In my head

You keep your riches and I'll sew my stitches
You can't make me think like you, mundane
I've got a message for all those who think that
They can etch his words inside my brain
Inside my brain

TV, what do I need? Tell me who to believe
What's the use of autonomy when a button does it all?
When a little button does it all, does it all?

So, listen up, listen up closely, all
Who've seen the fucking eye-ache too
It's time to step away from cable train
And when we finally see the subtle light
This quirk in evolution will begin
To let us live and recreate
Create again

TV, what do I need? Tell me who to believe
What's the use of autonomy when a button does it all?
TV, what did I see? Tell me who should I be
Let's do our Mom a favor and drop a new God off the wall

Let me see past the fatuous knocks
I've got to rid myself of this idiot box
Let you see past the feathers and flocks
And help me plant a bomb in this idiot box

From the depths of the sea, to the tops of the trees
To the seat of a La-Z-Boy staring at a silver screen

TV, what do I need? Tell me who to believe
What's the use of autonomy when a button does it all?
TV, what did I see? Tell me who should I be
Let's do our Mom a favor and drop a new God off the wall, wall


Lyrics submitted by Idan

Idiot Box Lyrics as written by Brandon Charles Boyd Alex Katunich

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Idiot Box song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

36 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    Aldous Huxely(author of "brave new world") also wrote the essay/novel the dorrs of perception in which he depicts the negative sides of TV just as incubus does here.

    Scoton May 23, 2002   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Step
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Album art
Fortnight
Taylor Swift
The song 'Fortnight' by Taylor Swift and Post Malone tells a story about strong feelings, complicated relationships, and secret wishes. It talks about love, betrayal, and wanting someone who doesn't feel the same. The word 'fortnight' shows short-lived happiness and guilty pleasures, leading to sadness. It shows how messy relationships can be and the results of hiding emotions. “I was supposed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me,” she kickstarts the song in the first verse with lines suggesting an admission to a hospital for people with mental illnesses. She goes in the verse admitting her lover is the reason why she is like this. In the chorus, she sings about their time in love and reflects on how he has now settled with someone else. “I took the miracle move-on drug, the effects were temporary / And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” on the second verse she details her struggles to forget about him and the negative effects of her failure. “Thought of callin’ ya, but you won’t pick up / ‘Nother fortnight lost in America,” Post Malone sings in the outro.
Album art
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.