Modern Way

Product Information

Kaiser Chiefs emerged in the mid-2000s as one of the major players in the Post-Punk Revival movement. After a slight false start with their first album, 22 (released under the name “Parva”), the band achieved considerable commercial success with their first two major-label studio albums, Employment (2005) and Yours Truly, Angry Mob (2007). The latter also spawned the single, “Ruby”, which scored the band their first UK #1 in 2007. The group gained recognition for their Britpop and Punk-influenced sound, which made them stand out among their contemporaries.

This song captivates me still, after 50+ years. Takes me to the deep South and the poverty of some who lived thru truly hard times. And the powerful spirit of a poor young girl being abandoned to her future with only a red dress and her wits to keep her alive.NH: When we play a gig we only enjoy it when the crowd enjoys it. I went to see a certain artist who did a 20-minute solo acoustic bit. People were talking and he started complaining that they should listen. My feeling was that they came to see you and they're not enjoying themselves. My brain is not damaged just in need of some repair". If I am right, then the repair he needs is love and someone to comfort him and take his mind away from what he has lost. "Hold on to the basics but we can change all our tactics." Could this be about finding love and falling in love again but doing it differently this time so that he doesn't make the same mistakes and mess it up again?

Kaiser Chiefs via David Arnold, Roundhouse, London NW1 (0870 389 1846; www.roundhouse.org.uk), tonight. The Electric Proms continue to Sunday (www.bbc.co.uk/electricproms) DA: We didn't just think: "We'll get Paul Weller and Bryan Ferry and get them to do a duet." The thing that concerns me is that there are vast swathes of contemporary audiences that have never really seen great musicians playing – not famous ones, but people who can really rip stuff up and really play. Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. The songs start with an initial idea by me on the guitar or piano, but what comes out in the end is a team effort. We don't have a dominating figure who dictates what people play. I think this might explain why we still get along."DA: The main thing I got from it is a great sense of inclusiveness, an audience that's being performed with and not at. So, not a song about a poor girl, but a song of hope and how you can rise up no matter how far down you started. This made Leeds both an exciting and frightening place to be on a night out, depending on which side of the fence you were on... and how much alcohol you'd consumed.