The Coup – Land of 7 Billion Dances
First track I heard off of the Coup’s new album Sorry To Bother You, their first in years, was “The Magic Clap,” and I had no idea what band I was listening to. I thought at first it was some new project from Go Team!, King Khan & the Shrines & Ian Svenonious, who else would match revolutionary lyrics with wildly catchy and up tempo soulful rocking sounds? I was pleasantly surprised to know that it was in fact one of my all-time favorite East Bay bands and that the entire new record more or less flowed in the same vein. “Land of 7 Billion Dances” proves that you don’t have to blunt your ideals in order to make saavy and danceable pop music. I’m not sure if Emma Goldman ever actually said, “I want no part of your revolution if I can’t dance to it,” but I’m sure she’d be swinging to this one.
As a bonus, here’s my vote for music video of the year, the very Oaklandish, “Magic Clap”: