Todd Rundgren and Rivers Cuomo Team Up for ‘Down With the Ship,’ a Reggae-Tinged Song/Animated Video

Todd Rundgren and Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo teamed up recently for a new song titled “Down With the Ship.” It’s a preview of Rundgren’s upcoming album, Space Force, which the iconic singer/songwriter announced in September and plans to release in early 2021.

(Click here to shop Todd Rundgren from the Rock Cellar Store).

The combination of forces at work here — esteemed power/pop icon Rundgren and Cuomo, the figurehead of one of the most popular and successful alt/rock/pop bands of the past three decades — is pretty alluring, and “Down With the Ship” delivers on its promise. The song, a horn-heavy reggae/pop romp with an irreverent animated music video, is quite an experience:

“It’s just a little parable about what happens when you align yourself with a treacherous leader,” said Todd Rundgren of the song, which he and Cuomo co-wrote together.

“Down With the Ship” is the second song shared thus far from Rundgren’s new album, following “Espionage,” a collaboration with Muslim hip-hop star Narcy:

Stay tuned for more from Todd Rundgren regarding this album and more — and in the meantime, enjoy our multi-part, one-on-one RockCellarTV interview with “The Toddfather” from Las Vegas in 2018, when Rock Cellar caught up with him, Steve Lukather and Ringo Starr geared around the All-Starr Band:

As a bonus for Toddheads, Rundgren and his Utopia band mates also were the focus of a lengthy video chat in July 2018: