i keep reading about these 'keane saved my sanity/life' stories so i have mine to add to the batch. i enjoyed listening to lotsa radiohead, coldplay, oasis, blur, stone roses, happy mondays, etc.. back in the 90's when 'britpop' really took off but i wasn't intense about any one of these bands as i am now with keane. as the genre seemed to wane in the states for me a bit later, my ears neglected it for a number of years and it seemed like keane in 2004,05 and 06 was so under the radar for me that i never noticed them.  however, a few months ago in 2009 i was starting this totally grueling process and was very isolated and all up in my own head making silly talk.   i first heard of keane through a dance music remix (IIAW by keane remixed by tall paul) in may since i was hella into electronica and conscious underground hip-hop. i actually knew of k'naan before keane so you know i was wilding out when i read that they were working together (lol)!  i am so late in the game. ahaha

so anyways, after i heard the keane remix, i went searching for more about the band and tall paul through google and yahoo search engines.  i forgot about it for a few days but then i had a terrible nightmare because of the drama i was going though.  i wanted to know more about my nightmare and the symbols and what they meant so i went back to searching on my trusty old google and yahoo search engines but my cookies or history must have remembered me searching for keane before so when i typed in 'nightmare', 'bad dream', 'anxiety dream' it gave me keane's song 'a bad dream'!  i was like - eff the what?!  i saw the video on youtube and end. of. story.  these dudes were singing and playing my life like they knew me.  for this, i have a feeling that i may well be forever indebted to keane.  okay, well maybe it's not that extreme but i'm just sayin' that ever since then i have been in fawning new keane fanhood/must-have-piano-lessons-again/post overload!   ahaah yay keane!

 

 Love this story (and the others posted):

 I was driving home from work in Jerusalem, Israel (where I'm from :) ), and as I was parking near my house, "Somewhere Only We Know" came on the radio. I was like WTF!!!!! Not just the beautiful music, but the WORDS!!! "If you have a minute", begging like that, I couldn't believe anyone could be so brave to write and sing that! (*Only later did I discover that those were 2 different people ;) * )

SOOOOO, I parked my car, and stayed in the car, which was parked, listening to this beautiful song, waiting to hear who sang it. "Keane"??? Never heard of them. Went online the next day (this is 2005), to find this on a British site: "To say that Keane's debut album is eagerly anticipated is the understatement of the Century."

"Indeed?" thought I, and down to the mall I went (we have malls in Jerusalem lol) to purchase Hopes and Fears and be completely blown away. Then bought UTIS, got my little sister into Keane (though she is not a Keane freak like me...yet), got PS for me and her, and then went to see them at Madison Square Garden with her for her birthday. 

The show was terrific, but I was only astonished by "Strangers" (which, really, Tom sang just for me - everyone else was just there for background) and the "Under Pressure" encore.

Unsuspecting, home I went. 

And found km.com.

And you lot.

The rest is history.

 

lord_byron:

i keep reading about these 'keane saved my sanity/life' stories so i have mine to add to the batch. i enjoyed listening to lotsa radiohead, coldplay, oasis, blur, stone roses, happy mondays, etc.. back in the 90's when 'britpop' really took off but i wasn't intense about any one of these bands as i am now with keane. as the genre seemed to wane in the states for me a bit later, my ears neglected it for a number of years and it seemed like keane in 2004,05 and 06 was so under the radar for me that i never noticed them.  however, a few months ago in 2009 i was starting this totally grueling process and was very isolated and all up in my own head making silly talk.   i first heard of keane through a dance music remix in may since i was hella into electronica and conscious underground hip-hop. i actually knew of k'naan before keane so you know i was wilding out when i read that they were working together (lol)!  i am so late in the game. ahaha

