I liked this song right away the first time I heard it because I share the same frustrations about the junk that gets played on the radio, and the radio/record execs who decide what we should hear. I haven't listened to music on the radio on a regular basis in about 15 years. But today there is more that this song warns about than just music. Celebrity worship and instant gratification have been so ingrained in our culture that we have been dumbed down as a society. It infuriated me right before the last presidential elections to hear interviews of voters for both parties not able to give intelligent reasons for their voting decision. I could not believe how gullible or even brainwashed some of them sounded, and how the media gravitated towards trivial pop culture type issues and ignored the real ones. So I guess this should have been posted several months ago, but here it is - and it's not like anything has changed since then. Sorry for the gloom and doom, at least I added the fun video clip at the end. If you don't know the history of this clip you can read it on wikipedia.com.
Radio, Radio - written by Elvis Costello for the album This Year's Model (U.S., 1978)
I was tuning in the shine on the light night dial
Doing anything my radio advised
With every one of those late night stations
Playing songs bringing tears to my eyes
I was seriously thinking about hiding the receiver
When the switch broke 'cause it's old
They're saying things that I can hardly believe
They really think we're getting out of control
(CHORUS) Radio is a sound salvation
Radio is cleaning up the nation
They say you better listen to the voice of reason
But they don't give you any choice 'cause they think that it's treason
So you had better do as you are told
You better listen to the radio
I wanna bite the hand that feeds me
I wanna bite that hand so badly
I want to make them wish they'd never seen me
Some of my friends sit around every evening
And they worry about the times ahead
But everybody else is overwhelmed by indifference
And the promise of an early bed
You either shut up or get cut up, they don't wanna hear about it
It's only inches on the reel-to-reel
And the radio is in the hands of such a lot of fools
Tryin' to anaesthetise the way that you feel
(REPEAT CHORUS)
Wonderful radio
Marvelous radio
Wonderful radio
Radio, radio
(FADE)
