It’s nothing new, but the United States kinda suck. And I don’t mean that in a racist, “Make America Great Again” sort of way. This country was founded on the backs and blood of many marginalized groups and, for some reason, it’s taken until the last few years for (some of) those with privilege to fully understand that. And Phillip Radiotes of Phil and The Osophers spells out these frustrations, which he describes as “a decline in American culture…sharpened but born long before us” in his retro-tinted single, “Third World American.”
With a rustic sound and visual a la Bob Dylan, Phil also paired his spritely lament with a black and white lyric video featuring a very nimble typewriter. The combination harkens back to classic, folk-rock Americana that used to celebrate American ideals when we were at the height of our power. Phil turns this template on its head as, in his own words, “a song that puts hope solely in marginalized peoples to lead the way to change.”