so anyways, after i heard the keane remix, i went searching for more about the band and tall paul through google and yahoo search engines.  i forgot about it for a few days but then i had a terrible nightmare because of the drama i was going though.  i wanted to know more about my nightmare and the symbols and what they meant so i went back to searching on my trusty old google and yahoo search engines but my cookies or history must have remembered me searching for keane before so when i typed in 'nightmare', 'bad dream', 'anxiety dream' it gave me keane's song 'a bad dream'!  i was like - eff the what?!  i saw the video on youtube and end. of. story.  these dudes were singing and playing my life like they knew me.  for this, i have a feeling that i may well be forever indebted to keane.  okay, well maybe it's not that extreme but i'm just sayin' that ever since then i have been in fawning new keane fanhood/must-have-piano-lessons-again/post overload!   ahaah yay keane!

 

 

 

Lordbyron, I love the way you write man, friggin' awesome. Am experiencing same overload - (started just before going to MSG show) - just bought a Music Theory book online! ha ha ha.

pooka94:

i found keane in a kind of unusual way.. through pandora.com. anybody use that site? its like internet radio.. you type in a song and it finds others similar to it. anyway, i think i typed in a coldplay song, and i found crystal ball (i know everyone hates the keane/coldplay comparisons but im thankful for them cause thats how i found keane!)! i became completely obsessed with the song so i went to itunes and bought it and hopes and fears (which is really kind of stupid considering crystal ball is from under the iron sea..) and loved the entire album. i didnt really start getting hardcore obsessed till i bought under the iron sea about a month later. how can you not be obsesed with a band that has 2 insanely perfect albums?! then perfect symmetry came out and i love it, though not quite as much as the other two. just love, not obsession love.. though it was the album that started the keane-googling obsession.. which lead to me finding km.com (yayy!)..

 thank god, for pandora.com, right? :D

I LOVE Pandora!! But not sure it works outside the U.S.? Anyway, just discovered that the same guy, Ryan Tedder, wrote One Republic's "Apologize", Beyonce's "Halo", AND Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love". Mr. Tedder is definitely the next guy I'm Pandora-ing! :)

Lisa Parry:

I'd always been aware of Keane since they first started. I'm ashamed to say I didn't pay that much attention to them. In fact, when I saw one of my teachers at school with a copy of H&F I wanted to know why they liked such a miserable band . 

Gradually,  though I began to like their music and even bought a copy of H&F myself because of SOWK and EC. It wasn't until UTIS that I began to sit up and take notice of the band properly. I heard IIAW, thought it was alright but it was NIMW that was key to me appreciating the band for the artists that they are.

 

 

The NIMW bit, "Well for a lonely soul, You're having such a nice time" is one of my favorite Keane bits ever. Ah, beautiful sarcasm!!

Maayani:

pooka94:

i found keane in a kind of unusual way.. through pandora.com. anybody use that site? its like internet radio.. you type in a song and it finds others similar to it. anyway, i think i typed in a coldplay song, and i found crystal ball (i know everyone hates the keane/coldplay comparisons but im thankful for them cause thats how i found keane!)! i became completely obsessed with the song so i went to itunes and bought it and hopes and fears (which is really kind of stupid considering crystal ball is from under the iron sea..) and loved the entire album. i didnt really start getting hardcore obsessed till i bought under the iron sea about a month later. how can you not be obsesed with a band that has 2 insanely perfect albums?! then perfect symmetry came out and i love it, though not quite as much as the other two. just love, not obsession love.. though it was the album that started the keane-googling obsession.. which lead to me finding km.com (yayy!)..

 thank god, for pandora.com, right? :D

I LOVE Pandora!! But not sure it works outside the U.S.? Anyway, just discovered that the same guy, Ryan Tedder, wrote One Republic's "Apologize", Beyonce's "Halo", AND Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love". Mr. Tedder is definitely the next guy I'm Pandora-ing! :)

 

really?? hm thats interesting! i quite like all those songs! except the radio killed bleeding love for me..

i know pandora's amazing!! if not for that website, i wouldve never found keane! and that would have been TERRIBLE, considering keane rules my life.. haha :)

Maayani:

Lordbyron, I love the way you write man, friggin' awesome. Am experiencing same overload - (started just before going to MSG show) - just bought a Music Theory book online! ha ha ha.

