From the critically acclaimed album The Suburbs (2010) comes a song that is still relevant today. The entire album is a critique/exploration of suburban life. This song explores our relationship with technology.

What this song means to me (opinion):

The first verse is very meditative. To me it means how we just can let go and stop participating with our current society. Just pure one with the earth, disconnected from the society around is.

Then we zoom in on something specific. The song evokes themes of decline, something shared by many people these days. Then it hits you like a ton of bricks:

Kasparov, Deep Blue, 1996.

The song references a chess match between World chess champion Kasparov and IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue. The first match was won by Deep Blue (though Kasparov adjusted his strategy to win the contest). The entire reference and the lyrics that follow apply to our current AI issues and how maybe too much technology has been shoved down our throats?

The song ends with a call to disconnect. Just leave it all behind and reconnect with our mother Earth. I listen to this song more these days then ever before.

I hope some of you enjoy it as much as I do. Please share your feelings on the song. I won’t respond to all of them but I promise to read all comments. ✌️

Oh and check out the entire album. It really is a piece of art. This album was the first thing that made me question whether the American way of life was “the best”. It wasn’t sudden either, it was like a seed that was planted and after 10 years grew to completely change my worldview.