In her recent hit “King of Anything” from the album Kaleidoscope Heart, Sara Bareilles shares her personal reaction to those who try to tell her what to do or who to be. Through this song, Bareilles seems to communicate her resistance to someone who tries to impose beliefs and opinions on her. She apparently believes that she is fine and does not need help in such a way: “I hate to break it to you babe, but I’m not drowning; there’s no one here to save.”

From her humble beginnings as a Catholic-raised, high school choir member and later as a participant in her college’s a capella group, Bareilles quickly gained massive fame. After releasing her debut album Careful Confessions in 2004, she watched as her smash hit single “Love Song” rose to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, her latest album Kaleidoscope Heart hit #1 at its release, with “King of Anything” as the first hit single from that album.

In a personal interview, Bareilles speaks about why she wrote “King of Anything.” She states that she wrote it with a defensive attitude towards her co-workers who offered their suggestions on how to change certain parts of her songs in order to improve them. However, the actual lyrics seem to communicate a different message—specifically, a typical postmodern message. As stated, she seems to be singing about her resistance to those who try to impose their beliefs and opinions on her. Whether they agree with her does not matter, because she is fine the way she is and does not need to change according to others’ opinions. She displays this attitude in the chorus:

Who cares if you disagree? You are not me Who made you king of anything?

So you dare tell me who to be? Who died and made you king of anything?

Bareilles seems unwilling to follow somebody else’s beliefs; she sings that this person expects her to simply go along with his or her personal opinions and “ride off into [his/her] delusional sunset.” As long as her beliefs and opinions work for her, she is happy and does not need to please others by changing into the person that they think she should be.

—Amy

                Serj Tankian is a songwriter, author, composer, multi-instrumental musician, political activist, and singer. His role as lead singer for band System of a Down is what brought him initial wide spread fame.  Serj has more recently been producing solo albums. His first solo album, Elect the Dead, featured Serj himself playing all the instruments for the album. Imperfect Harmonies, released September 21, 2010, is his latest record. Musically it incorporates jazz, rock, electronic, and orchestral themes, giving it a unique feel. As for a content theme, Serj said in an interview that “Elect the Dead was talking about civilization being over, when we’re living our last days” and his most recent “is talking about how we should start looking at what’s out there”. Along with this overarching big picture idea, there is political focus, songs about romance, and philosophical thoughts, we will focus mainly on what portrays his world-story.

 The first song on Imperfect Harmonies is “Disowned Inc.”, and it shows blatant opposition of Theism.  It claims that each culture has their own name for the illusion of God.

God speaks different in every language,God speaks different in every language

Imposed illusion, composed disillusion, God’s name’s different in every language

Imposed illusion, composed disillusion, God’s name’s different in every language

                Even with this in mind, he does not completely reject the idea of God. When asked about religion on his website, he replied “Organized religion I'm not a fan of and much prefer the Native American term Spirit that moves through all things and Creator over the name God. Ultimately it's the feeling of interconnectivity with all things.” Here we see the rejection of one separate divine God, and instead the idea of a force or power. Clearly, Theism is ruled out and Spiritualism is seen.

                Atheism is also knocked out as an option because it leaves no room for a spiritual world. In addition, songs like Reconstructive Demonstration, Peace Be Revenged, and Left of Center cross off Naturalism as an option not only because of Serj’s spiritualism, but because of his lack of hope for humanity. The lyrics from “Reconstructive Demonstration” match a melancholy tune and offer no hope.

We’re falling, we’re falling, We’re falling, we’re falling

We’re falling into, into disease, Disease, disease, disease

Disease, disease, disease, Disease, disease, disease

Disease, disease

We’ve fallen, we’ve fallen, We’ve fallen, we’ve fallen

 We’ve fallen, we’ve fallen, We’ve fallen, we’ve fallen

No one seems to understand that we are falling to our knees

Blindness serves not god nor man so we are falling into disease, disease

                It is also very clear that Serj Tankian is not a Nihilist, this can be seen in his belief that human beings should live with purpose. In an interview on his website he says, “It is important to live every minute like you are going to die the next.” Also, he cofounded a social justice group called “Axis of Justice”. He clearly believes in purpose. It is fair to conclude that he is not an atheist in any form.

                 Serj Tankian believes in a universal connection that runs through all that exists. He clearly displays this when he says in an interview hosted by himself, “I feel like art and music come from the universe, they come from the individual. They come from collective consciousness…” Following this theme, his song “Borders Are” from Imperfect Harmonies portrays the wrong and constraint of borders.

