NASHVILLE — Even before the three Grammys that Kings of Leon won last month, the group had become the emblematic band of the new decade by resurrecting the sound and spirit of rock’s classic era for a generation that doesn’t view the music as necessarily heroic or transformative. Combining the blues strut of the Rolling Stones with the jitters of post-punk bands like Joy Division and, more recently, the reach of U2, the Kings of Leon do what great pop does — they transcend any specific root or subculture to make something universal. And “Use Somebody,” with its churchy chorus and what Caleb Followill, the band’s 28-year-old singer, songwriter and guitarist, calls song’s “double meaning” of mercenary lust melting into loneliness and soul hunger, was a perfect anthem for a troubled year like 2009.
Kings of Leon prove to be pop’s unlikely royal family
![](/files/images/1x1.trans.gif)