TV — Hot Dad’s Nostalgic Masterpiece
Erik Helwig, also known as Hot Dad, is a musician and YouTuber who uploads a steady stream of absurd and hilarious music videos to his channel. Helwig’s songs are short bursts of pop perfection; his DIY synth pop sound and conceptual lyrics make him a distinctive voice in the ever-widening realm of comedic music. While many of his songs are one-offs that focus on topics like not having a sense of smell and dabbing, Helwig has been known to carry a particular concept across multiple tracks, picking things like WWE Wrestlers or the 2016 US Presidential Candidates and writing a song for as many of them as he can.
In December 2013, Helwig uploaded a video titled “X-Files Theme (HQ),” in which he sang his own lyrics over the original X-Files theme music. His next upload, which came a few months later, was a video entitled “Girls HBO Theme Song/Opening Credits.” This would be the first of over 100 “theme songs” he would write for various television shows, which would later be compiled into his gargantuan 2015 opus, TV.
“Girls” demonstrates several recurring features of the project, such as lyrics that poke fun at the show, and a video meant to clickbait you into thinking it’s the actual theme song. The production, is rough around the edges, but Helwig would later have all the tracks professionally mastered for the Bandcamp release.
While the concept and style of the album is relatively accessible, it clocks in at an intimidating 2.5 hours. Luckily, this is one album you could be forgiven for throwing on shuffle, as (except for the brief intro and outro tracks) the songs are arranged alphabetically and not necessarily meant to be listened to in any particular order. Despite this, as well as the eclectic nature of the songs, TV’s tracklist is so consistently engaging that the album actually flows rather well.
Across these dozens of tracks, few of which pass the 2-minute mark, Helwig delivers masterfully crafted pop and rock tunes, occasionally dabbling in genres like doo-wop, rap rock, pop punk, and even reggae fusion. Though Helwig plays all the instruments, songs like The Office, Powerpuff Girls, and the stunning Hawaii Five-O have the urgency and synergy of a live rock band.
It’s amazing how rare it is on this album that one track’s melodies will resemble another; while there are a few reused chord progressions and similar-sounding tracks, there’s something brilliant and distinct about each and every one. Helwig packs his songs with humor and color, while making them short and sweet enough to sound fresh every time he returns to a sound.
As a vocalist, Helwig shows impressive range across TV’s 100+ tracks, his voice brimming with passion and sincerity. He can be heard singing in both a high falsetto and chesty baritone, crooning, belting macho-man butt rock, and even rapping. Many songs also feature excellent harmonies and background vocals, sometimes using them to sneak in extra jokes.
Lyrically, Helwig will sometimes choose for the songs to accurately represent the content and tone of the show, while other tracks have lyrics which misrepresent their namesakes for comedic effect. Helwig draws inspiration from shows as varied in genre as his music, satirizing their characters and pointing out absurd details of their premise. Like a good comedy show, TV is also peppered with running gags and inside jokes, always delivered in an unexpected way and almost never dwelled on. Not only does this make TV a unique comedy experience, it also adds greatly to its cohesion, replay value, and concept as a tribute to television.
From ALF to X-Men, Hot Dad delivers hit after hit across TV, and it deserves to be recognized as a highly ambitious and supremely well-executed pop album. It’s an album that only gets more rewarding as it becomes more familiar, a charming, genuinely hilarious, thoroughly well-written comedy rock masterpiece.
