Kangaroo Court (song)

For the EP single Kangaroo Court, see Ritual (post-punk band).

"Kangaroo Court" is a song by American indie pop duo Capital Cities. The song was released as a digital download in the United States on March 27, 2012, and serves as the second single from the duo's debut album In a Tidal Wave of Mystery. It was mainly written by Sebu Simonian with the help of Ryan Merchant.

"Kangaroo Court"
Single by Capital Cities
from the album In a Tidal Wave of Mystery
Released	March 27, 2012 (2012-03-27)
Recorded	2011
Genre	Synth-pop indie pop
Length	3:43
Label	Lazy Hooks Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Ryan Merchant Sebu Simonian
Producer(s)	Ryan Merchant Sebu Simonian
Capital Cities singles chronology
"Safe and Sound" (2011) "Kangaroo Court" (2012) "I Sold My Bed, But Not My Stereo" (2013)

Music video

Capital Cities members Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian co-directed the music video with Carlos Lopez Estrada. The video was released on YouTube on September 5, 2013.^[1] The video features appearances from Darren Criss, Shannon Woodward, and Channing Holmes. The story tells of a zebra (Merchant), who has been forbidden from a club called The Kangaroo Court. Attempting entry disguised as a horse, he falls for a lapdog (Woodward). Her date that night, a bulldog (Criss), becomes jealous and send his henchmen to reveal the zebra for who he actually is. The zebra is placed under arrest for his crime and sent to court to face a kangaroo judge (Holmes). He is found guilty immediately and is executed, and later eaten, by a lion (Simonian).

A lyric video was published on YouTube^[2] on October 29, 2013.

An extended cut of the video was released in 2022.^[3]

Track listing

• Digital download (single)^[4]

1. "Kangaroo Court" – 3:43

• Digital download (EP) 2014^[5] Lion and Zebra sentence on cover image

1. "Kangaroo Court" (radio edit) – 3:22
2. "Kangaroo Court" (Robert DeLong remix) – 2:57
3. "Stayin' Alive" – 4:04
4. "One Minute More"* – 3:38
5. "Kangaroo Court" (Shook remix) – 4:10
6. "Kangaroo Court" (Forever Kid remix) – 4:42

• Digital download (EP) 2012^[6] Judge Kangaroo and his hammer on cover image

1. "Kangaroo Court" – 3:43
2. "Kangaroo Court" (Shook Remix) – 4:09
3. "New Town Crier" original song – 3:22
4. "New Town Crier" (Napoleon Remix) – 3:31

Notes

• "One Minute More" is omitted from the April 1, 2014 re-issue of the digital EP.^[7][8]

Remixes

In October 2013, Capital Cities, Fitz and the Tantrums, and DJ Earworm released a mash-up song entitled "Kangaroo League", which combined "Kangaroo Court" with Capital Cities' previous single "Safe and Sound" and Fitz and the Tantrums' "Out of My League", to promote the two groups' joint "Bright Futures" tour.^[9]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Kangaroo Court"

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Germany (GfK)[10]	81
Mexico Airplay (Billboard)[11]	41
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[12]	50

Certifications

Certifications for "Kangaroo Court"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[13]	Gold	30,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates for "Kangaroo Court"

Region	Date	Format	Label
United States[4][14]	March 27, 2012	Digital download	EMI
	August 6, 2013	Modern rock radio	Lazy Hooks, Capitol Records
Canada[5]	December 17, 2013	Digital download (EP)	Capitol Records
Italy[15]	January 24, 2014	Contemporary hit radio
Canada[7]	April 1, 2014	Digital download (EP)
United States[8]