Saturday, December 11, 2010: Kula Shaker - Mystical Machine Gun

Kula Shaker got a bad rap.

It was very easy to hate them in the 90's; in fact it was almost expected that hipsters already overwhelmed by the Oasis/Blur/Britpop Blitzkrieg would, by default, react with predictable hatred to yet another overhyped youth-oriented pretty-boy band, especially a band who overindulged in simplistic Indian spirituality and weak psudeo-psychedelica.

And lead singer and creative force Crispian Mills being dragged through the mud by NME didn't help much, either.

No, they weren't a great band by any standard. But you just couldn't help but feel that a lot of the backlash, which still exists today in some circles, was more akin to being knee-jerk reactionary rather than thought out independent criticism.

So, for the sake of discussion, here's something off their sophomore album, 1999's Peasants, Pigs and Astronauts.  Which, for my money, is sounding a lot better these days than in the days of yore.

In fact, play this album back to back with Oasis' 2000 effort Standing on the Shoulder of Giants and see which one seems more creative, more entertaining and, for the kicker, more relevant.

Plus, the video is a perfect metaphor for the holiday shopping season.