Kids (PUP song)

"Kids" is a song by Canadian punk rock band PUP, released on January 15, 2019 as the lead single from the group's third studio album, Morbid Stuff (2019).[1] The band performed the song on Late Night with Seth Meyers in March 2019.[2] They also did a Christmas Kids version of the song for CBC kids that premiered on December 10th, 2019.[3]

"Kids"
Album cover art: A boy and a girl with their backs to us look at an old-fashioned TV set which is showing a mushroom cloud. Set on a pastel green background with the text "PUP - Kids" at the bottom in a hand-drawn squiggly font.
Single by PUP
from the album Morbid Stuff
ReleasedJanuary 15, 2019
Genre
Length3:30
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Stefan Babcock
  • Nestor Chumak
  • Zack Mykula
  • Steve Sladkowski
Producer(s)Dave Schiffman
PUP singles chronology
"Old Wounds"
(2017)		 "Kids"
(2019)		 "Free at Last"
(2019)
Music video
"Kids" on YouTube

Composition and release

PUP recorded their third studio album, Morbid Stuff, in May 2018 at Union Sound Company in Toronto. The album was produced by Dave Schiffman, who previously worked with the band on The Dream Is Over (2016) and PUP (2013), and engineered by Darren McGill.[4] The band announced the details of their upcoming album in a zine, which included a 7" flexi disc of "Kids."[5] The single was also released digitally on January 15, 2019 via Rise Records and Little Dipper.[6]

"Kids" is written in the key of A-flat major, at a tempo of 157 beats per minute.[7] In a press release accompanying the song, PUP lead singer Stefan Babcock explained that "Kids" is "about what happens when you stumble across the only other person on the face of this godless, desolate planet that thinks everything is as twisted and as fucked up as you do."[8] In an interview with Rolling Stone, Babcock called "Kids" "the first love song I've ever written," and described it as being a song about "how fucking dogshit the world is and how [his girlfriend] has made it slightly less dogshitty."[9]

Release and reception

At the end of the year, Amazon Music placed "Kids" on their "Best Songs of 2019" playlist.[10]

Live performances

The band made their network television debut performing the song on Late Night with Seth Meyers in March 2019.[11][12] Lead guitarist Steve Sadlowski said that Myers requested "Kids" be the song performed on his show, saying he "was rocking out at his desk while we played."[13]

On January 21, 2021, the band played "Kids," along with "Rot," "Reservoir," and "Scorpion Hill," as part of NPR Music's Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts series. The band played from Babcock's living room, with a carefully-placed piñata on a coffee table, and a handmade sign reading "Ceci n'est pas une tiny desk."[14]

Music video

The song's music video was released on January 30, 2019, and was directed by Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux. The clip takes place in the year 2059, and was described by Althea Legaspi of Rolling Stone as "bleak". "Our goal was to sorta set viewers up for this happy feel-good ending, and then at the last minute, crush them with darkness," Babcock explained.[15]

Stereogum placed "Kids" at #18 in its list of the "20 Best Music Videos of 2019." In his summary, reviewer Tom Breihan said, "I can't even imagine how this got made, but I'm glad it did."[16]

References
  1. Minsker, Evan (January 15, 2019). "PUP Announce New Album and Tour, Share New Song "Kids": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  2. Bloom, Madison (March 21, 2019). "Watch PUP Perform "Kids" on "Seth Meyers"". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  3. "PUP - (Christmas) Kids". YouTube. December 10, 2019. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  4. Murphy, Sarah (May 24, 2018). "PUP Are Done Recording Their Next Album". Exclaim!. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  5. Helman, Peter (January 12, 2019). "PUP Announce New Album With Zine Mailed To Fans". Stereogum. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  6. Sacher, Andrew (January 15, 2019). "PUP announce new album 'Morbid Stuff' & tour, share "Kids"". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  7. "Key & BPM for Kids by PUP". Tunebat. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  8. Kaye, Ben (January 15, 2019). "PUP announce new album, Morbid Stuff, share "Kids": Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  9. Grow, Kory (April 6, 2019). "PUP on the Things That Make Life 'Slightly Less' Terrible". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  10. "Best Songs of 2019". Amazon Music. Amazon. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  11. Ozzi, Dan (April 3, 2019). "At The Top of the Rock and the End of the World with PUP". Noisey. VICE. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  12. Bloom, Madison (March 21, 2019). "Watch PUP Perform "Kids" on "Seth Meyers"". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  13. Dunn, Matthew (April 30, 2019). "In the Doghouse: A Conversation with Pop Punk Icons PUP". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  14. McKenna, Lyndsey (January 21, 2021). "PUP: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert". NPR. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  15. Legaspi, Althea (March 21, 2019). "Watch Pup Envision Their Future Selves in New 'Kids' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  16. Breihan, Tom (December 5, 2019). "The 20 Best Music Videos of 2019". Stereogum. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
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