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Dan Deacon Remaps ‘USA’ as Adult Swim Circuit-Burst ‘Why Am I on This Cloud?’

Dan Deacon USA Why Am I On This Cloud Adult Swim

Trapped behind a pickup driving exactly the speed limit through the center of Nebraska, the thought could occur to even the most devout patriot: “America the Beautiful, fine, but does there have to be so much of it?” Dan Deacon devoted a full vinyl side of his 2012 album America to a nearly 21-minute suite called “USA,” and though the journey had its purple mountains and fruited plains to be sure, you’d be forgiven if a similar question came to mind. Enter the Baltimore spazz savant’s new “Why Am I on This Cloud?,” which distills elements of “USA” into a cathartic four minutes of communal chants, pulse-pounding percussion, and frayed-wire squelch. We’re on Deacon’s cloud because it’s our Manifest Destiny, and with July 4 around the corner, somebody needed to provide fireworks.

Deacon’s entry is the latest in 2013’s Adult Swim Singles series. It follows METZ’s combustive “Can’t Understand,”  Killer Mike and El-P’s Run the Jewels track “36-Inch Chain,” and Kitty (née Pryde)’s perfectly titled “Barbie Jeep.” Also set to man the grill at this summer-long barbecue are Miguel, Marnie Stern, Flying Lotus in collaboration with DOOM (under their Captain Murphy and Viktor Vaughn pseudonyms, respectively), Mac DeMarco, Lil B, Autre Ne Veut, Lightning Bolt, Madlib with Freddie Biggs, Andy Stott, Pig Destroyer, and Friendzone with Mykki Blanco. Land of the free and home of the brave, right there.