30

Album: single release only (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Badflower frontman Josh Katz turned 30 on July 17, 2020. Terrified of hitting his fourth decade, he wrote this brutally honest song for his birthday.

    I'm nervous, so nervous
    I overeat, I lack purpose
    And I'm only scratching the surface
    And I'm not shelved cause sex sells
    But how long till I'm canceled


    "I've always been uncomfortable with the idea of getting older," Katz explained. "30 is a milestone I've been dreading since 20. I wanted to write a song about how I'm feeling internally and everything happening around me in 2020 as a 30-year-old. The world is f---ing weird and I hate it here."
  • Katz already had the music for his 30-year-old anthem tucked away. Then one night he came up with the lyrics that express the angst that comes from moving into the next stage of his life. "It was all done in one-night from midnight till 6 am," Katz told American Songwriter. "I had the melody for a while and always called it '30' because I always felt like it'd be my anthem to turning thirty, but didn't have an actual lyric until that night. It all just came out and it was all ludicrous and fun."
  • Aptly released on July 17, 2020 (Katz' 30th birthday), the song is Badflower's first new material following the success of their debut album OK, I'm Sick.
  • The song is accompanied by a video that begins with Katz's bandmates and family singing him "Happy Birthday."

    "I usually picture a visual that goes with the song early on," he said about the clip.

    "I knew I was going to flip the table with the cake," Katz added about the opening scene in the video. "That main image of me sitting at the table with the cake looking so sad and uncomfortable, I just always knew that was the look."
  • Katz teamed up with Badflower's regular director, Jordan Wolfbauer, for the video. Using Childish Gambino as a reference for the visual's one-shot style, they set out to represent what it's like to be 30 and living on the internet.

    Katz and Wolfbauer are housemates and they made the entire set and stages at their home. "We built the stages in our backyard," Katz told Alternative Press. "I programmed the lights [and] learned all about pyrotechnics, and Jordan rehearsed every camera move like a dance. The hardest sequence was probably the fireworks at the end. We only had one shot at that one."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.

Black Sabbath

Black SabbathFact or Fiction

Dwarfs on stage with an oversize Stonehenge set? Dabbling in Satanism? Find out which Spinal Tap-moments were true for Black Sabbath.

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")

Director Mark Pellington ("Jeremy," "Best Of You")Song Writing

Director Mark Pellington on Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," and music videos he made for U2, Jon Bon Jovi and Imagine Dragons.

Al Kooper

Al KooperSongwriter Interviews

Kooper produced Lynyrd Skynyrd, played with Dylan and the Stones, and formed BS&T.

Bob Daisley

Bob DaisleySongwriter Interviews

Bob was the bass player and lyricist for the first two Ozzy Osbourne albums. Here's how he wrote songs like "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley" with Ozzy and Randy Rhoads.