Skip to main content
Cover art of The Boy Who Cried ICBM showing an anthropomorphic bear character panicking as an emergency alert reading "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." is below them. An erupting volcano, tsunami, strong winds, and orange sky with nuclear symbol are also present in the background and even the MOULE logo is panicking.
Cover art of The Boy Who Cried ICBM showing an anthropomorphic bear character panicking as an emergency alert reading "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL." is below them. An erupting volcano, tsunami, strong winds, and orange sky with nuclear symbol are also present in the background and even the MOULE logo is panicking.

The Boy Who Cried ICBM

Forget the boy who cried wolf - "THE BOY WHO CRIED ICBM" is the true story of when human error met confusing emergency alert interfaces, causing trouble in paradise!

The Boy Who Cried ICBM (2021)

The Boy Who Cried ICBM a track made in reference to the infamous false missile alert sent across Hawaii on January 13, 2018, released on its third anniversary, on the exact minute the alert was sent out (8:07 AM HST).

Made over a year after the event, on February 24, 2019, "The Boy Who Cried ICBM" started out as another generic drum and bass track. Like most of my tracks, it started when I randomly typed some notes, had them loop throughout the track, then I added a bassline, percussion etc. What resulted was this panicked-sounding track which I decided to make about the Hawaiian false missile alert. Emergency Alert System (EAS) scenarios are one of my hyperfixations, so naturally this came to be.

The message in this track is the exact same message that was sent to all phones in Hawaii on January 13, 2018 (you can look up screenshots of it), when a Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) employee clicked the wrong alert button. They meant to click the drill button, but now we know what an alert would look like if it were the real thing...or another false alarm. How's that for a morning alarm clock?

It was originally called "Sun, Surf and ICBMs". The cover art was fun to make! Can you find the hidden quokka in this one?

"The Boy Who Cried ICBM" is my 87th finished track and 42nd release. To hear this on other platforms, check out songwhip.com/moule/the-boy-who-cried-icbm. For the latest MOULE updates, follow or bookmark Mastodon.

(Disclaimer: This track was intended to be a fun, lighthearted reference to a human error in modern history. It is not intended to cause panic or fear.)

/