CeeLo Green of Gnarls Barkley explains how "Crazy" was made
Background
Warning: this song contains a naughty word.
Most of the songs I parody are from the 70s and 80s, so I keep trying to find newer songs to work on. They have to be iconic, amenable to word substitutions, and (ideally) musically interesting or mockable. But the quality of popular music has declined drastically since about the mid-90s, making it a challenge for me. "Crazy" was released in 2006, making it 17 years old and the "newest" song I've parodied.
When I first added this song to my "to parody" list in March, I wasn't sure if I'd go with a more light-hearted "Lazy" or the more serious "Hazy" as the title/theme, but I liked the music and the lyrical potential. I decided on "Hazy", modified the chorus and the first two lines, and then let it sit for months. While it sat, El Nino hit and 2023 became the year of fire and record temperatures all over the globe. It became clear to me that the song would largely be about forest fire smoke, so I worked on the song for a couple of days.
As I finished, both the NWT and BC declared states of emergency due to wildfires. We probably have almost two months of fire season left, so there's going to be a lot more destruction before the season's over. And yes, the fires are getting worse.
In-Depth Commentary
Our skies being "Hazy" can be taken both literally – due to pollution and forest fire smoke – or metaphorically – due to uncertainty.
Tech bros are in outer space both to exploit mineral resources and because they want to have other options in the event that they destroy Earth with their hyper-capitalism.
Nero didn't actually fiddle while Rome burned – obviously. The fiddle first appeared in the 10th or 11th century, and the fire that hit Rome in Nero's time happened in 64 CE. Plus, apparently Nero did implement relief measures, so he wasn't just sitting around. I used this expression in the song because it combined a rhyme – my "Nero" and "heroes" in the original lyrics – with fire imagery. Yes, the fire imagery is a reference to forest fires.
This is the second time I've used a thumb-sucking reference in one of my songs. Here, I like how it evokes both infantilism and avoidance. Plus, by including it in the same line as "fiddle", I get the implied reference to "twiddling thumbs". "Twiddle" and "fiddle" are somewhat interchangeable words, but I preferred the latter due to the association with Nero.
I invented the term "doomsday drums". First of all, it just sounds cool, and second of all, it evokes ominous, incessant, malevolent drums. The kind of drums a giant horde of orc warriors would play as they are hunting you down…or something like that 😁
Lyrics
I remember when I remember, I remember when there was a sky There was nothing unpleasant right in your face And we didn't have any tech bros in outer space And now we're stuck here on this sphere Yeah, we're out of luck But it isn't because we're all sitting ducks We're just stupid fucks Why is our sky hazy? When'd it get so hazy? Why is it so hazy? Constantly And so, as the planet becomes devoid of all life A fool's paradise, lacking polar ice From now on, what a view, what a view, what a view What a view we'll have Ha ha ha, take a stroll In the new worldwide dust bowl Because, our sky is hazy It is so hazy Our sky is hazy Completely Like Nero we just watch all of our lives go down in flames With all of our leaders drinking and playing games Can you answer this riddle Why do we all fiddle and suck our thumbs Sit and watch this avoidable outcome Hearing doomsday drums It makes our sky hazy And now our sky's hazy We made our sky hazy Consciously