New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Songwriter Jim Bianco recently teamed with vocalist Petra Haden to record the infectiously upbeat song "Easy Street" as The Collapsable Hearts Club. The song's carefree theme was recently given a more sinister context when prominently featured in the last episode of AMC's acclaimed horror drama series The Walking Dead.
In the recent episode "The Cell," The Walking Dead regular character Daryl Dixon is imprisoned by the merciless villian Negan and subjected to psychological torture, which includes "Easy Street" being blasted on repeat in his prison cell. The contrast of the song's exuberant positivity with the character's harrowing ordeal makes for a uniquely unnerving moment in a show known for it's shocking scenes.
Within hours, "Easy Street" was trending on Twitter and received over a million Youtube hits as viewers grappled with heir feelings about the song and its treatment of their beloved Daryl. The song quickly became iconic of the episode itself as fans flooded the internet with irreverent memes. The song soon climbed to #6 on iTunes Pop Songs Chart overnight.
Jim Bianco writes on the song's usage, "I knew the moment The Walking Dead requested our song EASY STREET it would be used with some irony. With such an upbeat, obnoxiously pop-y hook and positive lyrics, there's no way to sync it with a zombie apocalypse without sarcasm and satire. So we were expecting that. And overall, we felt honored to be a part of such clever use of music in such a cool show. But I have to say, when EASY STREET came on and Daryl, the biggest badass on TV, was laying there being tortured and eating dog food sandwiches, even I hated the song for a minute!"
Gabe Hilfer,
Music Supervisor for The Walking Dead, described how the song found its way to the show writing, "The origin of this song in The Walking Dead came from Scott (Gimple - the Executive Producer) wanting to play the juxtaposition of a very happy, feel good, child-like song over and over in a torture-like manor. It can get tricky finding a song which fits the desired aesthetic, while making sure the songwriter and performer are okay with the content of the scene. After searching long and hard, we came across 'Easy Street' and it fit the bill perfectly. Once Scott heard it, he agreed and the rest is history!"
"Easy Street" also features vocals from Petra Haden, Daughter of Jazz Bassist Charlie Haden. Haden first gained acclaim as the bassist for the alt-rock group That Dog, and later as violinist and vocalist for The Rentals. Haden's multifacted career has since lead to collaborations with The Decemberists, Bill Frisell, Tegan and Sara, Sunn O))), and others.
