What a great song - very dense with metaphors and allusions to pop culture, modern life, etc.
Some thoughts:
I don't necessarily agree that the speaker is Bush 43 or any other specific politician, I get much more of a materialistic I-banker vibe, though the first lines identify him as a newspaper man, so he could be a writer just as much - many double meanings here. I love the reference in the third verse about "Mad Men," the drama about Madison Ave. ad agencies, the men who sowed the seeds of the consumer culture in the 1960s by shilling everything from Frosted Flakes to Lucky Strikes to children. This ties right in to the consumer culture criticism of the first few verses. I believe the speaker lives in the material world of his magazine ads, and can "turn the scene" of his fantasy life as easily as flipping the page to the next full-page full-color ad.
The self-focus of the main subject hurts the singer/writer/narrator, who rails against his credit-fueled spending and ignorance of the larger world and indifference to his family and even his country. The speaker even predicts the dark road for our poor subject - missing life (losing the rhythm, can't stand the vision) turning to drugs (three "bumps" of coke), ending up lifeless and "foam-injected." A sad end, for sure.
I don't understand the verse ending in the "flash tattoo," though it may be a paparazzi reference.
What a great song - very dense with metaphors and allusions to pop culture, modern life, etc.
Some thoughts:
I don't necessarily agree that the speaker is Bush 43 or any other specific politician, I get much more of a materialistic I-banker vibe, though the first lines identify him as a newspaper man, so he could be a writer just as much - many double meanings here. I love the reference in the third verse about "Mad Men," the drama about Madison Ave. ad agencies, the men who sowed the seeds of the consumer culture in the 1960s by shilling everything from Frosted Flakes to Lucky Strikes to children. This ties right in to the consumer culture criticism of the first few verses. I believe the speaker lives in the material world of his magazine ads, and can "turn the scene" of his fantasy life as easily as flipping the page to the next full-page full-color ad.
The self-focus of the main subject hurts the singer/writer/narrator, who rails against his credit-fueled spending and ignorance of the larger world and indifference to his family and even his country. The speaker even predicts the dark road for our poor subject - missing life (losing the rhythm, can't stand the vision) turning to drugs (three "bumps" of coke), ending up lifeless and "foam-injected." A sad end, for sure.
I don't understand the verse ending in the "flash tattoo," though it may be a paparazzi reference.
Again, what a well-written tune!