"A Town Called Hypocrisy" is the second single taken from ''
Liberation Transmission
''Liberation Transmission'' is the third studio album by Welsh rock band Lostprophets, released on 26 June 2006 by Visible Noise.
Recording
This is the first Lostprophets album recorded without original drummer Mike Chiplin. Josh Freese drummed ...
'', the third studio album by the Welsh
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
Lostprophets
Lostprophets (stylised as lostprophets) were a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997 by singer and lyricist Ian Watkins and guitarist Lee Gaze. The band was founded after their former band Fleshbind broke up. They later recruited Mike ...
.
The single was released on 11 September 2006 in the United Kingdom. It peaked at No. 23 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
making it the band's seventh UK Top 40 single. It spent only 2 weeks in the Top 40.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...
was made available on
Kerrang! TV
Kerrang! TV is a British music television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation, with permission to use the ''Kerrang!'' brand from Bauer. It is currently the only music channel in the United Kingdom that is dedicated to rock musi ...
from the 11 August 2006. It depicts frontman
Ian Watkins as a children's television presenter on a fictional
television show
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...
called ''Town Time'' and is arguably a response to the accusations of the band's
metrosexual
''Metrosexual'' is a portmanteau of '' metropolitan'' and ''sexual'' coined in 1994, describing a man of ambiguous sexuality, (especially one living in an urban, post-industrial, capitalist culture) who is especially meticulous about his groomin ...
ity. The video also shows the juxtaposition of attitudes in the band between when they appear during transmission and when they are shown behind the scenes of ''Town Time''. During transmission, it shows the other band members — bar Watkins — dressed as the following (mainly paying homage to the
Village People
Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the release ...
): a toy soldier, a bumbling policeman, a doctor, a builder and a construction worker.
The video, although seemingly based around the things infant children watch (therefore making it seem quite innocent) is filled with sexual references, both very subtle and very obvious. An example of the more subtle references is at the beginning when we see Tender Tim (Watkins) and Mayor Mary ending the 5000th episode of ''Town Time''. Tim replies to Mary's question, "What have we learnt today, Tim?"and Tim replies: "We've learnt about sharing, saying 'please' and oral
e pauses here, before Mary nudges himhygiene."
An example of the more obvious references is the large amounts of drinking and scantily clad women (dressed in all sorts of outfits, ranging from animals to a tooth) performing "kinky," yet childlike, activities on the men in the group behind the scenes.
In several frames of the video, it also paid homage to 'Silhouette Blends', the series of spelling clips by
The Electric Company
''The Electric Company'' is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now known as Sesame Workshop). It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The ...
. It is the first video by the band not to feature
skaters
Skater may refer to:
Sports
*Someone who practices skateboarding
*Someone who practices roller skating
*Someone who practices inline skating
* Someone who practices ice skating
*An ice hockey player who is not a goaltender
*Skater (subculture), ...
.
Track listing
Personnel
Musicians
*
Ian Watkins –
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
*
Jamie Oliver
James Trevor Oliver MBE OSI (born 27 May 1975) is an English chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. He is known for his casual approach to cuisine, which has led him to front numerous television shows and open many restaurants.
Oliver reache ...
–
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
;
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
;
samples;
vocals
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
* Lee Gaze –
lead guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
*
Mike Lewis –
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...
* Stuart Richardson –
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
*
Josh Freese
Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese.
He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having forme ...
–
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
;
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
*
Ilan Rubin
Ilan Rubin (born July 7, 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is known primarily for playing drums with bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, and Angels & Airwaves. In 2008 he formed The New Regime, in which he sings and ...
– drums; percussion
Release history
Chart positions
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Town Called Hypocrisy
Lostprophets songs
2006 singles
Music videos directed by Brett Simon
Song recordings produced by Bob Rock
2006 songs
Columbia Records singles