Ignoreland by R.E.M. Lyrics Meaning – An Anthem of Disillusionment in a Media-Manipulated Society

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for R.E.M.'s Ignoreland at Lyrics.org.

Lyrics

These bastards stole their power
From the victims of the Us v Them years
Wrecking all things virtuous and true
The undermining social democratic downhill slide into abysmal
Lost lamb off the precipice into the trickle down runoff pool
They hypnotized the summer, ninteen-seventy-nine
Marched into the capital brooding duplicitous
Wicked and able, media-ready
Heartless, and labeled
Super US citizen, super achiever
Mega ultra power dosing, relax
Defense, defense, defense, defense

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ignoreland
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ignoreland
Yeah, yeah, yeah

The information nation took their
Clues from all the sound-bite gluttons
1980, eighty four, eighty eight, ninety two too, too
How to be what you can be
Jump jam junking your energies
How to walk in dignity with throw up on your shoes
They amplified the autumn, ninteen-seventy-nine
Calculate the capital
Up the republic my skinny ass
TV tells a million lies
The paper’s terrified to report
Anything that isn’t handed on a presidential spoon
I’m just profoundly frustrated by all this
So, fuck you, man (fuck ’em)

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ignoreland
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ignoreland

If they weren’t there we would have created them
Maybe, it’s true
But I’m resentful all the same
Someone’s got to take the blame
I know that this is vitriol
No solution, spleen-venting
But I feel better having screamed
Don’t you?
They desecrated winter, ninteen-seventy-nine
Capital collateral
Brooding duplicitous, wicked and able, media-ready
Heartless, and labeled

Super US citizen, super achiever
Mega ultra power dosing, relax
Defense, defense, defense, defense

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ignoreland
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ignoreland
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Ignoreland

Yeah, yeah, yeah
I did not do the revolution
Thank you

In a track that seethes with disaffection, R.E.M.’s ‘Ignoreland’ is a potent protest against the political and media establishments that marked the transition from the late 20th century into the dawn of a new millennium. The song’s terse, acerbic lyrics are a rallying cry for those fatigued by the ‘Us vs Them years,’ a term that encapsulates the era’s divisive politics.

To truly grasp ‘Ignoreland,’ we must peel back the layers of its intense rhetoric and searing imagery, uncovering a landscape where the personal becomes political and skepticism reigns supreme. It isn’t just a song—it’s a historical record and a wake-up call, encapsulating the angst and agitation of a generation coming to terms with the pervasive influence of mass media and political maneuvering.

The Searing Political Critique: Power, Puppets, and the Precipice

Lyrics such as ‘These bastards stole their power from the victims of the Us v Them years’ underline the song’s fierce denunciation of political machinations and the wholesale betrayal of democratic ideals. What R.E.M. captures is more than discontent; it’s a sense of enervating powerlessness against the machinery of ‘super achievers’ – those in positions of power, marked by their heartlessness and propaganda.

‘Ignoreland’ isn’t subtle about its targets. The reference to ‘the autumn, nineteen-seventy-nine’ can be seen as an indictment of the Reagan era politics, which the band perceives as a period when political figures seduced the public while dismantling social safety nets. The band’s dissidence is palpable, describing the government as ‘capital collateral’—a tool for economic gain rather than a protector of the people’s welfare.

Drowning in the Sound-Bite Culture: Media’s Stranglehold on Information

The ‘information nation’ mentioned in the lyrics is not a celebration of improved communication but an ironic jab at how the truth is kneaded and baked into consumable morsels for the public. The barrage of ‘sound-bite gluttons’ from 1980 to 1992 mirrors the band’s frustration with the dilution of news into byte-sized propaganda, tailored for unquestioned consumption.

In ‘Ignoreland,’ R.E.M. allegorizes the media landscape as a desolate winter that desecrated the landscape of trust. By describing the media as ‘terrified to report anything that isn’t handed on a presidential spoon,’ the song underscores the lack of critical journalism and the co-opting of the press into the political spectacle.

The Hidden Meaning: A Cycle of Cynicism and Complicity

‘If they weren’t there we would have created them, maybe, it’s true,’ exposes a deeper, perhaps more cynical take on political discontent. This line suggests a complicity in the creation of the ‘Ignoreland’ state-of-mind—implying that society, through apathy or participation, plays a part in propping up the very structures it despises.

It begs the question of the inherent human need to have a foil, a ‘super US citizen’ scapegoat, to direct our collective frustration. There’s an admission of inevitability laced with regret here, a sense that this is a cycle that has been and will always be perpetuated by human nature itself.

Unshackling the Chains of Control: The Revolutionary Undercurrent

‘I did not do the revolution’—the song concludes with a seemingly ambiguous assertion, which on closer inspection resonates as a refusal to be part of the superficial, status quo-preserving faux revolution marketed to the masses. It’s a declaration of independence from the false narratives woven to keep the public in line.

This line embodies the soul of ‘Ignoreland’: a refusal to engage with a corrupt system on its own duplicitous terms. Instead of physical revolution, R.E.M. leads a cerebral one, calling listeners to critically examine the foundations of their beliefs and the origins of their so-called information.

Memorable Lines and Their Echo in Today’s Society

‘How to walk in dignity with throw up on your shoes’ – this memorable line captures the zeitgeist of the entire song. It’s a bitterly satirical take on the ‘how to be what you can be’ self-help mantra of the era, suggesting that it’s hard to have self-respect when the system you’re told to believe in leaves you metaphorically, and perhaps literally, soiled.

There’s a universality to these lyrics that maintains relevance beyond their immediate context. In an age of ‘fake news’ and alternative facts, ‘Ignoreland’s’ resonance has only amplified, prompting listeners to examine the dispossession of truth and navigate a landscape littered with deceit.