Retro-Visor | DISPOSABLE HEROES OF HIPHOPRISY "TELEVISION THE DRUG OF THE NATION"

álbum | "Hypocrisy is The Greatest Luxury"
ano | 1992

O tema central daquele que é o meu disco preferido de hip-hop de todos os tempos.

É espantoso como as palavras de MICHAEL FRANTI ainda fazem mais sentido hoje do que há 16 anos atrás. O que não deixa de ser preocupante.
"One nation under God
has turned into one nation
under the influence of one drug

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V., it satellite links
our United States of Unconsciousness
Apathetic therapeutic and extremely addictive
The methadone metronome pumping out 150 channels 24 hours a day
you can flip through all of them and still there's nothing worth watching
T.V. is the reason why less than 10 per cent of our Nation reads books daily
Why most people think Central Amerika means Kansas
Socialism means unamerican
and Apartheid is a new headache remedy
absorbed in it's world it's so hard to find us
It shapes our mind the most
maybe the mother of our Nation
should remind us that we're sitting too close to...

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V. is the stomping ground for political candidates
Where bears in the woods are chased by Grecian Formula'd bald eagles
T.V. is mechanized politic's remote control over the masses
co-sponsored by environmentally safe gases
watch for the PBS special
It's the perpetuation of the two party system
where image takes precedence over wisdom
Where sound bite politics are served to the fastfood culture
Where straight teeth in your mouth
are more important than the words that come out of it
Race baiting is the way to get selected
Willie Horton or
Will he not get elected on...

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V., is it the reflector or the director?
Does it imitate us or do we imitate it
because a child watches 1500 murders before he's
twelve years old and we wonder why we've created
a Jason generation that learns to laugh
rather than to abhor the horror
T.V. is the place where
armchair generals and quarterbacks can
experience first hand the excitement of warfare
as the theme song is sung in the background
Sugar sweet sitcoms
that leave us with a bad actor taste while
pop stars metamorphosize into soda pop stars
You saw the video
You heard the soundtrack
Well now go buy the soft drink
Well, the onla cola that I support
would be a union C.O.L.A.(Cost Of Living Allowance)
On television

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

Back again, "New and improved"
We return to our irregularly programmed schedule
hidden cleverly between heavy breasted beer and car commercials
CNNESPNABCTNT but mostly B.S.
Where oxymoronic language like "virtually spotless", "fresh frozen"
"light yet filling" and "military intelligence" have become standard
T.V. is the place where phrases are redefined
like "recession" to "necessary downturn"
"Crude oil" on a beach to "mousse"
"Civilian death" to "collateral damages"
and being killed by your own Army is now called "friendly fire"
T.V. is the place where the pursuit
of happiness has become the pursuit of trivia
Where toothpaste and cars have become sex objects
Where imagination is sucked out of children by a cathode ray nipple
T.V. is the only wet nurse that would create a cripple

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation"