Tag Archives: aha shake heartbreak

#1235: Kings of Leon – Soft

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Here comes another song from Kings of Leon’s Aha Shake Heartbreak. I think I’ve told the story of how the album entered my life in posts before. Just click on that “aha shake heartbreak” or “kings of leon” tag at the bottom, and they’ll redirect you. The most recent Kings track I’ve posted about was ‘Slow Night, So Long’, also from the same album, and the tale of my experience with ‘Soft’ is almost exactly the same. It’s been a track on the “all songs” phone playlist for so long now, I can’t pinpoint the exact moment where it clicked and I thought it would be a song I’d be listening to for years. It would be a disservice to try and make some fairytale situation up. It’s just always been there, and that’s good enough for me.

‘Soft’ is the seventh track on Aha Shake… and mainly written to shut up critics who wouldn’t stop talking about the things the band got up to when they were out and about, on tour or whatever. Being the young rock ‘n’ roll band they were back in ’04, they do the rock ‘n’ roll things that hang out with models and party. The media loved that sort of stuff. Still do now. Caleb Followill had had enough of the coverage, so he wrote about an experience of one of those occasions where he was hanging out with a supermodel, but got too drunk that he couldn’t perform. He was soft. The whole track’s quite self-explanatory. Whether or not that led to critics talking less about the band, I’m not sure. But he wanted to write songs that were about the things people go through that are embarrassing or not taken seriously. And erectile dysfunction is definitely one of those subjects.

I once saw someone describe this track as Kings of Leon’s “most Strokes-ish song”. Or “Strokes-like”. One of those. And I kind of get that. The bright guitar lick that starts it off combined with the the rhythm guitar that joins in soon after does remind me of something that Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr. would do. Though the reggaeton-like groove that plays underneath is definitely sets it apart. During the verses, Caleb Followill sings a line, Matthew Followill plays a guitar lick in response, and the choruses see the band rock out a little more, with Matthew Followill playing a climbing/falling guitar riff before falling into the reggaeton feel again. A big nod should also go to Jared Followill on the bass guitar, whose lines during the verses are probably the most hummable parts of the whole song. But I guess the big highlight of the track is the ending section where the band kinda go into double time, into party mode, with Caleb repeating the song’s last line and at an instance almost to the point where his voice completely breaks. All very nice. So here’s an Aha Shake era live performance of the track to round things off.

#1223: Kings of Leon – Slow Night, So Long

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It was during the Aha Shake Heartbreak era of Kings of Leon that I properly go into the band, due mainly to the three singles that popped up around those youthful times of 2004/05. But I didn’t get my hands on a physical copy of it until 2008, when I got it as a gift for Christmas. I don’t know what it was about that year that made me request it. By that time, Only by the Night was the band’s latest album which hoisted the group into household names thanks to ‘Sex on Fire’ and ‘Use Somebody’ which were now worldwide hits. I’m going to guess that, even at the age of 13 that I was that year, I was one of those people who thought, “Man… Kings of Leon have changed,” and wanted one of their old albums to remind me of the good times. But that is just a guess, I feel like I might be making that up completely.

‘Slow Night, So Long’ opens the album up, and I’ll straight up say it doesn’t really hold a lot of sentimental value. It was one of those songs where I heard it that first time and knew that it was a keeper, and so it’s been in the library ever since. Unlike the opener on the album before, which got things started quite swiftly, ‘Slow Night…’ builds itself up layer by layer, letting the anticipation set in before the whole band eventually kick into gear. Gotta appreciate that bass guitar hook by Jared Followill in that introduction, it’s the melody of that which Caleb Followill almost mirrors with his vocals and the riff that I think really ties the whole song together. I didn’t know this before typing out, so it’s a surprise to me as much as it might be for you, but the song concerns Caleb Followill’s feelings about a girl younger brother Jared was seeing at the time. He kind of liked her, the feelings weren’t reciprocated. It was a weird thing going on there. And Followill at the end of the song asks where the ‘leading ladies’ can be found, in the search for an emotionally stable relationship. KOL songs in those days were usually about women in some way, but would never have guessed any of that myself.

But as the people who enjoy this song will know, this track has a little surprise for you. The band come to a big finish, but there’s still about a minute and a bit remaining until time runs out. And after a bit of suspense, with Nathan Followill’s last chord still sort of ringing nearing silence, Caleb Followill’s guitar comes in on the right-hand side introducing a completely unrelated chord progression and segueing into the smooth coda to which you wanna grab your partner and slow dance to. Even got a little güiro going on low in the mix there. During this part, Caleb asks the “gold digger mothers” out there if “they’re too good to tango with the poor boys”, which I think could mean anything whilst also being very obvious. And with a nice touch of piano, the whole song comes to its actual close. But not really because ‘King of the Rodeo’ picks up right where the next bar would begin. No time to rest before kicking things up again.