 

maayani, you are too kind, hon! i love your story and the others here too! i just get a bit too excited when talking about keane and i need to calm down (lol). believe me, i am not that well versed in the technicalities of hardcore music theory itself but i would love to learn more if i can wrap my mind around it. ahah. you know, it's crazy b/c all this keane overload (esp since seeing them live for the first time last month) has me reaching to this kind of literature too!  just this week i pulled a very accessible book by keith negus called 'popular music in theory.' it's a little dated but it's really cool and deals with a lot of issues people are talking about here (fan bases, marketing, genres, industries, etc..). here's a link if you want to check it out too.
 

Haha... I love all those stories here

 For me it started back in 2004 I guess. I heard EC on the radio and I loved it. Strangely enough I didn't know SOWK by that time. I first knew EC and I thought it was a great song. After that I heard SOWK and I also really loved that song. I wasn't really into buying cd's so I didn't bought the album right away. But when my brother did, it was always in my room Then UTIS came out and I bought it right away! By that time it went from bad to worse. I wanted to see them live and I wanted everything from Keane..! So now 3 years later, there hasn't changed a bit. Hahah..

my memory is back to 2004...

The TV kept playing Somewhere Only We Know, video of which is so attractive with its beautiful & misterious places! maybe somewhere looks like Mansers Shaw(mentioned in Snowed Under), I guess.   

From the video, I love Tom's voice, the way Richard plays the drums, OH! Especially the stepping in the water when Tim plays the piano, I said to the TV"Wow! It's so fantastic to see this man playing piano in this video!"

That's how I discovered the Keane boys! =D

lord_byron:

Maayani:

Lordbyron, I love the way you write man, friggin' awesome. Am experiencing same overload - (started just before going to MSG show) - just bought a Music Theory book online! ha ha ha.

 

maayani, you are too kind, hon! i love your story and the others here too! i just get a bit too excited when talking about keane and i need to calm down (lol). believe me, i am not that well versed in the technicalities of hardcore music theory itself but i would love to learn more if i can wrap my mind around it. ahah. you know, it's crazy b/c all this keane overload (esp since seeing them live for the first time last month) has me reaching to this kind of literature too!  just this week i pulled a very accessible book by keith negus called 'popular music in theory.' it's a little dated but it's really cool and deals with a lot of issues people are talking about here (fan bases, marketing, genres, industries, etc..). here's a link if you want to check it out too.
 

 

 

Hey, I checked out your link, looks interesting but brainy! lol.  Yeah, music theory can be a bit on the heavy side, but this one

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0739036351/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0882848976&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0TF25PPTMHFQ6PNT7Z0F

is VERY simple (I think it's aimed at like junior-high people), and also I think when you love music, even if you are talent-less (as I am, musically), you sit at the keyboard and try and try, and sound like an idiot, and then you do something without even thinking, and it WORKS! and it's wonderful. 

That happened to me just playing the line from SHNT, "Lonely people/Tumble downwards/And my heart opens up to you/When she says she has no time"... I just tried that on the keyboard and suddenly it worked, I seriously almost cried, man, I tell ya, I seriously almost cried. 

 But Tim has nothing to worry about my competing with his piano-playing prowess for a while yet ;)

 

PS who is the girl with Prince (or, Squiggley) in your pic?  

PS 2 My favorite Prince/AFKAP is "Seven". Friggin' brilliant song, I used to listen to it on repeat for days on end.

 ^^ hey maayani!  i will send you a little pm!

Well I'm ashamed to admit it now but when Keane first appeared on the scene I wasn't too impressed... yeah I loved Tim's piano playing (still do) but I thought they were a bit 'soft'. My son bought H&F and UTIS but I never listened to either of them until Christmas 2008. My son bought me PS (he thought I might be swayed by the 80's influence), so I played the CD and it was like....OMG Tom's voice...

