To be online is to receive a daily barrage of major life updates from friends and strangers across various social media platforms. It doesn’t really matter to you whether these changes are being celebrated or lamented when it all comes down to how the news is interpreted by the little guy in your head who decides, say, whether you’re going to be jealous of a friend’s new gig or celebrate their success.
Musician and comedian Ember Knight probes this probably-unhealthy voice on their new single “Radio God,” a Burnham-esque piano ballad equally focused on engaging, nearly operatic instrumentation and comically insightful lyricism (in this case with a vocal swell that recalls Sadie Dupuis doing Creed). With a Little Prince–inspired video co-directed by Knight and Bobby McCoy spotlighting Knight’s Gondry-like DIY sensibilities familiar to their web series The Ember Knight Show (it was shot on the series’ set), “Radio God” feels fit for the nu-weird stylings and expert music-curation of Adult Swim.
“Imagination is bananas, man,” Knight says. “Have you ever heard a friend’s good news—on IG or whatever—and it just made you want to die? We all suffer this, obviously. I’m someone who needs to be The Hero all the time (and I like this about me—nothing can kill me, I own a really big sword, etc.). But I’ve learned that sometimes, the most heroic thing I can do is uplift my buddies. When my friend succeeds, it’s actually a win for me. When someone copies me, it’s a win for my idea. You either see a vase, or two dudes kissing: It’s impossible to be jealous of something I helped create.”
Applying this thought to the new single, Knight continues: “‘Radio God’ is a song about this choice. An anthem for little sickos like me who need a reminder that no one accomplishes anything alone. Our homies need us, and when we lift them up, we fill the sky with stars of our own design. We become the freaking DJ of creation, bruh. My point is: Your imagination is wild! With the exact same evidence, you can decide that someone’s success is your failure—or, that you’re a damn prophet. If you’re struggling to choose, cry to this song.”
Watch the video below—crying, again, is optional—and check out The Ember Knight Show here.
