Comments on: False Dichotomies in Music

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:36:30 +0000

this kind of makes this whole article void… but i’m pretty sure the lyric is “are we human or are we denser?”

By: JB in San Diego

JB in San Diego — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:43:29 +0000

And where’s the robotic dancing animals intersection?

http://gadgetfind.com/robot.html

By: The Admiral

The Admiral — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 18:56:44 +0000

@Mark – There is NOTHING flawed about that Venn diagram, except that it does not include a link to a video of Robocop dancing. Awesome work, lee.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 17:40:58 +0000

Humans are animals. Your Venn diagram is flawed.

By: Gab

Gab — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:41:41 +0000

Doesn’t the “or” in Fiddy’s alleged dichotomy indicate that the separation you already admitted between “getting rich” and “dying” makes it not a dichotomy but two outcomes? And to further complicate your Fiddy reference, the “or” does make the two aspects discreet events, so the example you gave of the person that dies while trying to re-acquire wealth indeed works- “Get rich OR die trying,” is the phrase- the person in your example died trying to get rich, it just happened to be the second time they tried. So sorry, I don’t think “get rich or die trying” is a false dichotomy at all- it’s Fiddy’s personal philosophy on life.

“Iron Man,” what if Ozzy was going for the metaphorical sense of each description?

Modest Mouse, from “Satan in a Coffin”: “You were lying on the carpet like you’re Satin in a coffin/ You said, “Do you believe what you’re sayin’?”/… Are you dead or are you sleepin’?/ God I sure hope you are dead.” Why is it a dichotomy? Well, barring the ramifications of “God” being the object and not someone the singer knows, the person “on the carpet” speaks to the singer- they aren’t dead OR sleeping, unless we are to assume they spoke long enough before the song to fall asleep or die.

ALL of “Opposites Attract” by Paula Abdul is, in a sense, a false dichotomy if you take the video into consideration: her male counterpart is a cartoon character- and a cat, at that. They can’t actually BE “opposites” or “attract,” since he doesn’t exist.

Coldplay, “Yellow”: “I swam across/ I jumped across for you.” You can’t swim AND jump across the same line. You may be capable of jumping across a line into water and swimming, or even vice-versa, but they cannot be simultaneous.

By: Sanjay

Sanjay — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:50:28 +0000

If one assumes Mr. 50 Cent’s life goal is to become rich, there is no false dichotomy as described. It is only in assuming that he wants to stay rich that there is a problem. Perhaps what 50 is saying that if he ever slips back into the middle or lower classes, he will simply live out the rest of his days peacefully as a relative pauper.

What he does not recognize, however, is the possibility of being rendered unable to try to get rich, but not killed, such that when he dies he does not “die trying”. Perhaps if he was in a coma or something.

By: Chris Richards

Chris Richards — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:31:35 +0000

Well, there are a few false dichotomies in the Beatles catalog. In terms of single songs, the band asked about Love vs. War while there were many who attempted to do both simultaneously (in fact, in a sick way, many of the people waging the war saw it as a duty towards the Vietnamese). They also forced us to say either goodbye or hello, when we may have wanted to say, I’ll see you in a few minutes, or Don’t leave, I just need to use the loo.

Of course, the most interesting dichotomy spreads over not just two songs, but albums. On their US debut, With the Beatles, we are told that it is ‘Money (All I Want)’ that makes the band happy. Yet only an album later in A Hard Day’s Night, we are told that you ‘Can’t Buy Me Love.’ Not only are these two contradictory philosophies that negate one another directly in both lyrics and themes, they are both advocated by the same band! Not only do the Beatles give us false choices, but hypocrisy and double-speak as well! Next, Paul will be telling fans that we’re either “with him or against him” a la ex-President Bush. Damn you Paul, you continue to play with my emotions!!!

By: RRedman64

RRedman64 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:26:32 +0000

Thank you, Melanie, for invoking the late, great doctor. Now that I’ve heard an explanation for the lyrics, I find I like the song even more.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 17:19:09 +0000

I puzzled over “are we human or are we dancer” for a while…then the Internets told me that Brandon Flowers says that Hunter S. Thompson said that Americans are “raising a generation of dancers” when asked about the direction of the country, with the kids and such. The implication there was that we’re teaching people to be followers, puppets, people whose output is wholly dependent on someone else’s input.

The imagery matches in the other lyrics, too: “cut the cord … my sign is vital, my hands are cold” …

Unfortunately, because so many dang people asked (asked Brandon Flowers, asked the Internets, asked MTV, asked Rolling Stone, etc.) what the hell they meant by “Are we human or are we dancer,” I can’t seem to find any reference to the actual Thompson quote…and I can’t tell whether it even exists.

But the upshot is that there’s a possibility that this particular dichotomy isn’t as false as it sounds. The question actually is: are we capable of thinking, acting, and feeling for ourselves or are we empty and puppet-like, with someone else pulling the strings?

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:30:01 +0000

“Get Rich or Die Tryin’” is a variant of the classic gangsta dichotomy “Ride or Die.” The most notable artist to invoke this dichotomy was Tupac Shakur, who in several senses died while riding.