really wants to hear about stuff like that these days.

Well I never thought that people would like having philatio forced upon them by a man with shit and piss smeared on him, but apparently G.G. Allen fans liked it.

Maybe Kula-Shaker just ain’t for you babe.