Creed Bratton – “Chan Chu Toad”
The Office is moving to NBC’s new streaming service next year, but for now it remains one of Netflix’s most popular shows. There are people out there who repeatedly binge their way through the beloved sitcom, who keep it humming in the background as if listening through a favorite album. “I think it’s more popular now than it was then,” Creed Bratton tells Rolling Stone, echoing the sentiments of former castmates like Steve Carell. “It’s astonishing. Also, kids of our original fans watch it now. It’s already gone to a couple of generations. One of these days, I think I’ll put sitting there with a bunch of kindergartners quoting the lines to me. It could happen.”
The occasion for the interview is Bratton’s new song “Chan Chu Toad,” the lead single from his upcoming album Slightly Altered. Long before he played an eccentric and occasionally disturbing version of himself on the show, Bratton played in the ’60s folk-rock band Grass Roots, sharing stages with the likes of the Beach Boys and Buffalo Springfield. The success of The Office allowed him to get his music career started back up. He recorded his latest album more than a year ago, backed by groups with names like the Mojo Monkeys and Jackshit. The opening track, “Mose Was a Runner,” is an Office reference.
As for the song out today:
I have a Chan Chu Toad at my place in LA. There’s a famous story about Jim Chan. He had a greedy wife and she stole the elixir of immortality. He punished her by turning her into a three-legged toad and put her down a well. Thousands of years later, someone found her and released her into the sky. She’s been turned by mythology in their three-toed frog that sits by your door. He’s there to prevent people from taking money from you and to draw money into your house.
Listen below and let us know how it compares to Human Clay.
Slightly Altered will be out later this year.