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The Kooks Send You a Musical Present, Because They Are So Happy to Be in America

Posted 5/21/08 5:04 pm EST by in live, Music


TheKooks

Last night, after their sold-out show at the 1,200-seat Wiltern Theatre in LA, the Kooks treated fans to an acoustic set inside the tiny Kibitz Room at the famed Canter's Deli. The performance was a culmination of a day full of street performances (or “busking,” for you hobo types) all around the city.

For those not lucky enough to make it to the special show, the band has sent MTV News this treat for you: an mp3 of a track that was only available on the first 20,000 copies of their new album, Konk.

"NO LONGER" - THE KOOKS

And to read more about last night’s show, head over to You R Here.

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The Morning Benders Take Their Shiny Pop Across the States -- But Will They Make It in That Crap Van?

Posted 5/20/08 4:05 pm EST by in Music, New Music Update



So how many bands, pumped over their first trip to South by Southwest, have headed to Austin and gotten in trouble with the law? More than a few, I’ll wager.

Take the Morning Benders. No sooner had this fresh-scrubbed, pop-rock foursome out of the Bay Area driven their van “Darryl” across the border from New Mexico into Texas than they were stopped by a good ol’ boy with a badge. Speeding like bats out of hell? Weaving across the median? Funny aroma wafting out the windows? Broken tail light? Not quite...

“We got pulled over for driving too slow,” said Chris Chu, singer/songwriter/guitarist/creator of the Benders. “They wanted us to speed up or change lanes. Or leave Texas.”

Um, not exactly rock & roll, guys. “I know,” Chris admitted. “It’s sad.”

While not Archuleta-level squeaky-clean, the Morning Benders seem unlikely to be tossing TV sets out of hotel windows anytime soon, as they begin a mostly sold-out trek across the country with their pop rock mates from the UK, the Kooks. So what’s the British connection for these Cali kids…?

(The answer to that question, and a live performance clip, after the jump.) Read More...

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When the UK Made a Difference in Indie Rock

Posted 4/18/08 4:18 pm EST by in MTV News, Music


MTV News is running a piece this week about how the latest generation of British bands hit a kind of ceiling when trying to break through in the US. Unlike, say, Oasis, newer groups like the Duke Spirit, the Heavy, and the Kooks have pretty much given up on topping the American charts.

All this talk had us thinking about the early 90's, when most of you were six years old and the Happy Mondays had a radio hit. The rave-centric Manchester scene, from the Mondays to the Stone Roses, was one of the most serious indie scenes happening. And you can check it all out in the clip above, resurrected from way back in March of 1990.

For those of you who have no idea what we're talking about here, this is an awesome primer. You can hear from Bernard Sumner of New Order, see a slice of a live show by the Mondays back in the day, and hear their singer Shaun Ryder give a classic bite: "It's a lot of ecstasy people come for, nothing special." But the real highlight is the look inside Factory Records' Hacienda club, and the totally outdated fashions of the crowd: Timbalands and faded jeans with 26-inch flares. Literally.

Those days are long gone. Or are we wrong? Never mind female solo artists like Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse -- do you think British bands matter Stateside anymore?

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