Financial Education...in a Metal Song?!
This morning, when I was driving to work in my Honda, I flipped between local rock radio stations, and landed on a channel that was playing a song I didn't recognize.
Longtime readers will know that I grew up on rock, and while I've branched out in my old age, I still mostly listen to hard rock and metal.
So on this radio station, I could tell from the vocals that the song was performed by a metal band called Disturbed, though I hadn't heard this particular song before. The song wasn't bad, so I kept listening.
When I heard the chorus, I was taken aback! No, not because they were saying anything 'disturbing.' (See what I did there?) It's because I heard the following:
Do you think that we could put it on credit?
[Unintelligible] minute
Are you stupid, boy?
Hence why I was dumbfounded. Am I really that much of a personal finance nerd?! Am I mishearing lyrics as if this metal band is singing about debt?
Or did Disturbed really slip some financial education into their song?...
If you know anything about Disturbed, who frequently sings about losing their marbles, you know the second alternative is...unlikely.
So, logically, I must conclude that I really am such a dork that I'm injecting finance into a metal song, less than an hour after I wake up! I mean, I AM a dork, but that's a bit much even for me.
I couldn't wait to arrive at work and park, so I could find the song and look up the actual lyrics! [PSA: Don't Shazam and drive, people!]
It took me a while, because I looked up terms like 'Are you stupid boy Disturbed lyrics.' I knew quickly that I must have mis-heard that part, because I didn't get any good hits.
It didn't take too long before Google served up a link to the song 'Stupify' on YouTube. Upon listening, I determined that was, indeed, the song I had heard on the radio. So I looked up the lyrics to Stupify, and found that they actually said the following:
Don't you think maybe we could put it on credit?
Don't you think it can take control when I don't let it?
I get stupefied!
So I wasn't totally off-base. They actually were singing about putting something on credit!
And it's not like most of the lyrics are exactly enunciated clearly. Even when I got home and listened to the song carefully with my favorite headphones, there were lines I couldn't make out.
Disturbed - like many metal bands - are generally not too concerned with making their lyrics clear. Their primary focus is crafting an aggressive, angry sound. If you can understand what they're saying, great! If not, it's not a big deal to them anyway. So at least my confusion is understandable.
Now that I know what the lyrics actually are, though, I have to wonder: what, exactly, are they putting on credit?
The singer, David Draiman, has said that the song was written about when he was dating a Latina and her parents refused to allow the relationship to continue. So in that context, I find it hard to determine what is being put on credit. The relationship? His trustworthiness?
I'm not sure. But it's a rockin song, and I think it's absolutely hilarious to imagine Disturbed giving metalheads a financial lesson about the dangers of debt.
So I'd like to submit my own version of the chorus instead, based on my original, incorrect interpretation of the lyrics. Imagine a conversation between a father and son. The irresponsible son wants to take out a loan to buy a car, but his more world-wise father knows his son won't keep up with the payments. The son's lines are in italics, the father's lines are in italics and bold.
See, but I don't get it
Don't you think maybe we could put it on credit?
Can the bank take back my car if I don't let it?
Are you stupid, boy?
🤣
Translation: 'Son, are you an idiot? You miss a couple payments, and they will send the repo man for your car. If you try to fight the repo man, he'll just call the cops. You'll watch helplessly, sitting on the front lawn in handcuffs, while the repo man drives away with your car!'
That thought is almost enough to make you want to headbang to some angry metal...
_________
Another wry thought occurred while listening to Disturbed this morning. It's a thought I've had before while driving and listening to hard rock or metal: nothing says f-you like driving a paid-off Honda with well over 200,000 miles! 🤣
But I thought more critically about that while at work today. Consider the all-too-common alternative: somebody buys a brand-new car, on which the manufacturer and dealer make a profit. But the buyers often can't afford to pay the whole amount at once, so they need to take out a loan. Naturally, whoever provides the loan expects the full amount to be paid back, plus interest.
And after a few years, the car buyer gets bored and/or the family gets bigger, so they trade in their depreciated, not-yet-paid-off car for another new one, for which they take out a new loan...
So after a while, everybody has made a tidy profit off of your car purchases: the bank, the dealership, the manufacturer...everybody except you!
So maybe one of the most metal things you can drive is actually a reliable old car! 🤔
In the spirit of the themes of this post (as well as the upcoming Halloween holiday), I offer the following royalty-free image, which is somewhat reminiscent of the band's mascot:
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