May 30

I'm in the mood for some brit-pop, so let's give a nod to Tim Burgess, lead singer of The Charlatans. They've been together since the 90's started, a product of the Mad-chester scene.

Why have the Charlatans not make a bigger splash across the pond? In the first place, they had a 60's psychedelic band with the same name that forced the band to slap "UK" on all their North American releases. Another point of contention was their first keyboardist, Rob Collins. At their height of their buzz, he was arrested for driving a getaway car from a convenience store robbery; a few years later, he died in a DUI.
Then there's the fact that Tim moved to LA in the 2K's and released a solo album. But they recorded together again in 2004, and keep on keepin' on. He's got his fingers in a lot of pies: he's sang for the Chemical Brothers several times, is part of the Britpop supergroup The Chavs, appeared on Joaquin Phoenix's upcoming rap album, and DJs at spots across the globe. In fact, between his producing credits and concert programming/curating, he's become quite the tastemaker.

2010 should be a banner year for the Charlatans, between a new album and the 20th anniversary of their first. They've thrown country, ska, psychedelia, and electronic sounds in their previous releases; interesting to see where Tim and his mates' next album takes us... maybe even the US. Meanwhile, here's the biggest splash they've made in the US so far, and the song that made me a fan...