Violent Pornography by System of a Down Lyrics Meaning – Decoding a Disturbing Media Critique
Lyrics
Everybody, everybody, everybody fucks
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody sucks
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody cries
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody dies
It’s a non-stop disco
Bet you it’s Nabisco
Bet you didn’t know, woo-oo
Non-stop disco
Bet you it’s Nabisco
Bet you didn’t know, woo-oo
Non-stop disco
Bet you didn’t know
Bet you didn’t know
Non-stop disco
Bet you didn’t know
Bet you didn’t know
Bet you didn’t know
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody fucks
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody sucks
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody dies
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody cries
It’s a non-stop disco
Bet you it’s Nabisco
Bet you didn’t know, woo-oo
Non-stop disco
Bet you it’s Nabisco, woo-oo
Bet you didn’t know
Non-stop disco
Bet you didn’t know
Bet you didn’t know
Non-stop disco
Bet you didn’t know
Bet you didn’t know
Bet you didn’t know
It’s a violent pornography
Choking chicks and sodomy
The kind of shit you get on your TV
It’s a violent pornography
Choking chicks and sodomy
The kind of shit you get on your TV
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody sucks
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody fucks
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody dies
Everybody, everybody, everybody livin’ now
Everybody, everybody, everybody cries
It’s a non-stop disco
Bet you it’s Nabisco
Bet you didn’t know, woo-oo
Non-stop disco
Bet you it’s Nabisco, woo-oo
Bet you didn’t know
Non-stop disco
Bet you didn’t know
Bet you didn’t know
Non-stop disco
Bet you didn’t know
Bet you didn’t know
Bet you didn’t know
It’s a violent pornography
Choking chicks and sodomy
The kind of shit you get on your TV
It’s a violent pornography
Choking chicks and sodomy
The kind of shit that’s on your TV
It’s a violent pornography
Choking chicks and sodomy
The kind of shit that’s on your TV
It’s on the TV (fuck)
Turn off your TV
Can you say, “Brainwashing?”
Brainwashing
It’s a non-stop disco
In the volatile arena of music where the political meets the personal, System of a Down has carved a niche of their own with their raucous energy and poignant messages. ‘Violent Pornography,’ a track from their 2005 album ‘Mesmerize,’ is emblematic of their ability to start conversations around uncomfortable topics. The song blisters with satire and social commentary packaged in the band’s signature style—chaotic instrumentation accompanying viscerally shouted lyrics.
The tune’s thrashing rhythms and incendiary imagery are a viperous cocktail of rhetoric, aimed directly at the cultural underpinnings of our society. Through a repeated, almost hypnotic refrain, ‘Violent Pornography’ doesn’t mince its words, shedding light on the pervasive nature of destructive content within media in a way that forces listeners to confront the normality of its consumption.
An Anarchic Refrain That Holds a Mirror to Society
System of a Down’s ‘Violent Pornography’ appears to take a sledgehammer approach to the modern media landscape. The frenetic repetition of ‘everybody’ coupled with verbs pointing to the basest of human activities sets the stage for what seems to be an all-out assault on the desensitization of society. It’s confrontational and relentless in its approach.
The band’s choice to use a repetitive structure mirrors how media saturation can numb its consumers to the extremities of content. In a sense, it’s not only a critique but also an embodiment of the very issue at hand—where the lines between entertainment and excess blur beyond recognition.
The Mesmerizing Disco Beats Versus Nihilistic Truths
Amidst the chaos, there’s the recurring mantra of ‘It’s a non-stop disco,’ which may seem absurdly juxtaposed with the track’s darker themes. It’s this very absurdity that nods to the underlying commentary—while the party goes on, are we choosing to ignore the ominous overtones of what this ‘disco’ entails?
By attempting to ‘bet you it’s Nabisco,’ possibly a metaphor for cookie-cutter, corporate-driven content, there’s an insinuation of consumerism’s grasp on culture and the compromises made in the name of mass appeal.
Confronting the Beast: The Harsh Reality of ‘Violent Pornography’
The song’s title itself is a jarring expression, unapologetically bringing forth the imagery of ‘choking chicks and sodomy’—an unabashed symbol of the extremes being peddled as commonplace on television. System of a Down suggests a corrosive feedback loop wherein society consumes, and thus condones, a diet of violent and sexually explicit content.
Their repetition of this line scoffs at the normalization of such content, indicating how tuned in—or perhaps tuned out—the average viewer has become to what’s broadcasted into their homes.
A Cry for Cognition: ‘Can You Say, “Brainwashing?”‘
Approaching the culmination of the song, the band twists its knife deeper by questioning the listener directly with ‘Can you say, “Brainwashing?”‘ This interjection is a stark call to wake up to the manipulation of media, highlighting its capacity to influence thought patterns and beliefs.
There’s an almost taunting nature as they label the constant push of media as ‘brainwashing,’ nudging listeners to question their passivity towards the media they consume.
Turning Off the Tap: The Song’s Call for Conscious Consumption
With a crescendo of cacophony, ‘Violent Pornography’ concludes with what reads as a solution amidst the troubling imagery: ‘Turn off your TV.’ It’s a simple yet powerful suggestion that advocates for more mindfulness in our media consumption habits.
The statement doesn’t imply a detachment from current affairs or popular culture, but rather, a conscious choice to engage with content that doesn’t perpetuate a vicious cycle of desensitization and ‘non-stop disco’—a revelry without substance or scrutiny.
