A Town Called Hypocrisy
Encyclopedia
"A Town Called Hypocrisy" is the second single taken from Liberation Transmission
, the third album by the Welsh
alternative rock
band Lostprophets
.
The single was released on 11 September 2006 in the United Kingdom. It reached #23 in the UK Singles Chart
, which could be viewed as disappointing compared with previous singles — although this did mark the band's seventh UK Top 40 single. It spent only 2 weeks in the top 40.
The song is also played at Fulham Football Club as the players emerge from the tunnel at the start of the 2nd half.
from the 11 August 2006. It depicts frontman Ian Watkins as a children's television presenter on a fictional television program
called Town Time and is arguably a response to the accusations of the band's metrosexual
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: a toy soldier, a bumbling policeman, a doctor, a builder and a street-goer.
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 [he pauses here, before Mary nudges him] hygiene."
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.
Liberation Transmission
Liberation Transmission is the third studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Lostprophets. The album was released in June 2006 and became the first Lostprophets album to enter the UK album chart at number one . The album peaked at number thirty three on the Billboard 200 album chart with 27,000...
, the third album by the Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Lostprophets
Lostprophets
Lostprophets is a Welsh rock band from Pontypridd, formed in 1997. Founded by vocalist Ian Watkins, bassist Mike Lewis, drummer Mike Chiplin and guitarist Lee Gaze, they were originally a side-project to hardcore punk band Public Disturbance. To date, Lostprophets have released four studio...
.
The single was released on 11 September 2006 in the United Kingdom. It reached #23 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, which could be viewed as disappointing compared with previous singles — although this did mark the band's seventh UK Top 40 single. It spent only 2 weeks in the top 40.
The song is also played at Fulham Football Club as the players emerge from the tunnel at the start of the 2nd half.
Music video
The video was made available on Kerrang! TVKerrang! TV
Kerrang! TV is a digital television station owned by Box Television, which is loosely connected to the magazine, Kerrang!. As of 2005, all of its programme content is music videos, the majority of which is open scheduled, for text requests from their playlist....
from the 11 August 2006. It depicts frontman Ian Watkins as a children's television presenter on a fictional television program
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
called Town Time and is arguably a response to the accusations of the band's metrosexual
Metrosexual
Metrosexual is a neologism derived from metropolitan and heterosexual coined in 1994 describing a man who spends a lot of time and money on shopping for his appearance...
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: a toy soldier, a bumbling policeman, a doctor, a builder and a street-goer.
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 [he pauses here, before Mary nudges him] hygiene."
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.
Track listing
Personnel
- Ian Watkins – lead vocals
- Lee Gaze – lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
- Mike Lewis – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Stuart Richardson – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Jamie Oliver – synth, turntables, samplesSampling (music)In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
, backing vocals - Josh FreeseJosh FreeseJosh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Release history
| Country | Date |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
11 September 2006 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
23 |
| European Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,... |
71 | |