 Borders are the gallows
Of our collective national egos
Subjective, lines in sand
In the water, separating everything

He explains in an interview that these borders relate not only to political ties, but also to anything constrained, including music. This matches the sound of the album as it mixes various musical genres, breaking the normal arrangement of songs. Again, in an interview he says that music co-inspires and connects us along with saying that “It’s a very, very unique and beautiful gift from the universe.” All of this is completely tied to the world-story of Western Spiritualism, which holds that every individual is god and god is the universe.

                Continuing, Serj’s Western Spiritualist views come through in the albums first official single “Left of Center”. More specifically they come through in the music video. The claymation video shows a small insect being devoured by a snake, followed by a black panther that eats the snake, then moving to a shark that consumes the panther, followed by a civilized man that shoots the shark, and finally ending with a caveman clubbing and killing the man. This whole scene goes along with repetitive lyrics playing.

We go forward, we go backward, living,dying

We're dying, we're living, we're living, we're dying

We're crying, we're seeing, we're living, we're breathing, dying, seeing

Western Spiritualism’s idea of the circle of life. Life continues in a circular pattern. In this closing quote it can be finalized that Serj’s world-story is that of Western Spiritualism, because it confirms thoughts of a unifying force and the idea that all nature is one. Serj states, “My religion is the same as the trees out there. It's the same inspiration. Whatever moves them, moves me. I believe that we're animals. I know we are because we die and we eat and we ****.”

—Josh M

©2007 Atlantic/Wea

The Canadian rock band Rush champions 42 years of band-hood. In 1974 they acquired their current drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, and produced their self-proclaimed debut album. They have continued producing and their latest album, Snakes and Arrows, hit the scene May 1st, 2007. Snakes and Arrows is filled with spiritual themes, but the band’s (following Neil Peart’s personal) belief, in relation to the spiritual, can be hard to discern. A prevalent theme found in Rush is Postmodernism. But before I address Rush’s postmodern elements, here are some observations concerning their stand on the spiritual.

The views Neil Peart holds on spiritualism and faith can be seen in a multitude of ways. This review will look at album artwork, articles, and the bands’ own song lyrics. On the cover of Rush’s album Snakes and Arrows is a picture of an ancient board game called Leela. In Leela “the players’ progress is dictated by the fall of a die corresponding to the forces of karma”(Johari). The game originated in India, where it is commonly known as the divine game of cosmic consciousness. Being that the game is rooted in Buddhist belief brings something spiritual into Rush’s album display. Another album that carries artwork with spiritual content is Rush’s 2002 album Vapor Trails, which displays tarot cards. Each page of the album booklet has the lyrics to a song along with a tarot card. The artwork for these two more recent albums indicate visually an acknowledgment of the spiritual world by Rush.

Peart’s articles and lyrics also shed knowledge on their worldview. In Neil Peart’s article "The Game of Snakes and Arrows," he uses the word “spiritual” frequently. In reference to songs from their most recent album he says “At the time of hearing the first few songs, the only word I could think of for their essence was ‘spiritual.’” Later on he states that “Thoughts of spirituality and faith were woven into several songs…” These are a few of the many examples where ideas of spirituality and faith come into Neil’s writing. It is clear that Snakes and Arrows holds some element of the spiritual, but the lyrics provide another angle at which to view Rush.

In the song “Faithless,” Rush presents his view that spiritual belief comes from the individual. “I’ve got my own moral compass to steer by/A guiding star beats a spirit in the sky… I've got my own spirit level for balance/To tell if my choice is leaning up or down.” The song paradoxically continues with “I don’t have faith in faith/I don’t believe in belief.” Another song says, “You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice./If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice./You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;/I will choose a path that’s clear/I will choose freewill.” All of these lyrics put the focus on the free and autonomous individual in relation to belief. Furthermore, lyrics like “Nature seems to spin/A supernatural way/Mystic rhythms…We feel the powers and wonder what they are” point to a questioning of what they have experienced. Disbelief or disconnect with a personal higher power is showcased in the lyrics “Call out for direction/And there's no one there to steer/Shout out for salvation/But there’s no one there to hear/Cry out supplication/…But no one cares to hear.”

