Gregory Pepper & His Problems – “I’m Bill Murray” (audio) (premiere)

Reminiscent of that strange time in the 1990s when so many pop punk bands recorded self-referential songs, Gregory Pepper‘s latest single pays tribute to actor/comedian/cult figure Bill Murray in charming fashion. The Guelph, Ontario singer makes as many film references as he can in 104 seconds, from Doctor Venkman to Herman Blume. Best of all, the song is a terrific little blast of power pop.

“We meant for this new record to be buoyant and upbeat, which I think it actually is, musically speaking,” Pepper says. “Lyrics tend to be a bit rancorous though, we seem to keep coming back to these themes of contempt and isolation. So I’m kinda saying I’m that dude at the beginning of a movie where they haven’t yet found redemption and discovered the value of friendship or whatever. Like, stuck in that selfish, antagonistic role like Bill Murray at the beginning of Groundhog Day or Scrooged (both classic flicks).

“The song came out pretty tight though, it’s sort of a punk-pop tune without exactly sounding of that genre. We slowed the tempo down a nearly-indistinguishable amount at the end to make the beatdown part subtly heavier and then we threw on some baritone sax and arco bass and voilà: hardcore indie pop!”

Gregory Pepper’s newest album Chorus! Chorus! Chorus! will be released 21 August.