Steven Mooner Usher

The Kaiser Chiefs new single, Never Miss A Beat, has me somewhat angry with myself. I want to write a scathing review of a band exercising a relentless demise, and on first listen that is exactly what I would have written. But the beauty of music is that, at least with bands of any credibility, the sound is layered, textured, and armoured to last more than one listen, delivering a slightly different bullet every time the gun is fired.

Never Miss A Beat will adagio sneak in to your ears, infiltrate your brain, hold it hostage, and demand that you repeatedly sing to yourself “why didn’t you go to school? … I don’t know-oh!”. I am not a fan of Kaiser Chiefs, so this review has genuine integrity in its praise, as I really did want to slate them, to verbally lacerate everything they stand for and pour critical salt deep in to each and every weeping abrasion, but in truth, the song is catchy, if childish, and the repeated riff of the chorus would be quite sublime were it used by a band of the nature of Sunny Day Real Estate, Mineral, or perhaps even Placebo.

One thing troubles me though…are the Kaiser Chiefs scorning youth culture or celebrating it? The fact is, with a front-man of Ricky Wilson’s ridiculous proclivity to soak himself in the light of the lime, it is just too hard to tell. If they are ridiculing a generation of insubordinate, hoody-wearing, knife-wielding little shits then I salute them, but in my heart I just can’t believe that is the message.

The following lyrics could be taken in either way:

“What did you learn today? (I learned nothing)
What did you do today? (I did nothing)
What did you learn at school? (I didn’t go)
Why didn’t you go to school? (I don’t know)

Take a look, take a look, take a look at the
Kids on the street
No they never miss a beat
No they never miss a beat
Never miss a beat
Never miss a beat-beat, beat-beat
Take a look at the kids on the street
No they never miss a beat
No they never miss a beat
Never miss a beat
Never miss a
Never miss a beat
Never miss a beat”

Is this glorification of the disobedient adolescent we have to endure today? The very same group of teens that stab, spit, and generally run amok in a degenerating society that is not powerless to control them, but chooses to be politically correct and encourages them to express their vile disregard? If so, I abhor the band, and in particular Ricky Wilson, so here’s hoping that in fact the song is a sarcastic jab, and their intention is, other than making a single for commercial ends, to bring this problem to the public fore.

As a song it works, and is pleasing in many regards, but I implore you to wait until the message is clear before buying the single in any of its formats, and therefore endorsing their principles.