So one thing led to another, I had to 'accompany' my son to the Shefffield Arena gig and they were just awesome live... couldn't take my eyes off Tim.

So here we are, less than a year later, 3 gigs, thousands of miles under my belt and I'm obsessed by them and totally in 'lust' with Tim!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I loved SOWK when it was first released and I bought Hopes and Fears after hearing that and EC on the radio.  I wasn't impressed with Is It Any Wonder and did not buy UTIS until I was watching "The OC" ( did anyone else here ever watch that show?) and they played A Bad Dream.  I didn't know who sang it, but I thought it was such a beautiful song, so I watched out for when they named the artists featured in that night's episode and I thought, "Oh yeah, that sounds like Keane."  So I bought UTIS and liked about half of it at first and didn't listen to it much until one day when everything was going wrong I wanted to listen to a sad song, so I played ABD and I felt like I was hearing Tom sing for the first time.  I fell in love with his voice and listened to UTIS again and absolutely loved it.  So I feel like I have "The OC" to thank for my rediscovery of Keane and the appreciation I gained for UTIS!

One day as I was bored I was changing radio stations randomly so as to catch up with a good song...and then....I suddendly fell onto SOWK! It caught my attention from that very first time, because never before had I heard of a band that has no guitars and writes such good songs! That was in April 2004. After that day, the radio used to play it quite often, but I hadn't got to know what's the name of this band, until June 2004 when I first saw the video for ''Everybody's Changing''. I usually looked for their songs on the radio. In October of the same year (after having randomly heard Bedshaped before)a radio station I used to listen to too much back then, had dedicated a weekend to Keane and played some songs from HAF (including TITLT which was about to be released soon). And the following month, I realized that it was my favourite band because I was surprised and captured by their sound, their music and Tom's voice. Though the time when I got to become an even more massive fan was when so I bought HAF after having saved money for about 5 months, in April 2005. I loved it from the first listen and I've been a really huge fan since that day.... 

My hubby, God love him who is English and living in Kansas found them for us.We had tuned out of music for almost 20 yrs..rap and hip hop crap...I think he found them from looking at Coldplay stuff and I will say KEANE is WAAAAY better than them!!! Sorry Chris...you have Gywneth.....I would pay to see Keane NOT Coldplay...need a bank loan for that.... Once I heard them...hooked and mind you this was last Nov. or so..2008...I know..it sucks in KS!  NOT a native, I am from Iowa, with stints in Colorado and Missouri along with Basingstoke, W, Hamps, UK--1986....

I have loved Somewhere Only We Know for years. Saw them perform it on Saturday Night Live and heard it on the radio. Bought the album, listened to SOWK over and over, but not the rest of the album (a TERRIBLE habit of mine).

 When I got iTunes, I copied SOWK into my library, and sold the CD at a store because I was moving and didn't want to have to haul 200-odd CDs anymore.

 Fast-forward to this year. SOWK is the second-most-played song in my iTunes library but I still know next-to-nothing about Keane. See on Facebook's iLike application that they're coming to Oakland in May. Heh. Might be a good show. Email my bff Summer, to see if she'd like to go. She replies, "Keane is a good band--you'll like them."

 So off we go on May 8, 2009 to the Fox Theater in Oakland. Opening band--Helio Sequence. I wasn't impressed. Keane comes out, plays Everybody's Changing. The crowd is super-charged, and I'm feeling my Anglophilic tendencies rising to the surface. Tom says, "Judging from the smell of pot coming from the front row, we must be in California!" We all laugh.

 My impressions from the night: Damn, this guy can sing! Keyboard player's on fire! Can't see the drummer very well but looks like he's having fun. They have a bass player? I thought there were only three.