It is hard to pinpoint all that Rush believes in reference to the spiritual domain, but it is obvious that they do believe in the existence of the spiritual realities. Their album artwork, articles, and lyrics do not give complete clarity as to Rush’s spiritual belief, however they do clearly point to something beyond just the physical world (ruling out atheisms). Their spiritual world rejects prayer to personal deity who cares or listens (ruling out theisms), and truth, or at least belief, is found only within the individual (ruling out eastern religions). What we are left with is therefore some kind of western spiritualism, blended with aspects of postmodern thinking, seen in several ways. First, they reject absolute truth: “Truth is after all a moving target/Hairs to split, and pieces that don’t fit/How can anybody be enlightened?/Truth is after all so poorly lit.” Second, they believe that truth is subjective and derives from the individual: “I’ve got my own moral compass to steer by.” The focus is placed on the isolated individual again and again as the sole authority for determining right and wrong: “What you own is your own kingdom/What you do is your own glory/What you love is your own power/What you live is your own story.” These are but a few examples of postmodern expression in Rush’s music.

In conclusion, their perspective could best be described as a postmodernized version of western spiritualism.

—Joshua M

©2009 Universal UK/Zoom

Mumford and Sons is a band created out of a mutual love of music and is based in the arenas of folk and rock. As a band, Mumford and Son's are no strangers to meshing artistic styles. Marcus Mumford, the namesake for the band is the lead singer who also plays the guitar and mandolin. His 'sons' or fellow band mates are: Country Winston who plays banjo, Ben Lovett who plays the keyboard, and Ted Dwane who plays the double bass. They all met and bonded over their mutual love of folk music. As a band they thrive on live performances, the charge from the audience giving them the drive to make music. Sigh No More is their first studio record and was first released in late 2007. On this album one of the constant themes throughout the album is the idea of religion and faith. In a February 2010 interview with the Guardian Newspaper, Marcus Mumford discusses their choice of centering their first album around religion saying that his lyrics are “a deliberately spiritual thing but deliberately not a religious thing. I think faith is something beautiful, and something real, and something universal, or it can be...We all have our separate views on religion, but I think faith is something to be celebrated. I have my own personal views, they’re still real to me, and I want to write about them.”

One song titled, "Roll Away Your Stone" explores the concept of opening yourself up to others, and to faith. The lyrics read:

Roll away your stone I will roll away mine Together we can see what we will find

Don’t leave me alone at this time For I am afraid of what I will discover inside

You told me that I wouldn’t find a home Beneath the fragile substance of my soul

And I have filled this void with things unreal And all the while my character it steals

Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think Yet it dominates the things I see

It seems that all my bridges have been burned

But you say “That’s exactly how this grace thing works”

It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart

But the welcome I receive with every start Darkness is a harsh term don't you think

And yet it dominates the things I see Darkness is a harsh term don’t you think

And yet it dominates the things I see Stars hide your fires For these here are my desires

And I won’t give them up to you this time around And so I will be found

With my stake stuck in the ground Marking the territory of this newly impassioned soul

And you, you’ve gone too far this time You have neither reason nor rhyme

With which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine

The title of the song, "Roll Away Your Stone" seems to refer to the resurrection of Christ. After Jesus had been dead three days the stone in front of his grave was rolled away, and the Messiah was raised from the dead. The song addresses a life without Christ, “For I am afraid of what I will discover inside/You told me that I wouldn’t find a home/Beneath the fragile substance of my soul/And I have filled this void with things unreal/And all the while my character it steals.” The main character of the song is afraid of what he will discover inside his soul, because he has spent so much time filling that hole with other things, other things then God. This “darkness” as it is described “steals” away his character. He is consumed with the dark that he has tried to use as a filler in his life. While this song refers to God multiple times, the main story line of the song is that he filled his soul with a person, who turned around and broke his heart. This is what he is discussing, the idea of giving some part of himself that should have been given to God. At the end of the song he decided that this person has, “neither reason nor rhyme/With which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine.” He has no intention of giving his soul to God, but instead to keep his soul to himself for his protective watch.

I would classify this song as a Postmodern view on religious theism. The main character of the song knows the idea of God, and believes that certain parts of him should belong to God. This is shown in his reference to grace and that his soul has been filled with other things. And as listeners and readers we are able to see the band’s view on religion, and that they are well aware that a person needs God. The part that makes this song and this band Pomo in general is that they never make the outright decision to choose God. It becomes a cat and mouse game: this is what I need as a broken human, but this is what I choose to do. Their views on religion and faith are not that of choosing a specific way, but knowing that there are many paths to choose from.

