Photo courtesy of the artist
Some things like equal rights and freedom of the press are definitely worth fighting for. Other things like McRibs only being offered for a limited time probably don't require as much moral outrage. Okay, bad example—that's absolutely worth fighting for. "No One Wants To Hear A Protest Song" by The Low Joy Ceiling takes aim at the pointless outrage that everyone confronts from time to time. It's the first single off their forthcoming Crooked Bangs EP, available in April this year. The Regina-based band consists of Aaron Karpinka (vocals and guitar), Jeff Romanyk (drums), Brennan Ross (guitar and vocals), and Michael Dawson (bass). This supergroup mix is made up of members from Karpinka Brothers, Rah Rah, and the so-called "unluckiest band in the world" Library Voices.Noisey spoke with Michael Dawson and Aaron Karpinka of The Low Joy Ceiling about the "No One Wants To Hear A Protest Song" and the delightful dance moves featured in the video. Read the interview and watch the video below:Noisey: The Low Joy Ceiling. What does that even mean?
Michael Dawson: The truth is the phrase come the television program Happyish that I really enjoyed. I think it suits the general demeanor of the songs.
So where is your "joy ceiling" at? Michael: About ankle height
Aaron Karpinka: The glass is half full. Of scotch.
Michael: Aaron is one of the most positive and generous people I've ever met, so it's been a lot of fun to collaborate on songs that sarcastic.
Aaron: Michael writes the lyrics for all of these songs and that is how most of them start out. I think that touched on an experience he had at a concert.
Michael: It was a reaction to artists getting wrongfully skewered online. The world communicates through such reactionary mediums and people are quick to become morally outraged. It comes from memories of being at concerts and having artists get heckled for speaking their mind about timely matters.Who is this lovely man dancing in the music video?
Michael: That's Aaron! Those are his moves. We didn't use any CGI.
Aaron: It was a bad day to wear blundstones. My dress shoes are far better for sliding. A lot of my moves are just James Bond strafes I learned from Golden Eye.
Michael: I call that move the Low Joy Shuffle.What can we expect for the forthcoming Crooked Bangs EP?
Michael: I think "No One Wants To Hear A Protest Song" is a well suited introduction. All of the songs are reactionary without taking themselves too seriously. The songs are both noisy and poppy. We aren't trying to save rock and roll, but we're trying to resist the urge to kick it while it's down.Devin Pacholik likes McRibs. Follow him on Twitter.
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Michael Dawson: The truth is the phrase come the television program Happyish that I really enjoyed. I think it suits the general demeanor of the songs.
So where is your "joy ceiling" at? Michael: About ankle height
Aaron Karpinka: The glass is half full. Of scotch.
Michael: Aaron is one of the most positive and generous people I've ever met, so it's been a lot of fun to collaborate on songs that sarcastic.
Aaron: Michael writes the lyrics for all of these songs and that is how most of them start out. I think that touched on an experience he had at a concert.
Michael: It was a reaction to artists getting wrongfully skewered online. The world communicates through such reactionary mediums and people are quick to become morally outraged. It comes from memories of being at concerts and having artists get heckled for speaking their mind about timely matters.Who is this lovely man dancing in the music video?
Michael: That's Aaron! Those are his moves. We didn't use any CGI.
Aaron: It was a bad day to wear blundstones. My dress shoes are far better for sliding. A lot of my moves are just James Bond strafes I learned from Golden Eye.
Michael: I call that move the Low Joy Shuffle.What can we expect for the forthcoming Crooked Bangs EP?
Michael: I think "No One Wants To Hear A Protest Song" is a well suited introduction. All of the songs are reactionary without taking themselves too seriously. The songs are both noisy and poppy. We aren't trying to save rock and roll, but we're trying to resist the urge to kick it while it's down.Devin Pacholik likes McRibs. Follow him on Twitter.