This song is not tongue in cheek. MAYBE, i doubt it, a few parts are, but lines like "You see I love this place, that I've grown to know. And yea I know you wouldn't touch us with a ten-foot pole. We are North American scum!" THAT is said sarcastically, we're "scum" yeaaaa. He's commenting on how "great" America is, because everyone would say "great" in quotation marks, but he actually does enjoy being from the country. After traveling Europe for years, and tons of tours, and being mistaken for being a European band, people find out he's American and immediately his stock in their book falls. He encourages everyone to say, yea, it's "America", but they can be "cool" just like Europe. Not only "can they be", but they are. Touch us with a ten-foot pole, see what happens. Our over-criticism is unwarranted. Of course we will be criticized, for our government, for our wars, etc, we are the most powerful country in the world, it's going to be that way no matter what. But we still are a great country, we make good music, we have great bands (LCD Soundsystem), and we say fuck the parties that go all night like in Berlin... we'll still be North American "Scum", and we're proud of it, and wouldn't have it any other way.
This song is not tongue in cheek. MAYBE, i doubt it, a few parts are, but lines like "You see I love this place, that I've grown to know. And yea I know you wouldn't touch us with a ten-foot pole. We are North American scum!" THAT is said sarcastically, we're "scum" yeaaaa. He's commenting on how "great" America is, because everyone would say "great" in quotation marks, but he actually does enjoy being from the country. After traveling Europe for years, and tons of tours, and being mistaken for being a European band, people find out he's American and immediately his stock in their book falls. He encourages everyone to say, yea, it's "America", but they can be "cool" just like Europe. Not only "can they be", but they are. Touch us with a ten-foot pole, see what happens. Our over-criticism is unwarranted. Of course we will be criticized, for our government, for our wars, etc, we are the most powerful country in the world, it's going to be that way no matter what. But we still are a great country, we make good music, we have great bands (LCD Soundsystem), and we say fuck the parties that go all night like in Berlin... we'll still be North American "Scum", and we're proud of it, and wouldn't have it any other way.