—Heather

 ©2008

Death Cab For Cutie is one of the better known indie-rock bands of the 21st century. Their 2008 album Narrow Stairs was the band’s first full-length album to follow their widely popular 2005 album Plans. Although this album didn’t receive as much attention as Plans, it stayed true to the band’s melancholy and melodic style, especially in the sense of its lonely and reflective lyrics. “No Sunlight” as the title suggests, is a song on this album that presents a nihilistic view of the world through an oddly, up-beat sounding song.

When I was young, lying in the grass

I felt so safe in a warming bath of sunlight Of sunlight

Fast open sky could do no harm

Like an embrace of a mothers arms in sunlight

With every year that came to pass

More clouds appear until the sky went black

And now there's no sunlight, no sunlight.

And now there's no sunlight, no sunlight anymore.

It disappeared with the same speed, the idealistic things I believed

The optimist died inside of me, no sunlight [4x] No sunlight anymore.

As can be seen, this song opens on a positive note with lyrics that give the listener a pleasant picture of life. However, as the song moves into the third verse the lyrics quickly turns to a darker tone and the theme of the song comes out, “And now there's no sunlight, No sunlight.” The chorus is sung, repeated, and the song wraps up to the repetition of “No sunlight, no sunlight anymore.”

If you give this song a quick listen you probably wouldn’t pick up on its darker message because of its upbeat sound, but when attention is given to the lyrics it’s easy to see the nihilistic message. When we are young and innocent life is good and seems to be full of sunlight, but as life goes on more problems appear. The sky gets darker as ideal beliefs fade and the optimist inside dies. Life is dark, there’s is nothing to believe in, and soon, there is, “No sunlight anymore.”

—Matt A

© 2008 Sony Music Entertainment

In the hit song “I’m Not Jesus,” Finnish symphonic rock band Apocalyptica and Slipknot’s Corey Taylor sing unashamedly about spirituality in relation to human struggles. However, this tune doesn’t offer shelter from the storms of life. In fact, the singer proclaims that you can confess to him any sins you’ve committed against him, but “[he’s] not Jesus; [he] will not forgive.”

Begun in 1993, Apocalyptica watched its popularity shoot to international status with the release of its album Worlds Collide. This album, released in the States in 2008, features several guest artists including Corey Taylor of Slipknot and Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace. Worlds Collide peaked at number seven on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums and Top Rock Albums, and the band itself rose to number fifty-nine on the Billboard Hot 200. With such success under its belt, the band holds high hopes for its latest album 7th Symphony.

“I’m Not Jesus” opens with the singer describing an apparent Christian, who seems saintly and perfect but terribly mistreated the singer. He later states that he believed this person to be “a good man” who “talked to God,” but now sees him as hypocritical child abuser who has marred his innocence. He also tells him, “You could confess it all away, but….I’m not Jesus, I will not forgive.”

This song clearly displays symptoms of our culture’s postmodern mindset. The singer seems disillusioned with an apparently Christian man who actually turned out to be a child abuser. He tells the man, “Say your prayers and comb your hair; save your soul tonight….I’ve thought you were a good man, I’ve thought you talked to God”; however, he discovered the man’s “dirty little secrets” that stripped away the mask of innocence. The anger, distrust, and disillusionment that result from such an observation (or experience) are a few attitudes found within postmodern thinking. People do not always turn out to be who they claim or appear to be, and this causes a general distrust of other people. Furthermore, the hypocrisy displayed by the supposed Christian man, as well as by others in today’s culture, cause one to question whether absolute truth exists. A person may claim anything he wants, but if he does not live by those claims, were they actually true? Finally, the overall darkness of this song also characterizes postmodernism. The experiences that caused this singer’s dark, depressed attitudes also cause him to harden and despair. Despite such a dark theme, the song does not at all discount that God may exist. In fact, the singer seems to indicate that although he is “not Jesus” and “will not forgive,” God may actually exist; such indications offer hints of spiritualism in addition to the song’s postmodern flavor.

