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Music

Rangi And The Totos take aim at Viagogo in political debut single

It’s New Zealand’s most iconic topical pop group that have never released a single song… until now. Introducing Rangi And The Totos.

Emerging seemingly out of nowhere, the band have laid down the law with their first single, Viagogo Go Fuck Yourself, an anthemic call to arms against the infamous London-based ticket resale company, Viagogo.

Mixing politics and pop is a dangerous game – unless you’re Rangi And The Totos and you’ve just released a perfect debut, Viagogo Go Fuck Yourself.

The song begins with a voiceover reminiscent of the one which opens Lana Del Rey’s iconic Ride, except that for Rangi And The Totos, it’s one that deals with a more politically sensitive topic than just dancing with strange men along the road.

Their monologue is one which instead describes a company “created to ease such a menial task” which in the end would “destroy the lives of many and rip the world a new…” – I’m sure you can imagine how that sentence ends.

A punchy beat picks up from where the voiceover finishes and three bandmates are pictured standing barefoot on the sand, weilding a telecaster, a tennis racquet, and a chainsaw, respectively. A slinky bassline enters the picture, playing a melody which is then echoed by the vocals in the following line, espousing the catchy refrain: “Viagogo, go fuck yourself.” Subtitles are handily provided.

Accompanied by a Rhodes piano and lush harmonies, the song goes onto detail three tales of Viagogo-induced misery with accompanying visuals. The first, buying tickets to Jermaine and Bret from Flight Of The Conchords, the second buying tickets to the football in Instanbul, and the third, seeing Nickelback on ice – obviously essential viewing. All three stories end in said tickets proving to be counterfeits, something for which Viagogo is famed.

The song possesses some truly ingenious moments. These are particularly apparent in the spoken phrases which are squeezed in-between the lyrics. For instance, when one singer laments, “a night I’d rather forget,” another bandmate pipes in, “like Brexit.” Poetry.

All in all, Viagogo Go Fuck Yourself is a straightforward pop song. And yet, it’s so much more than that. An anti-corporate anthem, the track covers just the tip of the iceberg of the rampant corporate greed which affects young people today, and it’s a track which is sure to put Rangi And The Totos on the map – so much so, it might even obliterate the map altogether. We can’t wait to see what they delve into next.

Check out the video for Viagogo Go Fuck Yourself below.