Wristband (song)

"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.

Background and composition

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]

Release and reception

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]

Personnel

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

References

^ ^a ^b Andy Greene (April 7, 2016). "Inside Paul Simon's Genre-Bending New Album Stranger to Stranger". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
^ Carlin 2016, p. 371.
^ "Digital Sheet Music – Paul Simon – Wristband". Musicnotes.com. Sony/ATV Music Publishing. 11 September 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
^ "Wristband – Paul Simon: Live from Here with Chris Thile". National Public Radio. February 6, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
^ Colin Stutz (April 7, 2016). "Paul Simon Announces New Album 'Stranger to Stranger;' Hear First Single, 'Wristband'". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
^ "Paul Simon Wristband Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
^ Hilton, Robin (September 29, 2016). "Watch Paul Simon's Ageless And Animated Performance Of 'Wristband'". National Public Radio. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
^ Helman, Peter (7 April 2016). "Paul Simon – 'Wristband'". Stereogum. Retrieved June 6, 2018.

Bibliography

Carlin, Peter Ames (2016). Homeward Bound: The Life of Paul Simon. Henry Holt and Co. ISBN 978-1-627-79034-5.^{[permanent dead link]}

External links

"Wristband" – The Paul Simon Official Site
Songfacts page

v t e Paul Simon songs
Discography
The Paul Simon Songbook	"I Am a Rock" "Leaves That Are Green" "April Come She Will" "The Sound of Silence" "A Simple Desultory Philippic" "Patterns"
Paul Simon	"Mother and Child Reunion" "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" "Duncan"
There Goes Rhymin' Simon	"Kodachrome" "Loves Me Like a Rock" "American Tune" "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" "Something So Right" "St. Judy's Comet"
Paul Simon in Concert: Live Rhymin'	"The Sound of Silence"
Still Crazy After All These Years	"Gone at Last" "My Little Town" "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" "Still Crazy After All These Years"
Greatest Hits, Etc.	"Slip Slidin' Away" "Stranded in a Limousine"
One-Trick Pony	"Late in the Evening" "One-Trick Pony" "Oh, Marion"
Hearts and Bones	"Allergies" "The Late Great Johnny Ace" "Think Too Much"
Graceland	"You Can Call Me Al" "Graceland" "The Boy in the Bubble" "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" "Under African Skies" "Homeless"
The Rhythm of the Saints	"The Obvious Child" "Proof" "Born at the Right Time"
You're the One	"Old" "You're the One"
Surprise	"Father and Daughter" "That's Me" "Outrageous"
So Beautiful or So What	"Getting Ready for Christmas Day" "The Afterlife"
Stranger to Stranger	"Wristband" "Cool Papa Bell" "The Werewolf"
Featured singles	"Wonderful World" "The Blues" "The Boxer" "New York Is My Home"
Other songs	"Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog after the War" "Thelma"
Category

This page was last edited on 11 May 2024, at 01:32

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