—Amy

With Teeth Interscope Records, ©2005

In a recent reinvention of his ever changing music empire, Trent Reznor, the creator of Nine Inch Nails took his album, With Teeth to a new level. A more radio-acceptable album than his last, Trent got labeled as a sell-out from his die-hard fans because of his music’s mainstream reversal. It is Trent's underground, angst-filled, anti-everything music, and the message that it portrays, that created such a fan-base. When it became mainstream it lost its appeal to those who were drawn to its raw undertones. Nine Inch Nails has been releasing music since 1988, and had managed to remain almost entirely underground until the release of this 2005 album. Trent has made history as the leader of NIN not only because of his sexually and politically charged lyrics, but because he is the only member of the band. Trent writes, produces, and plays all the music for his albums. He only uses an actual band when he is touring or shooting public appearances. It is through this vessel that Trent is able to produce his music in a pure way that reflects him in every single aspect.

“Right Where it Belongs is one of the songs on the With Teeth album. Others include: “The Line Begins to Blur,” “The Hand That Feeds,” and “Beside You in Time.” While the majority of Trent's lyrics focus on more passionate avenues, they all portray the same undertone and message, that there is no meaning to life except the meaning that I make for it. This section of “Right Where it Belongs” focuses on the meaninglessness of life. Life is nothing but a figment of our imagination. We build ourselves up for nobody’s purpose but our own, because in all honesty no one really matters but us.

“What if everything around you isn't quite what it seems?

What if all the world you think you know is an elaborate dream?

And if you look at your reflection, is that all you want to be?

What if you could look right through the cracks?

Would you find yourself... find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world's inside of your head? Just creations of your own...

Your devils and your gods and the living and the dead And you really are alone

You can live in this illusion You can choose to believe

You keep looking but you can't find words Are you hiding in the trees?”

Trent is showing his audience how he views life. The lines that seem to best verbalize Trent's worldview is the part that says, ”What if all the world's inside of your head? Just creations of your own...Your devils and your gods and the living and the dead and you really are alone”. Trent is saying that we make up life. The meaning that we put into our lives and religion is absurd. We build ourselves up for no reason, and we create gods and devils as a way to deal with that reality. And without it where would we be? Nowhere, because it is through these things that we thrive. A life recognizing that there is nothing of ultimate meaning is nihilistic; a life with artificially created meaning is existential. Because creating a meaningless meaning at least gives us some meaning, everything remains "Right Where it Belongs."

—Heather

So much for happy endings.—Ya know, those fairytale feel good endings we believed in as kids? According to music artist Sara Bareilles such stories don’t match up with real life. Disappointing and hurtful relationships, especially of the romantic type, are no new issue in our postmodern world. In 2007, Bareilles released her first major label album, Little Voice, which contained the song “Fairytale.”

The song “Fairytale” reveals the well-known fairytale princesses and makes a mockery of their stories by telling them with a postmodern twist. Cinderella has been drinking and her prince “doesn’t come home anymore.” Sleeping beauty would rather keep sleeping and dreaming then have a prince who is a jerk and doesn’t really care... “The story needs some mending and a better happy ending,” sings Bareilles. The princess should be free to do what she wants to do and be who she wants to be, since “She's only waiting, spent the whole life being graded on the sanctity of patience and a dumb appreciation”—She’s been waiting around for a prince, holding onto the idea that there is a beautiful ending.

Bareilles, well known for her top hit “Love Song” (also on Little Voice), tries to write down-to-earth, real life songs that also reflect her life. Her pop style has been said to be similar to Nora Jones and Fiona Apple. She has a classy, melancholy voice that matches well with her talent on the piano.

On her website, Bareilles wrote about her album Little Voice. “This record was really about me learning to trust my own instincts, and more importantly, recognize how desperately I needed to learn to listen to myself, however inexperienced and naïve I may be. It sounds cliché, but that little voice is sometimes the only voice that's speaking the truth.”

In “Fairytale,” Bareilles sings,” Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom, Man made up a story said that I should believe him.” Although it seems to do with fairytales, could this also reflect Bareilles’ religious beliefs? Maybe God is a made up reality and heaven is a happy-ending story we’ve been fed? Whatever the case, it’s not definite that she doesn’t believe in God. But her self-trust may suggest a spiritualistic worldview.