#1112: Kings of Leon – Rememo

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On the last Kings of Leon post on here, I made note that the Aha Shake Heartbreak era of the band was the one that properly introduced me to them, in terms of me actually knowing what the members looked like, who played what, what each member’s name was, et cetera, et cetera. And it’s true. The video for ‘The Bucket’ came on TV one day, it was those guys who had ‘Red Morning Light’ on FIFA 2004, and then from that point on, Kings of Leon would be a regular occurrence throughout my lifetime. The videos for ‘Four Kicks’ and ‘King of the Rodeo’ followed, both songs that I thought were great in 2005 and still hold up today in my eyes. So three successful singles out of three, that’s 100%. Sounds like an instant purchase, right? Well, you’d think. I didn’t get Aha Shake… until years later. I think as a Christmas gift in 2008. I remember because it was during a verse of ‘Pistol of Fire’ that my cousin asked me why I listened to the kind of music I did. Good times.

Depending on which continent you live, ‘Rememo’ is either the album closer, or the record’s penultimate track before it truly ends with the bonus song ‘Where Nobody Knows’. Being from the UK, I’m one of those who fall in the latter. Thus I also got the version of the album with the alternate cover (which I want to say a lot of people prefer to the original) and a nice family picture of the band as kids, hidden underneath the CD tray. The track brings the proceedings to a close (or near-close) with a relaxing, sleep-inducing waltz-timed tune. The melody only relies on two notes (both from the vocals perspective and on the guitars’ too), but it’s that simplicity on those fronts that make ‘Rememo’ one of the album’s sneaky high points for me. It’s almost like a lullaby. Its lyrics aren’t as innocent as those that you would find in those, though.

A prevalent theme that runs throughout the lyrics Aha Shake… is the pursuit of women and wanting to get with them, and it makes an appearance yet again on ‘Rememo’. In the first few lines too. “The giggling virgin overlooking me” in the second verse was something that I thought was referring to the Virgin Mary. You know, like the narrator’s living this weary, tired life and the Virgin Mary witnesses overhead and laughs with forgiveness. But it may just be referring to the point of view the narrator has while looking up at a girl he’s having sex with. Gotta say I like my interpretation more. In an interview with Zane Lowe, Caleb Followill mentioned that the “dripping beard as cold as hell…” refrain was one that didn’t go down too well with his parents because of the foul language. Wish I could find that interview, but looks like not even YouTube has it. I swear the interview happened though. The track doesn’t say much of anything, it doesn’t matter anyway as Followill even sings, but he writes it as a reminder/memo to himself that he feels the way he does and writes it as a gift to the audience. Eventually it tails off on a whimsical turn, feels like stumbling upon this old, abandoned carousel, where these (I think) woodwinds enter the frame – I think they’re keyboard generated anyway – with these occasional chimes and rickety drum patterns. There’s a good sense of closure here. Then ‘Where Nobody Knows’ sort of reinforces it as a bonus.

#700: Kings of Leon – King of the Rodeo

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This is another one of those songs where I was actually alive and could remember its video showing on the TV as opposed to finding it years later. One thing I remember about this track is that I, somehow, always managed to change the channel to MTV2 when the video for this song was almost finishing. I don’t think I ever saw the beginning until YouTube came along. Or maybe it was on the band’s official website when bands used to have their music videos on their in a .wmv format back in the day.

‘King of the Rodeo’ is on Kings of Leon’s second album Aha Shake Heartbreak, released in 2004. It was the album’s third single. I still don’t really know what Caleb Followill is saying throughout this thing. It’s never come to mind that I should find the lyrics and truly understand what he’s singing. I’ve always appreciated the sound of his voice here. The coarse tone, the breaks when he’s reaching for the high notes. It’s a characteristic that made the Kings of Leon those days very exciting to listen to. Yes, I’m one of those people. I think the real main highlight in the track is the guitar work of Matthew Followill. While Caleb pretty much plays two chords for the whole song, Nathan keeps the momentum going with the crunchy riffs and string bends. It’s in the left speaker if you’re using your headphones. Or the right, if you’re watching the video.

Now, I have read the lyrics. Apparently, there are a few references to the film Withnail and I in the track. I wasn’t expecting that. Other than that, there’s not much meaning to the lyrical content. I’ll take it that about they’re about some relationship between a guy and a girl in the South.

My iPod #388: Kings of Leon – Four Kicks

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It has been ten years since “Aha Shake Heartbreak”, Kings of Leons’ second album was released. And in that time we’ve seen them change from those skinny-jeaned, long haired Southern scruffs who were appreciated more in the UK than their native country to well-groomed Southern bosses who fill stadiums wherever they go. I won’t be speaking about any songs from their last three albums, so you can guess which of those two I prefer.

“Four Kicks” was the album’s second single released in 2005. I remember hearing this song for the first time very well, because it’s accompanied with a very hectic video. A lot of people proceed to beat the shit out of each other, whilst the band play the song unfazed by what is happening around them. Pretty awesome stuff. Of course, the word ‘shit’ was censored in it. But I didn’t know there was an uncensored version of that video until it came on late at night a few times. In that one you see a woman take a fire extinguisher to the face, and blood fall from a person’s chin. The word ‘shit’ was aired too. It was so cool.

So this song is a bit nostalgic for me, I guess. Known it for almost ten years, that’s crazy. Great stuff.