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New Thai PM no old fogey, loves rock music

BANGKOK — Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is no old fogy when it comes to music, telling an audience that his favorite bands in 2008 were Oasis, Guns 'N Roses and The Killers.

Speaking at a dinner at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on Wednesday night, the Oxford-educated Abhisit said he really liked the comeback records of Oasis and Guns 'N Roses.

He added that there were a lot of new bands he liked, including the Artic Monkeys' side project The Last Shadow Puppets.

"When I look around the room, a lot of you were born too early," he said when asked about his top musical picks for 2008. "The Killers new album is good, and there were very good releases last year, comebacks from Oasis, Metallica, even Guns 'N Roses."

Unlike his staid predecessors, the 44-year-old has cultivated an image as polished and trendy.

Good looking and charming, he has a page and tens of thousands of friends on the Internet social networking site hi5, and brags about his love for the Newcastle United football club.

Abhisit, who became prime minister last month, lists French philosopher Albert Camus as one of his favorite authors, while his musical tastes range from heavy metal to British indie rock bands to Barry Manilow.

Critics have seized on Abhisit's Western tastes as an indication that he is out of touch with ordinary people, particularly the rural majority.

Abhisit's base of support includes Bangkok's middle class, the military generals who ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in an bloodless coup in 2006, and foreign investors who see him as a stabilizing force.

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