“Fairytale” addresses the unrealistic dream of modern fairytale ideals and the reality of a postmodern society where pain, distrust, and selfishness reign, instead of a prince and princess for

Rihanna is a girl who has shot to the top of the music charts in just the last several years. No one expected that this young, twenty-year-old Barbados girl would be tied with the likes of Mariah Carey and Beyonce in the Billboard charts for most songs making it to the number one spot in this decade. In 2003, at the age of 15, Rihanna received her big break when one of her friends introduced her to record producer Evan Rogers. Rogers, along with his partner, Carl Sturken, helped Rihanna record material in the U.S. which was sent to various recording companies. One copy of Rihanna's work was sent to Jay-Z, who eventually signed her to Def Jam Recordings. This gives a brief overview of Rihanna’s climb or rather “leap” to fame. However, what is more important for our conversation is answering the questions: What is Rihanna trying to communicate? What does her songs have to say about culture today in America? More specifically, what does this song Disturbia have to say about culture? Disturbia is Rihanna latest number one best seller receiving a whopping 13.5 million and counting Youtube views. Unlike her predecessors, Carey and Beyonce, this new diva of the post-modern, abandoned youth culture has a much darker message to share.

One viewing of this music video will leave you quickly wondering what is going on in pop-culture today. The video is filled with demonic-type images and persons that are constantly “attacking” Rihanna and they seem “too close for comfort” yet Rihanna cannot get away from them. This thief in the night, disturbia, has “creeped up inside” Rihanna, and disturbia has now locked Rihanna up in chains which she cannot remove herself from (as shown in the music video). Rihanna wishes to be “released from this curse [she’s] trying to maintain” but she cannot free from the effects of disturbia in her life. Though Rihanna is fairly unclear about what disturbia actually is (not surprising among pop-artists), it seems that disturbia is some sort of controlling figure in her life, whether that be a person, spiritual forces, or some sort of depression. This figure she can’t seem to shake; this is made evident throughout her music video and song lyrics.

So what of worldview? Can a worldview be identified in this song? With most pop-art it is a little tricky to figure out what specific worldviews artists are coming from because they want to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible. However, it is very true that Rihanna is coming from a very sad, dark place that involves some sort of depression. This attraction to darkness, this loss of hope, this feeling of entrapment and abandonment are all symptoms of postmodernism. It would be safe to say that Rihanna is at least a postmodern of the youth culture. And if this “thief in the night” is a spiritual force, she is definitely involved in a darker spiritualism. However, through her lyrics it seems that the “thief” chose her, and tempted her, she did not willingly accept disturbia. In conclusion, this song, being one of the most viewed music videos, gives a dark portrayal of where culture has not only moved in the “undergrounds” of youth culture but it has become the norm of pop-culture. Songs like these continue to show some of the more disturbing affects of postmodernism.

[written by] Joe W

“I can ride my bike with no handlebars” is the recurrent line in the song “Handlebars’ by the Flobots. While seeming like such a simple message, the progression of the song reaches far beyond kid tales of riding a bike with no handlebars and heads straight for an expose of the "dark side" of knowledge, creativity, and technology.

There is a strongly egocentric perspective on all of life which pervades the song. Lines like “I can design an engine… I can keep rhythm with no metronome… I can make anyone go to prison” point to its self-orientation. Additionally we have the repeated phrase “Look at me, look at me” which recurs several times in the song as well. The autonomous self is the vantage point from which all reality is to be viewed and judged.

The song proceeds from innocent, innocuous behaviors, curious but minor feats of accomplishment: “I can show you how to scratch a record,” and, “I can tie a knot in a cherry stem.” However, the song "progresses" (irony intended) toward increasingly disturbing, threatening, and violent behavior, with ever-greater effects upon society at large. The first-person singer-egocentrist says that I can accomplish anything: I can hand out a million vaccines or let everyone die, I can guide a missile by satellite, and finally end the world in a holocaust.

Delving further into modernism, the multiple references to the science, technology, and medical fields present the listener with their potential and “accomplishments.” Yet there is an ironizing perspective toward these achievements. I have the power for either benefitting or harming others, and the choice is miine. It is this stance that moves it from the confident optimism of modernism into the jaded, cynical, postmodern framework.

The song devolves from simple pleasure and normal abilities into an passionate rant, both musically and lyrically. The opening music is very simple, a repetitive melody with equally simple accompaniment. It the gains angst-y energy which builds throughout the song to the point of worldwide apocalyptic cataclysm. It then abruptly returns at the end of the song to the simple innocence of riding a bike with no handlebars, ending where it begins. The effect is to hold up insipid modernistic confidence against the ubiquitous evils of which it is capable, well illustrating the cynical, postmodern condition. The same drives that bring us pleasures can get us all killed.

[written by] Toni / Ray