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  • Awesome Song Alert! “Credible Threats” by The One A.M. Radio

    According to the lyrics of his latest song, Hrishikesh Hirway, the main man behind indie pop band The One A.M. Radio, isn’t getting much sleep these days. But the chipperness (and consequent awesomeness) of his music has apparently increased in direct proportion to his insomnia. The group’s latest single “Credible Threats” is a modestly upbeat little ditty with adorably wordy verses and a playful, chutes and ladders melody, backed by pretty, ripply guitar parts and anchored by a buzzy retro synth drone. The cumulative effect is vintage Belle & Sebastian as filtered through Devo, the fatalism and urgency of the lyric just barely masked by Hirway’s softly witty, matter-of-fact, slightly detached, but ultimately vulnerable delivery. With its dorky bum-ba-dum breakdown and krautrocky instrumental coda (replete with singalong “oohs” over flying saucer synths), “Credible Threats” is just a funny sounding (but not necessarily funny funny) song about a guy who stays up at night cataloguing all the ways an unspecified “they” say he might die. That Hirway’s an emphatically mild-mannered American living in an hysterically angry America, with a “funny” name and what Sheriff Arpaio might deem a “terrorist complexion”, or at least “illegal” colored skin only underlines his probably-not-for-nothing, paranoia-tinged anxiety. I mean, here’s a guy who’s been watching himself some serious news lately. And then there’s this great couplet at the bridge:

    Tom Brokaw’s talking about a dirty bomb
    I got another call from my poor Mom.

    The song comes with this cute little video by director Andrew Huang. (Dig that choreography!) And James Cameron will be thrilled to know that Huang also did a 3-D version of the video which you can watch here. OR: Better yet, why not get yourself a copy of the 7″ single of the song directly from the band? (I just ordered mine.) In addition to the supercool colored vinyl, you’ll get downloads of the three mp3 tracks as well as the 3-D video, along with your very own set of 3-D glasses with which to watch it. All that for a mere $5.00 ($7.50 with shipping). But it’s only available in a limited edition of 500. So if you like it, you should put a credit card number on it. Like now.

    Here’s the 2-D version:

  • Separated at Birth? Recent Singles by Alicia Keys and OneRepublic

    Both Alicia Keys and singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder of the band OneRepublic have faced accusations that, well, if their songs were toilet paper, they could be labeled as containing at least 35% post-consumer recycled materials. This spring, Kelly Clarkson called Tedder out on the more-than-passing-resemblance between her 2009 hit single “Already Gone” and “Halo” by Beyonce, both Tedder originals. Meanwhile, our good friend Money Mike has noted here and elsewhere the Force MD’s impression Keys pulls off on “That’s How Strong My Love Is”, a highlight of her latest (and best yet) record The Element of Freedom. But in the case of a couple of recent singles, it seems that Tedder and Keys have independently arrived at roughly the same song, roughly simultaneously. Though Keys’s song was released and charted modestly as a single last year while OneRepublic’s is only just now starting to scale European charts and isn’t yet receiving any U.S. airplay, the albums the songs are taken from appeared within weeks of each other last fall. Neither artist could fairly accuse the other of even accidental plagiarism. Both are great songs, but it’s hard for me, when I’m singing along with one, not to sing the words and melodies of the other over it. I’d love to hear Alicia Keys co-fronting OneRepublic with Ryan Tedder on a mash-up of these songs.

    Alicia Keys “Doesn’t Mean Anything”

    OneRepublic “Marchin’ On”

  • He Wants You! He Wants You! He Wants You To Know He Still Exists!

    Like the National Biscuit Company and Kentucky Fried Chicken before them, the Young Men’s Christian Association, heretofore known as the YMCA, has adopted the popular abbreviation of their official corporate identity as their official official corporate identity. The group will now simply be known as the Y. This change, of course, has serious ramifications for disco lovers and wedding reception attendees around the world. If YMCA (the organization) is now to be known as just “The Y”, whatever will become of “Y.M.C.A.” (the Village People song). I mean, “It’s fun to stay at the Y”? What about those three remaining syllables in the chorus? What are we supposed to sing there? What dorky dance moves are we supposed to do now? And most importantly, what about the children?

    A mock-up of the revised cover art for the Village People’s 1978 hit single, produced prior to Victor Willis’s statement.

    Thank heavens for Victor “Hot Cop” Willis, the group’s original lead singer, who took time out of his busy day to ISSUE. A. STATEMENT. reassuring the confused masses that the name of the song will not change thereby averting pop-cultural panic on a grand scale. What’s that I hear? Oh, that must be the collective sigh of relief heaved by the executives at Casablanca Records knowing that they would not have to put the 1978 album Cruisin’ back in print in order to correct the title of the group’s most (in)famous hit single. (Or maybe it was the collective sigh of relief from the Y’s Board of Directors that after more than 30 years of trying to distance the organization and distinguish its mission from the homoerotic double-entendre offered up in the song’s lyrics, they’ve finally stumbled on a tactic that has a small chance of actually working.)

    In related news, The Escape Club have confirmed that they will not be changing the lyrics to their 1988 hit “Wild Wild West” in order to reflect the prevailing wisdom that we are no longer heading for the 90s or, in fact, living in the 80s. Also, a representative from the James Brown estate issued a statement earlier today that the title of the Godfather of Soul’s 1985 single “Living in America” will remain the same despite the fact that Brown is, y’know, dead.

    {Personal note to Mr. Willis: Dude! I love Village People, okay? Especially Victor Willis-fronted Village People. I mean that. In totally unironic ways. When people ask me what my Top 10 favorite albums of all time are, Macho Man is there right between Pet Sounds and Doolittle (and the 1977 self-titled debut is probably in my Top 20). And when people ask me who my Top 10 favorite frontmen are – dude, you’re there, right between Freddie Mercury and Prince. I mean that! Okay? So, speaking as fan: don’t do this. It makes your legacy look like a bigger joke than most people already regard it as. It hurts. Deal? Thanks, man.}