even in a hurricane of frowns, i know that we'll be safe and sound.

What makes this the best song in the world? Did you know they released it in 2011 and again in 2013?

And did you know there are three versions of the music video?

i didn't know it was released first in 2011.  i didn't hear it until 2013.

and i also didn't know they had so many versions of their music video!

it is the best song in the world because i say so!  plus, everyone else likes it, too.  :)

and there is no better line than "you could be my luck."

That IS a great line!

Did you know it took them TEN rewrites to get to the song we now know and love?

• The song was created back in 2011, before Merchant and Simonian were known as Capital Cities, when the Los Angeles pair were earning their corn composing music for advertising campaigns. "It started as a little idea we came up with - it wasn't a fully fleshed-out song, per se," Merchant told Billboard magazine. "We noticed that, when we showed it to people, there was this unanimous feeling that there was something special about this music, and we started to develop it. It took 10 different versions before we finally came to what you hear on the radio now, where we decided to add a trumpet for the main bridge part, which I think was one of our best decisions on the song. And we brought out this vintage keyboard that provides the foundation for the song. So the song really took a long time to get right, because we knew it was such an important song for us."

• Regarding the track's meaning, Merchant noted: "It seems like every generation feels like it's living in the worst of times, and of course there are horrible things happening, but the average person is better off now than he or she was 50 years ago. In some ways 'Safe and Sound' is an antidote to the human tendency to think in apocalyptic terms and not really look at the logic of the world around us. Things are getting better and there's a lot to be positive about."

• This was the breakout hit for Capital Cities. When we asked Sebu Simonian in 2014 how the song changed their lives, he replied: "It has allowed us to tour extensively, so therefore visit many parts of the world that I would have otherwise not been able to go. Experiencing cultures and arts and heritage and food from different parts of the world is a beautiful thing."

Source of these facts: http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=29426

great info!  i love that they're keeping it positive.

Yeah, now I want to watch the lyric video:

that one is great!!  i love the adorable singing cotton balls!

Me too. Oh, they cite Gorillaz as an influence:

http://rollingstone.com/music/news/capital-cities-on-safe-and-sound-and-meeting-rick-ross-20130318

This is the first time I've seen the video, very much enhances the song :)

right?  i love what artists these guys are.  their album covers are fantastic, too.

Emily, neat art. Is this band from Florida?

Janill, actually there are three versions of the music video.

I wonder if we can find the other two.

I think this is one

and the third?

nice treasure hunting, janill!!  i like both those videos, too.

adam, this band is from los angeles.  just two california dudes who met on craigslist, making music and art together!

Janill, thanks! You found them.

It's clear they knew they had a special song so they kept improving and polishing the song with TEN rewrites:

We noticed that, when we showed it to people, there was this unanimous feeling that there was something special about this music, and we started to develop it. It took 10 different versions before we finally came to what you hear on the radio now, where we decided to add a trumpet for the main bridge part, which I think was one of our best decisions on the song. And we brought out this vintage keyboard that provides the foundation for the song. So the song really took a long time to get right, because we knew it was such an important song for us.

They took the same attitude toward to videos. Kept improving until they had something worthy of the song.

Two dudes on Craigslist who share a philosophy of continual improvement.

Wow, he was the ONLY guy who answered the Craigslist ad:

http://rollingstone.com/music/news/how-a-craigslist-ad-led-to-capital-cities-top-10-smash-20131128

meant to be!!!

True. Btw Grantland thinks the song Safe and Sound is copied from Wiz Khalifa's "The Thrill."

What do you think?

blasphemy!

those guys are directly ripping off empire of the sun!

yes, they have a similar sound, but if we want to start pointing out which songs sound like other songs, i think these all are reminiscent of paula abdul's rush:

Whoa. Mind blown.

I guess this is like a Blurred Lines / Marvin Gaye. Or Sam Smith / Tom Petty?

The copying might be due to Kleptomnesia, according to Adam Grant:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/biggest-reason-we-steal-other-peoples-ideas-adam-grant

that was a good little article.  i especially like, "may the source be with you."  :)

but in many cases, i feel we are overprotective of our old ideas.  i mean, who cares if george harrison made a song like one that was already released?  why can't we build on each other's developments?

i remember as a kid being really angry every time someone would copy my art ideas.  the teacher would always say, "take it as a compliment, emily!"  but that rationale was lost on me.  now i've come around.  it IS a compliment!

the only thing that hurts is when someone not only copies what you've done, but IMPROVES on it.  in which case, it's your turn to copy them!  ;)

We live in a remix and mashup world now. We just need the law to catch up.

Steve Jobs said that creativity is about connecting the dots. 

Everything creative builds on what came before. 

yes!

creativity is teamwork on a universal level.

Hopefully the law will catch up. 

it will... but we have to stop trying to capitalize on it first!

First progress. Then more progress!

Saw this commercial...

...and thought of this thread.

We are always running for the thrill of it, thrill of it...

good find, adam!! 

i like that commercial!  obviously, the song choice is excellent, but i also like the creative graphics.  computer animation has gotten so good!!

and how cool is pandawhale?!  threads that go on and on for the thrill of it... the thrill of it...

What's funny is that when I saw the commercial it reminded me of the Capital Cities song. 

I had forgotten that you had already mentioned it was a copy of the Empire of the Sun song. 

I do love that we can pick up a thread at anytime. 

There are only so many notes on the scale, so eventually (and we are probably close) we will never be able to have another song, we will have to listen to the same songs forever! :(

That's pretty much what most people do these days anyway. 

haha!  true, adam.

i've wondered about that, janill.

i remember when i was a kid, and the movies "vice versa" and "like father like son" and "18 again" came out at the same time, saying to my dad, "well, i guess all the movies will be the same from now on."

And "13 Going on 30".

Which derives from "Big".

Which derives from the original "Freaky Friday".

we are fascinated with trading places, trading faces, trading bodies and trading time!

Because it's the archetype "fish out of water" story!

Capital Cities is a good name for a band.