Now, we introduce a new feature here at TheAgitator.com. I’ve been getting email requests for more music blogging. Problem is, album reviews are too time consuming for me to do too regularly. I also don’t buy nearly as much music as I used to.

So I decided I’ll recommend a song or two each Friday that has merited the vaunted 5-star rating in your humble Agitator’s iTunes. This is not a rating I take lightly. There’s actually a little ritual I perform before assigning a five-star rating (I had to stop when neighbors complained about the bird carcases in the backyard). And rarely does a new release merit the distinction.

But since last Tuesday, I’ve been rockin’ on repeat to a wonderful cut off the new Kings of Leon album, Because of the Times. The album itself is a bit uneven (the second half is much better than the first), though that’s not much of a criticism. Like Tiger, KoL’s B-game still blows away most of the field (okay, probably not the best analogy after last weekend). Me, I’m a little torn. I’m afraid I may soon need to transfer the “most rock ‘n’ roll rock ‘n’ roll band in America” banner from my all-time favorite band to these guys. Really. They’re that damned good.

Like the Crowes, Kings of Leon are unmistakably southern. But they’re not debutante balls and sweet tea southern. More like lawn chairs, cousin-on-cousin-incest, and pit sweat southern. But, you know, in a good way. I’ve heard them described as “Lynyrd Skynyrd meets the Strokes,” which is probably pretty accurate as far those “Band A meets Band B” kinds of descriptions go.

If you want a proper album introduction, stick with their debut Youth and Young Manhood, or Aha Shake Heartbreak, both of which also have a few five-star cuts. This one’s less accessible in the first few listens. And I’m not sure the feral, cat-under-the-lawnmower screams in track two will ever quite grow on me.

But Because of the Times does have a few cuts that immediately grab you by the ears (then thrust your head in a bucket of hooch). Most notably, track nine. If you’re looking for a window-rattler for the warm spring weather, go download the song “Fans.” Muscular guitar; a big, fat, bass-fishin’ hook; a way late, half-drunk backbeatbeat; and Caleb Followill’s badass dirty weasel screech. I dare you to drive the speed limit. This song is dirty as the barroom floor.

And the best part? I haven’t the slightest inkling what it’s about.

So today’s five-star song: “Fans,” by Kings of Leon.

This entry was posted on Friday, April 13th, 2007 at 4:54 pm by Radley Balko and is filed under Five-Star Fridays/Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.