OK, well, maybe these guys do know a thing or two about tunes. For one, they are huge in the UK -- the indie-folk-rock four-piece is astoundingly bigger across the pond. Watch a video of them performing at the NME/ Radio 1 Stage at the 2011 Reading Festival -- one of the largest popular music festivals in the world with 87,000 in attendance each of the three days last year -- and see the hysteria of thousands of Brits going bonkers to “Bad Timing,” “Lights Out, Words Gone” and “Shuffle” off of their latest release, A New Kind of Fix. And how about this little fact: BBC bested big-in-the-U.S. Mumford and Sons and the xx to win the 2010 NME Best New Band Award.
But this blog certainly isn’t about the serious side of their music. “Beside the Question” is, well ... you know those silly questions that some interviewers sneak in at the end of an interview with a band? Well, this blog series is dedicated exclusively to those random, ridiculous wringers.
As such, Jamie MacColl of BBC appeased our ridiculous desires for the asinine. Catch the band with opener Hey Rosetta on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at In the Venue (219 S. 600 West; 7 p.m., $15).
City Weekly: How ‘bout them Olympics?
Jamie MacColl: They got nothing on the 2002 Winter Olympics!
CW: I generally think that karaoke is the lowest form of art. However, I believe that there is one song -- and only one song -- that can be sung at karaoke, and that is Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” Since you weren’t born in the USA, how do you make sense of this?
JM: You're clearly misinformed -- "Total Eclipse of the Heart" is the best karaoke song.
CW: What are your fondest musical memories?
JM: My fondest musical memory is singing folk songs for children with my grandma.
CW: Were you influenced by old records and tapes? Which ones exactly?
JM: I only have one record: "All Night Long" by Lionel Richie (12" dubstep remix).
I wonder if this is what he meant? God, I hope not.
CW: If you could invent a fast-food item by combining two or more fast-food items, what would it be and why?
JM: Chicken-fried ribs.
CW: Who would win in a fight: Adele drunk off of Hot Damn peppermint schnapps or Mumford & Sons drinking cheap American beer.
JM: Adele, of course.
CW: Can you pretend to be Ricky Gervais for the remainder of this interview?
JM: No.
CW: Do you floss?
JM: I just started after I had to have a root canal.
CW: What’s the deal with Mitt Romney?
JM: Ask the people of the Cayman Islands.
CW: What’s your least favorite things about journalists?
JM: No comment.