 Rest of the show BLEW ME AWAY. Somewhere Only We Know was one of the most magical concert moments I've ever experienced. Love what I'm hearing. Shouting to my friend that the minute I get home I'm buying all their stuff on iTunes.

 The rest is history. I love this band--all three albums, singles, covers, etc. Super-talented guys, with no big ego trips and a genuine affection for each other. They don't just go on stage and play music, they give a show. They genuinely care about their fans.

 --Meg

And, in case you're wondering, yes, I'm a total girlie-girl fan. I *do* have a favorite. And the answer to that question is...Richard. Adorable, lovely, generous man. ; )

wales:

My hubby, God love him who is English and living in Kansas found them for us.We had tuned out of music for almost 20 yrs..rap and hip hop crap...I think he found them from looking at Coldplay stuff and I will say KEANE is WAAAAY better than them!!! Sorry Chris...you have Gywneth.....I would pay to see Keane NOT Coldplay...need a bank loan for that.... Once I heard them...hooked and mind you this was last Nov. or so..2008...I know..it sucks in KS!  NOT a native, I am from Iowa, with stints in Colorado and Missouri along with Basingstoke, W, Hamps, UK--1986....

I saw Keane live in May this year, and Coldplay in July. Hands down, Keane is the better live band.

musicalmeg:

I have loved Somewhere Only We Know for years. Saw them perform it on Saturday Night Live and heard it on the radio. Bought the album, listened to SOWK over and over, but not the rest of the album (a TERRIBLE habit of mine).

 When I got iTunes, I copied SOWK into my library, and sold the CD at a store because I was moving and didn't want to have to haul 200-odd CDs anymore.

 Fast-forward to this year. SOWK is the second-most-played song in my iTunes library but I still know next-to-nothing about Keane. See on Facebook's iLike application that they're coming to Oakland in May. Heh. Might be a good show. Email my bff Summer, to see if she'd like to go. She replies, "Keane is a good band--you'll like them."

 So off we go on May 8, 2009 to the Fox Theater in Oakland. Opening band--Helio Sequence. I wasn't impressed. Keane comes out, plays Everybody's Changing. The crowd is super-charged, and I'm feeling my Anglophilic tendencies rising to the surface. Tom says, "Judging from the smell of pot coming from the front row, we must be in California!" We all laugh.

 My impressions from the night: Damn, this guy can sing! Keyboard player's on fire! Can't see the drummer very well but looks like he's having fun. They have a bass player? I thought there were only three.

 Rest of the show BLEW ME AWAY. Somewhere Only We Know was one of the most magical concert moments I've ever experienced. Love what I'm hearing. Shouting to my friend that the minute I get home I'm buying all their stuff on iTunes.

 The rest is history. I love this band--all three albums, singles, covers, etc. Super-talented guys, with no big ego trips and a genuine affection for each other. They don't just go on stage and play music, they give a show. They genuinely care about their fans.

 --Meg

And, in case you're wondering, yes, I'm a total girlie-girl fan. I *do* have a favorite. And the answer to that question is...Richard. Adorable, lovely, generous man. ; )

 

 

Lovely story!!

One of my best friends also has your 'listen to the one song I bought the CD for and not the rest of it' syndrome. She bought Oasis' record for "Wonderwall" (1st or 2nd song), I kept trying to convince her to listen to "Champagne Supernova" (last track, and I'm not an Oasis connaisseuse but that's my favorite Oasis song far and away), No Can Do. :)

I discovered Keane by finding the Coldplay page on a free internet radio, and randomly clicked on one of the related artists, and it happened to be Keane. So i played A Bad Dream, and from that moment I was hooked. I am really glad I did.

cyan_sky:

I discovered Keane by finding the Coldplay page on a free internet radio, and randomly clicked on one of the related artists, and it happened to be Keane. So i played A Bad Dream, and from that moment I was hooked. I am really glad I did.

 

 

Pandora / Last.fm?