Reviewing the band’s album Head Down for the BBC Greg Moffitt described the group’s sound as "electrifying blend of Led Zeppelin, Free, Bad Company, Deep Purple, The Doors and a dozen others."
white noise
Rival Sons Lyrics
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Every time I try to turn it off.
It tells me I'm inferior and incomplete,
And I'm a fool for being satisfied with what I've got.
White noise, white noise.
Carrying the poison to the girls and boys.
To remind me that I'm never alone.
They say the radiation will kill me eventually,
Along with every machine that I own.
White noise, white noise.
Carrying the poison to the girls and the boys.
There are natives living in the jungle,
Running wild and naked through the trees.
There are satellites above tracking every move,
To calculate how to sell them what they'll never need.
White noise, white noise.
Carrying the poison to the girls and the boys
The lyrics to Rival Sons' song White Noise present a powerful critique of the seemingly ubiquitous presence of technology in our lives and the way in which it is constantly bombarding us with messages that are intended to make us feel inadequate and incomplete. The song begins with a reference to the TV screen, which is portrayed as a source of constant annoyance, as it relentlessly tells the singer that he is inferior and not good enough. This sense of inadequacy is further intensified by the reference to the cellphone, which serves as a reminder of the singer's perpetual isolation, with the radiation that it emits serving as a metaphor for the toxicity of the modern world.
The song goes on to contrast the lives of people living in the jungle with those who are ensnared in the technological web of civilization. The former are presented as free and unencumbered, running wild and naked through the trees, while the latter are tracked and monitored by machines that are calculating how to sell them things that they don't really need. The final line of the song, which repeats the chorus, drives home the idea that this constant stream of information and stimuli serves as a form of white noise, a kind of background hum that is always present but can be barely noticed until it is pointed out.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a message coming to me on my TV screen,
I receive a message on my TV screen that I cannot escape from.
Every time I try to turn it off.
I cannot turn off the message, no matter how hard I try.
It tells me I'm inferior and incomplete,
The message tells me that I am not good enough and that I am lacking in some way.
And I'm a fool for being satisfied with what I've got.
The message suggests that I am foolish for feeling content with my current situation.
White noise, white noise.
The message is accompanied by a meaningless, distracting background noise.
Carrying the poison to the girls and boys.
This noise is harmful to everyone who is exposed to it.
There's a message coming to me when my cellphone rings,
My phone also delivers messages that I cannot avoid.
To remind me that I'm never alone.
These messages are designed to make me feel like I constantly need to be connected to others.
They say the radiation will kill me eventually,
Some of these messages even suggest that my phone is detrimental to my health in the long run.
Along with every machine that I own.
These messages imply that all of my technological devices are slowly killing me.
There are natives living in the jungle,
There are people living in remote areas who are isolated from technology.
Running wild and naked through the trees.
These people live freely, without the constraints of technology or modern society.
There are satellites above tracking every move,
Meanwhile, there are technologies constantly monitoring and surveilling even the most remote areas.
To calculate how to sell them what they'll never need.
These technologies are used to exploit these remote populations for profit.
White noise, white noise.
The same meaningless background noise and harmful message persists everywhere.
Carrying the poison to the girls and the boys.
Everyone is impacted by this harmful message and distracting noise, including children.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAVE COBB, Jay Buchanan, Michael Miley
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind