Billy Bragg claims Kasabian are the modern day Spinal Tap

Billy Bragg has spoken out on Glastonbury headliners Kasabian, choosing to compare them to the subject of 1984 mockumentary Spinal Tap.

In an interview with the NME, Bragg discussed the subject of politics in music, choosing to touch upon Kasabian's handling of Google and the NSA on new single 'eez-eh'. To be specific the line which tackles the subject reads: "Horsemeat in the burgers, people commit murders, everyone’s on bugle, we’re being watched by Google".  

"If we're really honest with ourselves, we have to admit that urban music is where the politics are nowadays," Bragg told the magazine. "There are still political singer-songwriters, but no one you could compare to The Clash, or even the Manics. When it's all down to Kasabian, it's like...".

"They [Kasabian] have an important role to play," he continued. "They are there to remind us how true Spinal Tap was. I'm not a fan, but if you read their interviews as if it was dialogue from Spinal Tap, it's very entertaining. Especially the stuff Sergio [Pizzorno] says – he's [frontman] Nigel Tufnel. Particularly with the album title, '48:13'. I'm guessing that's how long the record is. Someone sent them a CD that just said 'Kasabian', and they didn't know what else to put on it, 'cos they hadn't bothered to think up any fucking titles, so they just put the time on and Serge said 'that is genius'." 

The band released 48:13 today (9 June) and are set to headline Glastonbury along with Metallica and Arcade Fire later this month.