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[Nobuko]

The Disposable Heroes Of Hipoprisy est un collectif hip hop créé en 1990 par Michael Franti et Rono Tse, deux membres du groupe de jazz the Beatnigs, originaire de San Francisco. Adeptes du libéralisme et du multiculturalisme, les deux hommes sont engagés depuis des années, contre les doctrines totalitaires comme le racisme, l'homophobie et autre misogynie. Leur premier titre Television: The Drug of the Nation sort en 92, dénonçant les méfaits du petit écran sur la conscience des plus jeunes. Leur rap est avant tout abrasif, pas forcément très mélodique, mais d'une véritable agressivité verbale, du moins dans le texte, puisque les Heroes se battent contre le gangsta rap et en fait, toutes les formes que peut revêtir la violence psychique ou physique.
Television The Drug Of The Nation est une chanson qui a été utilisée en introduction de chaque concert du ZOO TV Tour de U2 durant l'année 1992.

Je ne suis pas fan de rap en général, en fait je déteste même carrément cette musique à l'exception de quelques trucs américains datant des années 80, mais étrangement je trouve cette chanson vraiment bien. Elle possède un tempo entrainant et très rythmé accompagnée d'un sous message social plus que jamais d'actualité.

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one nation
under God
has turned into
one nation under the influence
of one drug

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V., it
satellite links
our United States of Unconsciousness
Apathetic therapeutic and extremely addictive
The methadone metronome pumping out
150 channels 24 hours a day
you can flip through all of them
and still there's nothing worth watching
T.V. is the reason why less than 10 per cent of our
Nation reads books daily
Why most people think Central Amerika
means Kansas
Socialism means unamerican
and Apartheid is a new headache remedy
absorbed in it's world it's so hard to find us
It shapes our mind the most
maybe the mother of our Nation
should remind us
that we're sitting too close to...

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V. is
the stomping ground for political candidates
Where bears in the woods
are chased by Grecian Formula'd
bald eagles
T.V. is mechanized politic's
remote control over the masses
co-sponsored by environmentally safe gases
watch for the PBS special
It's the perpetuation of the two party system
where image takes precedence over wisdom
Where sound bite politics are served to
the fastfood culture
Where straight teeth in your mouth
are more important than the words
that come out of it
Race baiting is the way to get selected
Willie Horton or
Will he not get elected on...

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

T.V., is it the reflector or the director?
Does it imitate us
or do we imitate it
because a child watches 1500 murders before he's
twelve years old and we wonder why we've created
a Jason generation that learns to laugh
rather than to abhor the horror
T.V. is the place where
armchair generals and quarterbacks can
experience first hand
the excitement of warfare
as the theme song is sung in the background
Sugar sweet sitcoms
that leave us with a bad actor taste while
pop stars metamorphosize into soda pop stars
You saw the video
You heard the soundtrack
Well now go buy the soft drink
Well, the onla cola that I support
would be a union C.O.L.A.(Cost Of Living Allowance)
On television

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation

Back again, "New and improved"
We return to our irregularly programmed schedule
hidden cleverly between heavy breasted
beer and car commercials
CNNESPNABCTNT but mostly B.S.
Where oxymoronic language like
"virtually spotless", "fresh frozen"
"light yet filling" and "military intelligence"
have become standard
T.V. is the place where phrases are redefined
like "recession" to "necessary downturn"
"Crude oil" on a beach to "mousse"
"Civilian death" to "collateral damages"
and being killed by your own Army
is now called "friendly fire"
T.V. is the place where the pursuit
of happiness has become the pursuit of
trivia
Where toothpaste and cars have become
sex objects
Where imagination is sucked out of children
by a cathode ray nipple
T.V. is the only wet nurse
that would create a cripple

Television, the drug of the Nation
Breeding ignorance and feeding radiation