Premiere : Chris Korda returns with her provocative club EP ‘Not My Problem, I’ll Be Dead’
Chris Korda
returns with her provocative EP, “Not My Problem, I’ll Be Dead,” a
brilliant counterpart to her acclaimed 2020 release, “Apologize to the
Future.”
“Not My Problem, I’ll Be Dead” delves into the mindset of present generations, shedding light on their self-centered pursuits through Chris Korda’s unique
artistic vision. It is a testament to Korda’s remarkable talent,
brimming with biting satire, insightful commentary, and
dancefloor-friendly tracks. Complex polymeters and unique time
signatures further enrich the experience, showcasing Korda’s exceptional
skill.
Chris Korda writes…
I wrote the “Not My Problem, I’ll Be Dead”
EP over a period of nine months, starting with “Have a Good One” in
January 2022. It gradually dawned on me that I was writing the opposite
of my 2020 album “Apologize to the Future.” I wanted to tell the other
side of that album’s story, the side I know best, having lived it.
“Apologize to the Future” starts
from the question “how will future generations regard us?” and it’s
told from the point of view of the victims, meaning young people, and
especially people who haven’t been born yet. Spoiler alert: They will
bitterly resent us for causing the climate catastrophe and condemning
them to Hell on Earth. Luckily our graves will be too far underwater to
spit on.
In contrast, “Not My Problem, I’ll Be
Dead” starts from the question “how do present generations regard the
future?” and it’s told from the point of view of the perpetrators. Yes,
that means us. Another spoiler: Future generations are screwed, because
we’re much too busy partying and shopping and updating our profiles to
worry about them. The planet’s in trouble but we’re having a lovely
time!
“Baby Batter Bingo” is influenced by the writings of French economist Thomas Piketty, and
I hope he gets to hear it. Its protagonist brags about winning the
genetic lottery and consuming champagne and caviar by the boatload in a
new Gilded Age. For the uninitiated, “baby batter” is American slang for
semen. “There’s no such thing as the common good” is associated with
Ayn Rand, “Who’s gonna stop me?” is from self-obsessed Serbian artist
Marina Abramović, and “The little people” refers to Leona Helmsley, who
infamously said “Only the little people pay taxes” before being sent to
prison for tax evasion.
“We played hardball, and you lost” is what
the police said to Rodney King after giving him the savage beating that
sparked the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The chorus “I’m tired of winning”
mocks Donald Trump‘s 2016 campaign promise “We’re going to win so much,
you may even get tired of winning.” The neoliberal slogan “A rising tide
lifts all boats” is juxtaposed with “Cake gonna slide down their
throats,” echoing the apocryphal “Let them eat cake” that epitomized
aristocratic arrogance in pre-revolutionary France.
The title track was inspired by my father,
who has ended many discussions of climate change with the words “not my
problem, I’ll be dead.” Last Christmas I gave him a T-shirt emblazoned
with King Louis XV’s timeless quote “Après moi, le deluge” and I’m sure
he wears it proudly.
“Have a Good One” is a caricature of
smugness and entitlement. It also lampoons astrology, which I despise
because it’s disempowering and based on a cosmology that was proved
false in the early 16th century. The refrain “The heart wants what it
wants” is associated with Woody Allen’s paraphilia, but was originally
penned by Emily Dickinson.
I wrote “Awesome on Mars” in a taxi on the
way from Vienna airport to a hotel. Such is DJ life. The song was
inspired by Elon Musk’s enthusiasm for colonizing Mars. He was the
world’s richest person at the time, and since the rich love ostentatious
displays of wealth, I pictured him replicating Las Vegas on Mars,
complete with a miniature Eiffel Tower. Of course there’d be a statue of
him in the spaceport. “Cruise the strip in electric hover cars”
satirizes both technological utopianism and Musk’s car company.
The “Not My Problem, I’ll Be Dead” EP seethes with brutal parody and has
been compared to the work of 16th-century French iconoclast François
Rabelais. Like “Apologize to the Future” it’s vocal-heavy and mostly in
rhyme, but it’s more up-tempo and dancefloor friendly. Though all tracks
are in complex polymeter as usual, they have predominant time
signatures, with “Baby Batter Bingo” in 4/4 and 3/4, “Not My Problem,
I’ll Be Dead” in 17/4, “Have a Good One” in 5/4, and “Awesome on Mars”
in 35/4.
artist Chris Korda title Not My Problem, I’ll Be Dead label YYK no label date 15th April 2023 format digital | vinyl
Tracklist: A1. Chris Korda – Baby Batter Bingo A2. Chris Korda – Not My Problem, I’ll Be Dead B1. Chris Korda – Have A Good One B2. Chris Korda – Awesome On Mars
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