Média Controle 1982

Média Controle 1982 is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter/producer Alex Washington. It was released on 3 June 2022 by Apathetic Records. Following the release of his Diamond-selling comeback album Optimism in 2021, Washington became increasingly politically radicalized by the hostile turn of world events, inspiring this album. Due to hesitation from Apathetic Records, Washington first released an EP of less controversial songs detailing the process of healing from a breakup, entitled Mourning & Other Pleasantries. That EP's success solidified Washington's standing with the label, allowing him the leverage to release Media Controle 1982 with less pushback.

Release & Reception
Washington began teasing the release of the album in early May 2022, with several billboard and TV spots asking the public if they were "ready" to change/save the world. The spots were successful in building interest in the album, unlike a similar campaign attempted during the promotional period for Washington's 2021 single, "Relaxxx", which was revealed to be an unsuccessful ploy to win back the affections of Paulo Araujo.

The campaign presented itself as part of a computerized program, called "Média Controle", presented as a government-of-the-people-styled teletext service that takes over Rupert Murdoch-owned channels Sky News, and Fox News in America. Washington described the program as: "...Acting a call-to-arms to re-educate the masses against forty years of corporate propaganda, and incite a revolt against the far-right corporate interests that are oppressing the citizenry, and killing our planet." The release was preceded by a campaign that saw life imitate art, with hackers taking over various far-right news organizations around the world to instead broadcast the distorted cover image of Washington smoking, as well as the music video for the album's first single, "American Revolution".

The songs, written over the period of nearly a year, reference numerous poets and artists from the previous century, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Martin Niemöller, and Langston Hughes. Production is handled primarily by Washington himself, but also by La'Shawn, who features on the track "The Sound", Jake Maxell, who co-writes numerous tracks, as well as Erik Lindström, Sorcha Quinn, and Christian Stone.

Critics lauded the album's theme, and songwriting, while bemoaning it's length (the release was originally intended to be a double album). Album sales were initially strong, but fell after Apathetic Records cancelled all promotional work for the album shortly before the release of "Drop The Bomb". However, the album continues to enjoy steady sales throughout 2023, so far selling in excess of 800,000 copies in the UK.

Charts
Média Controle 1982 was to be released June 10, 2022, but was pushed forward a week to coincide with the release of the first single, "American Revolution". The album debuted at #1 on June 9, 2022, selling over 154,000 copies in its first week, the highest first-week sales of any album in 2022 to that point.