Klaxons
As Above, So Below (Justice Remix)
As Above, So Below (French Version)
For the 20th century, looking back at musical trends is easy.

60s – British Invasion, Motown
70s – Disco, Funk, Prog
80s – Hair metal, new wave
90s – Gansta Rap, New Jack Swing, Grunge, bubblegum pop

Of course, that’s a bit reductive and ignores several other trends and movements, but in broad strokes that works well enough. But you just can’t do that with any decade after the 1990s. What was the big musical trend that encompassed the first decade of the 20th century? Krunk? Nu-Metal? Indie rock? It’s really hard to just pin one, or even a few, down. Throughout the 80s and 90s pop culture had begun to get more fragmented, but the 2000s really saw that trend kick up a notch, largely due to the fragmentation of culture as a whole and the internet. The 2000s were the decade where almost no one and nothing became omnipresently popular anymore.

This was doubly true with rock music. The splinters between the “indie” “alternative” and “mainstream” scenes became gulfs, and within those scenes you had your own splits and divisions. You had the mainstream rock fans who dug Linkin Park, the indie kids and their Arcade Fires, and us folks in the middle who lived on The Strokes and The Killers. And of course, things have gotten even more fragmented since. There can never be an “I love the [decade]” show ever again that can talk about music, unless it covers the uber-hits like “Umbrella” and “Uptown Funk.”

But one of the things I loved about the 2000s rock scene was just how fragmented it was. There wasn’t just one scene that was big and a few bubbling under, as was the case in the 80s and 90s. So many styles and sub-genres vying for attention. Post-punk revival, electroclash, neo-psych, synth-pop 2.0, new-rave.

New-whatnow?

Yeah, remember new-rave? No? Yeah, why would you? It was a a genre that the British press made up. But its one band, The Klaxons, were really good. I was always bummed that they were never able to carry the momentum from that first album. Shit, I was bummed their version of electronic-rock didn’t garner more attention. I feel as if this sound had its moment for about 20 seconds, before it was watered down and washed out into the electro-rock sonic wallpaper commercial jingle indie rock sludge we’re subjected to now. Maybe bands like The Klaxons are the Pearl Jam of their era, wholly original and fantastic, but influential in the formation of some of the worst music ever.

Although now that I think about it, for 20th century bands, that dubious distinction probably should be bestowed upon The Killers. I love The Killers, but I feel its safe to say that we wouldn’t have Imagine Dragons without The Killers first leading the way. If The Killers are the Pearl Jam of early-200s rock, then I guess The Klaxons are…lemme think…The Toadies? Sponge? In as much as they had one moderately successful album but failed to capitalize off of it despite the fact that the follow-ups were just as good?

Is that too much of a stretch?

These tracks are from a clear 12″ single that I think only came out in France. Beats me how it ended up in a bargain bin at a Tokyo record store, but that’s where I found it. The Justice remix is dope, speaking of acts that vanished without a trace after one great record. I guess the world got sick of Daft Punk impersonators when the real thing returned.