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"Wristband" is a song by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the first single from his album Stranger to Stranger (2016), released on Concord Records.
| "Wristband" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Paul Simon | ||||
| from the album Stranger to Stranger | ||||
| Released | April 7, 2016 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:17 | |||
| Label | Concord | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
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| Paul Simon singles chronology | ||||
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Simon collaborates with the Italian electronic dance music artist Clap! Clap! on "Wristband". Simon was introduced to him in 2015 by his son Adrian, who was a fan of his work[clarification needed]. "Wristband" tells a narrative about a rock musician unable to gain entry into his own concert because he lacks the wristband required.[1] The singer tries to persuade the security guard to let him in, and cannot even gain admittance to the backstage without the right pass. The song eventually transitions into a larger symbol of outrage of underprivileged people "whose anger is a shorthand / For you'll never get a wristband." Peter Ames Carlin writes, "It is an archetypal Paul Simon move: bridging the personal and the social, the silly with the serious, the frivolous and the absolutely essential."[2] "It's not a true story," said Simon. "But I know plenty of people with this story and there have been times where I've been stopped backstage and asked to [show] a pass."[1]
The song is composed in the key of E♭ major (Mixolydian mode), with Paul Simon's vocal range spanning from E♭4 to E♭5, according to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing.[3]
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Simon premiered the song on the National Public Radio series Live from Here with Chris Thile on February 6, 2016.[4] "Wristband", as the first single from Stranger to Stranger, was released online on April 7, 2016.[5] The song peaked at #14 on the Adult Alternative Songs chart on May 21.[6] Simon performed the song on Austin City Limits in September, a performance that National Public Radio praised as a "playfully infectious version of the song."[7] Stereogum described the song as "a rhythmic groove that finds Simon spinning a tale of getting locked out of a venue while taking a smoke break into a meditation on the perpetuation of social inequality."[8]
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- Paul Simon – lead and backing vocals
- Keith Montie – backing vocals
- Carlos Henrique – bass
- Clap! Clap! – electronic drums, synthesizer, samples
- Jamey Haddad – handclaps, percussion
- Nino de los Reyes – handclaps, percussion
- Oscar de los Reyes – handclaps, percussion
- Sergio Martínez – handclaps, percussion
- Andy Snitzer – saxophone, backing vocals
- C.J. Camerieri – trumpet
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