Sold
Drawing from the common failures of many relationships, Saint Paul based Ro… Read Full Bio ↴Drawing from the common failures of many relationships, Saint Paul based Robbie and Hiromi Matsumoto began writing tongue-in-cheek pop songs soon after they started dating in 2000 and decided to name their efforts after their shared favorite color red, or in Japanese, "Akai". Though most of their raw material was composed on two guitars, in early 2005 producer Eric Elvendahl began to arrange and record their songs with full instrumentation, which by 2006 grew into their first full-length album entitled "Pretty Songs About Ugly Things". 2010 marked the release of their sophomore release, "The Coldest Hour (Is Just Before The Dawn)", a dynamic journey through the metaphoric hours between dusk and dawn. Today Akai draws on the talents of up to 10 musicians for live support, playing mandolin, glockenspiel, flute, classical guitar, accordion and banjo. (www.theakai.com)

Sold
Akai Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Faking happy endings to our made up lives
so self-content to live our life

Filled up with rich distracting things

And if we lose our love (and if we lose our love)
We'll simply buy ten more (We'll simply buy ten more)
And if we drift at sea (And if we drift at sea)
We'll simply buy the shore (shore)

And as our hair and eyes turn gray
our wealth will wash our age away
Like grains of sand we'll all wash
Like grains of sand we'll turn to stone

Before the taste is gone (Before the taste is gone)
We'll have another bite (We'll have another bite)
The taste is bittersweet (The taste is bittersweet)
The feeling out of sight (sight)

Jump for joy on the blackjack table
Stakes are high 'cause our stakes are able
Dining out like we're drinking water
The heat's left on and it's getting hotter

China plates
Buy ten more

Polo shirts
Buy ten more

Security
Buy ten more

SUVs
Buy ten more

Cold champagne
Buy ten more

Stereos
Buy ten more

Designer jeans
Buy ten more





Happiness
Happiness

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Akai's song Sold convey a vivid commentary on society's obsession with material possessions and consumerism. The opening lines expose the inherent phoniness in our seemingly perfect, socially constructed lives where we present a façade of happiness. We are ‘faking happy endings to our made-up lives' and content with living life on our own terms, albeit while hiding behind the veneer of things we purchase. This is further reinforced in the next line where our lives are filled with ‘rich distracting things' that keep us satisfied.


The second stanza highlights the idea that we can simply replace whatever is lost, indicating a surplus of wealth leading to a dangerous sense of entitlement. Our lack of attachment to anything, including loved ones, reflects in the line, ‘if we lose our love, we'll simply buy ten more.' It also suggests that survival is not based on personal connections, but rather possession, as suggested by ‘if we drift at sea, we'll simply buy the shore.'


The third stanza of the song reflects the fleetingness of life but implies that we, as humans, believe we are immune to it by accumulating wealth. We believe that our wealth will wash our age away or that like ‘grains of sand we'll turn to stone.' This stanza perhaps sheds light on the human tendency to focus on the superficial, leading to a ‘bittersweet' experience where all experiences are just objects, and the feeling is ‘out of sight.'


The final stanza reinforces the theme of excess, where everything is replaceable, and we tend to use our money to fill the voids in our life. The line ‘jump for joy on the blackjack table, stakes are high because our stakes are able' emphasises that we seek thrills that are easily purchasable. The repetition of the phrase ‘Buy ten more' becomes a refrain in this stanza, demonstrating the cycle and the surplus nature of consumption.


Line by Line Meaning

Faking happy endings to our made up lives
We often pretend that our lives are perfect, but in reality, we're just putting on a show.


So self-content to live our life
We are happy with the way we live, and we don't want to change it.


Filled up with rich distracting things
We focus on accumulating material possessions, rather than enjoying the simple things in life.


And if we lose our love (and if we lose our love) We'll simply buy ten more (We'll simply buy ten more)
If we lose our significant other, we'll just replace them with someone else.


And if we drift at sea (And if we drift at sea) We'll simply buy the shore (shore)
If we encounter obstacles in life, we'll use our wealth to overcome them.


And as our hair and eyes turn gray our wealth will wash our age away Like grains of sand we'll all wash Like grains of sand we'll turn to stone
Our wealth will help us to maintain our youth and deny the realities of aging, but we will eventually turn to dust like everyone else.


Before the taste is gone (Before the taste is gone) We'll have another bite (We'll have another bite) The taste is bittersweet (The taste is bittersweet) The feeling out of sight (sight)
We want to enjoy life to the fullest while we still can, but the pleasure is fleeting, and we're left feeling empty.


Jump for joy on the blackjack table Stakes are high 'cause our stakes are able Dining out like we're drinking water The heat's left on and it's getting hotter
We take risks because we can afford to and indulge in extravagances like they're no big deal, even though it's taking a toll on our lives.


China plates Buy ten more Polo shirts Buy ten more Security Buy ten more SUVs Buy ten more Cold champagne Buy ten more Stereos Buy ten more Designer jeans Buy ten more Happiness Happiness
We believe in the idea that acquiring more things will bring us more happiness, but in the end, happiness cannot be bought.




Contributed by Addison N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

SoundOracle

This is the perfect opportunity for this company to show that they care and are striving to make changes.

Crookedletta601

That Part!

Jay Bee

Thank god Ski is out here calling out these companies, getting this dialogue started... First with Akai and now moog. Hopefully the moog conversation prevents what happened with Akai. I am excited to think of what will come from Ski's sit down's with Lynn and Rossum. Been inspired by Ski's production since '92, now I am also inpired by what I feel is the movement Ski is spearheading.

Lofyne

For Moog to sell out like that, it shows they probably weren’t in the best position financially. If the new deal allows them to focus on making great synths and not worry about money, that could be good. Unless InMusic maybe decide that the high end products like the One aren’t good for business, and that’s when there could be problems. You don’t see Alesis making the Andromeda anymore, or deciding to bring it back anytime soon.

DjBrightside206

I hope that they put the converters that are in the moogs, in the mpcs now. Time will tell.

michael calderon

Gonna be the opposite im afraid

MaulleyG

Get ready for the Moog Sub 1 on in neon green 😂

William Frank

Moogs are analog's... They don't use converters.

William Frank

Moog are the last quality synth's? Not Sequential, Waldorf, Buchla, Make Noise? And the other hundred good synth companies.. soma? C'mon..
Why do you hate inmusic so much? They have lots of great companies, lots.. sure some suck like m-audio, marantz, etc..
But Akai is great.. thru put out the best mpc that has ever been made and have sold truck loads.. I really don't get the hate..

voodoohex72

@William Frank Thank you lol. Half the people in this conversion talk have no freaking clue what they are.

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