"Danny Don't You Know" is a song by American
musical comedy
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...
duo Ninja Sex Party
Ninja Sex Party (often abbreviated as NSP) is an American musical comedy duo consisting of singer Dan Avidan and keyboardist Brian Wecht. They formed in 2009 in New York City and are currently based in Los Angeles. They are also known as two th ...
. It was released as a
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
along with a music video on June 25, 2018, and was later featured on their sixth
studio album ''
Cool Patrol
''Cool Patrol'' is the sixth studio album by American musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party, released on August 17, 2018. Following two cover albums, it marks their return to original and comedy-oriented material since Attitude City in 2015.
It is ...
'', released on August 17, 2018.
Written by band members
Dan Avidan
Leigh Daniel Avidan (born March 14, 1979), also known by his stage name Danny Sexbang, is an American musician, Internet personality, comedian, songwriter, actor and record producer. He is one half of the musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party with B ...
and
Brian Wecht
Brian Alexander Wecht, also known by his character name Ninja Brian, is an American musician, Internet personality and theoretical physicist. He is best known as a member of comedy musical duo Ninja Sex Party and video game-based comedy music t ...
as well as
producer Jim Roach, the song is a
power ballad
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romance (love), romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn m ...
based on Avidan's life, and tells the story of a young, troubled Danny Sexbang being visited by his older self, who convinces him of his worth and tells him of all the good things awaiting him in the future. The music video, which became the #1 trending video on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
when released, features
Finn Wolfhard
Finn Wolfhard (born December 23, 2002) is a Canadian actor and musician. He gained recognition for playing Mike Wheeler (Stranger Things character), Mike Wheeler in the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present). His film roles include ...
as the young Danny.
[
*
*] The band called "Danny Don't You Know" their "favorite-ever song", both musically and as a video.
Music video
The music video was released on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
on June 25, 2018.
Finn Wolfhard
Finn Wolfhard (born December 23, 2002) is a Canadian actor and musician. He gained recognition for playing Mike Wheeler (Stranger Things character), Mike Wheeler in the Netflix series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present). His film roles include ...
, a friend of Avidan since he had appeared on Avidan's
web show ''
Game Grumps
''Game Grumps'' is an American Let's Play web series hosted by Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan. Created in 2012 by co-hosts Hanson and Jon Jafari, the series centers around its hosts playing video games. After Jafari left the show in 2013 to focus o ...
'' in January 2017 and a fan of the band, was featured as a younger Danny Sexbang, with small appearances by
Arin Hanson
Arin Hanson (born January 6, 1987), also known by the pseudonym Egoraptor, is an American YouTuber, actor, rapper, and animator. He is well-known for his Flash cartoons, as well as being the co-founder and co-star of the popular YouTube Let's Pla ...
Nathan Sharp Markiplier
Mark Edward Fischbach ( ; born June 28, 1989), also known as Markiplier, is an American YouTuber. Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, he began his career in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is currently based in Los Angeles, California. In addition to uplo ...
,
Pamela Horton
Pamela may refer to:
*''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740
*Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname
*Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela"
*MSC Pamela, MSC ' ...
,
Tupper Ware Remix Party
TWRP (pronounced ''twerp''), formerly known as Tupper Ware Remix Party, is a Canadian rock band originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Initially founded in 2007, the band moved to Toronto in 2011 with a change in members and musical direction. T ...
,
Lasercorn,
Mica Burton
Michaela Jean Burton (born July 8, 1994) is an American actress, cosplayer and host. She is known for her contributions in the gaming space, having hosted for Achievement Hunter, The Know, the Overwatch League and voicing a character in '' 100 ...
and former ''Game Grumps'' editor Kevin Abernathy.
The video was produced by Shawn Wallace, with Bret Rea serving as on-set producer, Gordon Yould as
cinematographer, Traci Hays as
production designer
In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...
, and Nicole Case as
art director.
Reception
After its release, the music video became the #1 trending video on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
, and peaked at #24 on ''
Billboard''s
Rock Digital Song Sales
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
.
''
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...
'' praised the song and video, calling it a "power ballad life lesson triumph" and stating "Ninja Sex Party instruct all the nerds of the world to rock on... and it's the message we all need in 2018".
''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' stated about the song "Is it gimmicky? Certainly—as much as Ninja Sex Party’s knowingly jokey music, whose glammed-up-but-smoothed-out bombast comes off like
The Darkness if it were aping
Starship instead of
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
. But it’s a self-aware sort of gimmickry, one that takes digs at the band members’ own distant and current lack of cool ('No one cares that you’re 35!' Sexbang sings at one point), and maybe that shamelessness is enough to ameliorate its naked desperation."
''Pop Buzz'' stated about the video "The visual of Finn being encouraged by the older version of himself is actually pretty sweet once you get past all the spandex. Finn's character goes from being bullied in a classroom to rocking out on stage with his older self and it's all very inspiring, if we're being honest."
On September 17, 2018, "Danny Don't You Know" was performed live on ''
Conan'', with longtime touring band
Tupper Ware Remix Party
TWRP (pronounced ''twerp''), formerly known as Tupper Ware Remix Party, is a Canadian rock band originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Initially founded in 2007, the band moved to Toronto in 2011 with a change in members and musical direction. T ...
(TWRP) marking it as both bands' first live television debut.
Personnel
Ninja Sex Party
*
Dan Avidan
Leigh Daniel Avidan (born March 14, 1979), also known by his stage name Danny Sexbang, is an American musician, Internet personality, comedian, songwriter, actor and record producer. He is one half of the musical comedy duo Ninja Sex Party with B ...
– lead and backing vocals
*
Brian Wecht
Brian Alexander Wecht, also known by his character name Ninja Brian, is an American musician, Internet personality and theoretical physicist. He is best known as a member of comedy musical duo Ninja Sex Party and video game-based comedy music t ...
– keyboards, piano, synthesizer
; Production
* Jim Roach –
production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
* Eric Palmquist – additional engineering
* Thom Flowers –
mixing
* Randy Merrill –
mastering
Additional musicians
*
Tupper Ware Remix Party
TWRP (pronounced ''twerp''), formerly known as Tupper Ware Remix Party, is a Canadian rock band originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Initially founded in 2007, the band moved to Toronto in 2011 with a change in members and musical direction. T ...
–
backup band
A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such a ...
** Lord Phobos – guitar
** Commander Meouch – bass guitar
** Doctor Sung –
keytar, synthesizer, keyboards
** Havve Hogan – drums
*
Jim Roach – guitars
Charts
References
External links
*
{{authority control
2018 songs
2018 singles
Comedy songs
Science fiction music
Ninja Sex Party songs