Hot Mud accepts the sad truth that Nobody Listens To The Radio anymore in his new single and video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The final preview of the Ottawa indie pop-rocker’s imminent album Pink Cloud Pop, the acerbic, pointed, and tongue-in-cheek single views the state of contemporary music — a world where everything ever recorded is at everyone’s fingertips, but all music is devalued as a result — through a winking, twinkling, eye (set behind a pair of broken sunglasses):
“From the stream of consciousness
To the streaming services
To present its worthiness
To the rhythm of the mighty algorithm
Verse chorus verse
Music is a curse
The art has lost its worth
Music lost its worth.”
“Although the satirical message paints a grim picture for music makers, the song itself proves that the art is still very much alive, and as creative and exciting as ever,” says Muddy Watters, the enigma behind Hot Mud.
Soaked in a highbrow back beat and with just enough electronic atmosphere hovering over the song, Nobody Listens To The Radio soars before upping the ante in the beefy, infectious chorus. Think of some blend of Beck, a tamer but more thoughtful Andrew WK and Elvis Costello’s sneering Radio, Radio.
Nobody Listens To The Radio was written and performed almost entirely by Watters, with backing vocals provided by Laura Snedden. The song is the followup to Welcome To Humankind and includes quotes culled from Hot Mud‘s own dealings with fellow musicians from a radio program he produces entitled Canada’s Cool Culture.
Hot Mud began as the alter ego for Watters, but the alter ego began engulfing his life, leading him to battle demons and eventually end up in rehab. After a year of recovery, the artist took a horde of recording equipment, cameras and musical instruments into a small room at a “second-stage sober living” facility. Learning recording techniques by trial and error, Hot Mud eventually recorded songs that formed the debut album Rehab Rock, issued early in 2024, followed quickly by the EP Electric Gutter Club in May.
Watch the video for Nobody Listens To The Radio above, hear more from Hot Mud below, and tune into his website, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
