There's a kind of an arrogance in thinking that you can dictate who you can write your songs for," explained Foals' Yannis Phillippakis in a recent interview with Radio.com. The British rockers have recently found themselves playing to both large and very diverse audiences as a result of their sophomore album Holy Fire, released back in February.

"I do think it's a good thing having a more diverse crowd," Phillippakis continued. "Since the early days when we started out we only played to cool kids at house parties that were in the know. And it's nice to have transcended that kind of clique or that niche. I like the idea that our songs can mean an equal amount to someone in Indonesia or some guy in the North of England who are in very different conditions. I like that it can transcend those types of boundaries."

This is an issue with any band that equates cool factor with audience size. The bigger the audience, the less cool the band must be. And when you place a high value on remaining cool, it's a battle that requires real introspection.