Hook

This song is almost too full of meaning to relate all of it. First, Popper is an absolute genius. It is impossible to load up a song with so much and have it be accidental.

As stated earlier, "the hook" is a music industry term meaning a special something that a song has to make it "stick" with someone.

Popper is toying with his audience. Making fun of the MTV crowd who just likes a song because it's catchy and at the same time delivering a sly message to the fans who "get it".

He tells us what his plans are from the beginning and dares anyone to not be hooked by the song. He knows that many of the people talking about his music never "listened" to the words, only "heard" them. As a songsmith and singer/performer, as long as he practices his craft, many will fall under the song's spell even if it is saying nothing (even if he tells us it will say nothing). By making the hook of the song the part about the hook, he has unloaded both barrels (songcraft and performance, what he says and how he says it is perfectly joined) and hit a bullseye. Indeed, our resolve does break and even if you didn't know the rest of the words, you were ready to sing along with the hook the first time you heard the song. He mentions Peter Pan because in the previous line he told us "to confuse the issue" he would "refer to familiar heroes from long ago", and because Peter Pan fits nicely with the entire hook analogy. The way he incorporates this element is why I say genius when I refer to him. The last part of the song, I really feel is "rapped" quickly not because it fits the change in music (let's face it, this song is lyrics, the music is matching what he wants to say), but because he wanted to "sneak" it through (like the fast talk in a car commercial). You have to want to listen to his words in this part (again, this is no accident). This last part of the song is the true commentary on the music business. His advice to "suck it in" if your Rin Tin Tin or Anne Boleyn is priceless. Rin Tin Tin lost his balls so he could perform when ordered to. Anne Boleyn lost her head when the next great thing came along. He has no illusions that the music industry will do both to anyone who has no substance to their work. His contempt for MTV is obvious and well-placed, the line about making a desperate move "or else you'll win" is wonderful. How bad must his views of cookie-cutter pop be to tell us getting to the top is not a good thing? We can only wonder, "How desperate of a move? Maybe write a song about all of this and tell us what your doing, then still pull it off?" He uses deserate(ly) twice in the space of a few lines. He really hopes someone gets his message so he knows his work is more than TRL and "fans" who barely know the words and have no clue of their meaning. It is an amazing song and an amazing feat to create something like this.

~M