Keep It Simple (Delays Song)
Encyclopedia
Keep It Simple is the second single released from Delays
' third studio album, Everything's the Rush
. Like the previous single it was available for pre-order, came in three formats and was thus inegelible for UK chart entry. It was released on 11 August 2008. The B-side of the single is a cover version
of Neil Diamond
's "Cherry Cherry".
for the song stars Ewen Macintosh ("Keith" from the UK comedy series The Office
) as an overweight man jogging through North-East London
, the video cuts between him jogging and the band playing the song in a front yard. After a while the man walks into a fast food outlet and orders a large unhealthy meal and attempts to jog and eat at the same time, only to result in him having a heart attack and dying in the middle of the road.
His spirit rises to heaven where angels shower him in fast food but after a while the angels turn into demons and begin hassling him. His spirit returns to his body and he wakes up with the fast food lying next to him. He takes a bite of the burger and walks off, much to the disapproval of the onlooking band.
In the making of the Keep It Simple video, keyboardist Aaron described the heaven/hell part as signifying that fast food is quite literally heaven and hell for you.
thought that "Keep it Simple", along with two other tracks from the album sounded "like Pavlovian biscuits of phony populism". Clash
described it as an "epic heartbreak anthem" and "a melancholic salute to 60s pop in a way that only Delays can pull off".
Delays
Delays are an English indie band formed in Southampton, consisting of brothers Greg and Aaron Gilbert, Colin Fox and Rowly. The band's sound combines guitar and synths and features Greg Gilbert's distinctive falsetto lead vocals...
' third studio album, Everything's the Rush
Everything's the Rush
Everything's the Rush is the third studio album by British indie band Delays. It was released on 5 May, 2008 in the United Kingdom.-Track listing:All tracks by G.Gilbert/A.Gilbert, except where noted.#"Girl's On Fire" - 4:26#"Hooray" - 3:30...
. Like the previous single it was available for pre-order, came in three formats and was thus inegelible for UK chart entry. It was released on 11 August 2008. The B-side of the single is a cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
's "Cherry Cherry".
Music video
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song stars Ewen Macintosh ("Keith" from the UK comedy series The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
) as an overweight man jogging through North-East London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the video cuts between him jogging and the band playing the song in a front yard. After a while the man walks into a fast food outlet and orders a large unhealthy meal and attempts to jog and eat at the same time, only to result in him having a heart attack and dying in the middle of the road.
His spirit rises to heaven where angels shower him in fast food but after a while the angels turn into demons and begin hassling him. His spirit returns to his body and he wakes up with the fast food lying next to him. He takes a bite of the burger and walks off, much to the disapproval of the onlooking band.
In the making of the Keep It Simple video, keyboardist Aaron described the heaven/hell part as signifying that fast food is quite literally heaven and hell for you.
Critical reception
An indieLondon review of the album stated that "Keep it Simple" "bounces shimmering piano hooks off crunching riffs and more strings to create another giddy treat." Ian Cohen of Pitchfork MediaPitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
thought that "Keep it Simple", along with two other tracks from the album sounded "like Pavlovian biscuits of phony populism". Clash
Clash (magazine)
Clash is a popular music and fashion magazine based in the United Kingdom. Its magazine title is published 12 times a year. It has a circulation of around 40,000....
described it as an "epic heartbreak anthem" and "a melancholic salute to 60s pop in a way that only Delays can pull off".