-- Jon Wiederhorn
Before they had a name, Leeds lads the Music had a sound culled together from many explosive and improvisational jam sessions. While that sound contained many familiar elements, as a whole it was pretty refreshing compared to what was being played on radio at the time.
It amalgamated the psychedelic swarm of the Stone Roses, the bite of Jane's Addiction and the majesty of the Doors, but the musicians were also inspired by Al Green, Chemical Brothers, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin, and whenever anyone asked them what they were called, they'd reply, "We don't give a sh-- what we're called. We just want to play music."
Then the group's manager, who is paid to make such crucial decisions, suggested they simply call themselves "The Music." At first, vocalist and guitarist Robert Harvey, guitarist Adam Nutter, bassist Stuart Coleman and drummer Phil Jordan weren't too keen on the name, but the more they thought about it the more they warmed to it, so they did some homework and found that no one else was using the moniker.
"I couldn't believe it wasn't taken because it just seems so obvious," Harvey said. "But then I decided that's what makes it good. That's what it's all about, the music. The only bad thing is when people would put the name into a search engine to find more about us, and get about 1,000 entries back."
Some fans may have lost their way in such searches, but most have found the right path to Musical enlightenment. In early 2001, just two years after they formed in high school, a prestigious U.K. radio jock called the Music "the best unsigned band in Britain" after hearing their self-released single "Take the Long Road and Walk It." That track, which is currently warming up at radio, is the first single from the band's self-titled major-label album, which comes out in February.
The single is driven by dizzying guitars, powerfully mysterious vocals and a repetitive rhythmic pulse reminiscent of the Chemical Brothers. While the song is energized and upbeat throughout, it rises and dips in intensity, climaxing in a wash of layered guitars that ends with a loose, bluesy guitar line.
Harvey wrote "Take the Long Road and Walk It" to voice his philosophy of never taking the easy route. Call him a young, English Robert Frost, who wrote "The Road Not Taken" more than 80 years earlier.
"In life, people offer you different things," Harvey explained. "You can take the easy path and walk straight into something that gives you a lot of things like money and fame for a short while. Or you can stick to your beliefs and you can take the long road and walk it. All the other things will come as a bonus if you stick to what you believe in."
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