Songfacts®:

• Capital Cities is the duo of Sebu Simonian and Ryan Merchant. They never had to sell their beds, as stated in this song, but they can relate to the sentiment. In our interview with Simonian, he explained: "The idea of the song is that music is one of the most important things in life, and the hero of the song will give up anything first before he gives up his trusty stereo that has been there by his side for years getting him through the tough times."
• This song celebrates a sound system from the analog age when vinyl LPs were played through substantial stereo systems with big, powerful speakers - the kind of system that is no match for an iPod playing MP3s through tinny monitors.
  
  Capital Cities embraces this analog sound in their music. Their beats are modern, but they rely on a real trumpet and an analog synthesizer (a Roland Juno 106) to lay the foundation.
• This is one of five tracks ("Safe and Sound" is another) that Capital Cities released in 2011 on a self-titled EP. They didn't have a record deal at the time, so it was issued on their own label which was named after the commercial music production company Simonian and Merchant had formed: Lazy Hooks. After they were signed to Capitol Records, the song was included on their debut album In a Tidal Wave Of Mystery, which was released in 2013.
• Pink Floyd is a big influence on the duo, which explains the line, "Listen to my Pink Floyd cover." In 2012, Capital Cities released their Pink Floyd cover of "Breathe" online.