When the song first debuted a few months ago, I remember thinking it was a bit overwhelming. I didn’t quite understand the complexity of the masterpiece I was witnessing. Of course, it was Zeds Dead, and I instantly loved it; but I couldn’t quite figure out why… It wasn’t until a month or so later on January 25th, when the planets aligned, that I looked at the track through a different lens and really absorbed the immaculate calling card of my generation that is ” Channel Flipping.”
As a mid-thirties millennial man myself, the song spoke to me in perfect wonderment. The multitude of embedded culture, cinema, television, and, of course, music overtook my poor, feeble mind. How can these two Canadian gentlemen be so tapped into my childhood memories? Living two very distant lives, this single moment perfectly encapsulates my young, scattered brain. The memories come pouring in as the song takes the listener on a complex lyrical journey through time, exploring the complexities of adulthood and the child-like nature of dreaming big.
The Generational Journey
The Korgis’ 1980 hit “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” serves as the foundation for the musical layers. Kicking off the track by sampling the famous quote from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, I could almost feel the worn-out sheath of the VHS case between my fingers as I shoved it in and out of the VCR as a small child. Steering you through a journey of ’80s and ’90s memories, it felt like we grew up together. It’s the delicate things that really resonate with me in this song, like the soft humming of my mom’s favorite band, Queen, or the brief excerpts from the Beach Boys and the Everly Brothers’ “Dream” that are almost too much.
As a suburbanite obsessed with music and the evolving nature of hip-hop, I raced home from school each day to catch Yo! MTV Raps or Headbangers Ball. It’s almost scary how much the song resonated with me. The distant memories of clunking through the channels on my wooden brown box TV, searching for Saturday morning cartoons, and driving to my grandmother’s house to listen to my mom’s old vinyl records on their record player. The journey through the decades feels almost nauseating. Being born in the late ’80s, I fully understand their plight. I too was that snot-nosed kid in the ’90s, listening to music I wasn’t supposed to while trying to navigate middle school and then high school, all in an effort to find myself by the 2000s. Then one day, emerging as this so called adult.
Its almost too much
I totally lost it when the “Everybody Dance Now” sample came on. My brother Mark used to have the Jock Jams CD filled with nothing but popular 90’s dance music hits. It’s wild how this Canadian duo can instantly transport me back to the days of boom boxes and CDs with just a 3 second clip. Then they hit me with “Today” by The Smashing Pumpkins and my grunge roots exploded. GET OUT OF MY BRAIN, ZEDS DEAD! Of course, they would sneak in The Beatles with “Yesterday.” Jesus Christ, did they know my parents or what? The raspy voice of Jules from The Strokes made its way in there as well. A quite smirk from the pimply teenager inside of me emerged for just a split second. They really do know me….
Elton and Star Wars… no, they couldn’t possibly tie those two together with Timbaland. Yes, yes, they did very much so. When they hit me with the “We don’t need no education” part from Pink Floyd’s The Wall, I almost shut the song off. Immaculately blending it together with Kendrick Lamar’s “Bitch, don’t kill my vibe” was enough. How could this one single track perfectly encapsulate my entire generation/upbringing in just a 4 minute and 31 second time period? They even managed to sneak The Simpsons in there. I thought it would have been a Disco Stu excerpt, but their clip fit perfectly with the complex message of the lyrics: the strange entanglement of growing up while still remaining grounded and dreaming big, just as we once did as children…
Just as elegantly as the song opens, it closes in the exact same way, featuring a famous scene from the Twilight Zone episode “Time Enough at Last.” With so many samples throughout the track that I lost count, these thousand words or so don’t seem to do this song justice. Only highlighting the ones that really resonated with me from my childhood. I’m sure every listener has their own opinion on which sample speaks to them the most. The only way to find out is by typing “Channel Flipping” into the YouTube search bar and experiencing the national treasure for yourself.
We’re just getting warmed up
Being the first official single release from Zeds Dead’s upcoming album, “Return to the Spectrum of Intergalactic Happiness,” “Channel Flipping” has gained over 1 million views on YouTube alone in just two short months. Showcasing the intricacy of their craftsmanship as artists, Zeds Dead is just getting warmed up with this track and their upcoming tour. Not even close to peaking musically, this song alone demonstrates why they are considered one of the GOAT’s of electronic dance music and have no plans of slowing down anytime soon. If you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing the boys perform, I suggest you call in sick, pull out your credit card and rearrange that schedule of yours because the boys are back in town!
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