The band name is a reference to "kissing and cuddling," which, according to Thrussell, symbolizes the Marxist concept of destroying barriers between people (see the lyrics to "Light, Yet Refreshing")
Their first album, Lies Inc., was released in 1992. Pieter Bourke joined the band soon afterwards, and Dear Valued Customer, which drew heavily on techno influences, was released in 1994. That same year, two sideprojects emerged: Soma was formed by Thrussell and Pieter Bourke, and Thrussell formed solo project Black Lung.
By 1997, the band had largely become a solo project for Thrussell (with guest musicians). Buy Me... I'll Change Your Life was a departure in style, featuring country western-style guitar and a cover of Lee Hazlewood's "Let the Little Flowers Grow". 1999's Third Mall from the Sun offered a unique blend of the style of the previous two albums, along with new influences. This was followed by the remix album Relax into the Abyss.
In 2003, Beyond the Valley of the Proles was released. This album offered a more refined version of the style found on Buy Me. Its 2006 follow-up, Snog Vs. the Faecal Juggernaut of Mass Culture, saw a return to a more electronic sound.
One notable feature about the band is Thrussell's lyrics — almost all songs contain themes of anti-capitalism, anti-fascism, anti-consumerism, individuality, and anti-big-brotherism. Thrussell also often includes references to conspiracy theories in his lyrics and song titles (for example, The Report From Iron Mountain or Rex 84).
The albums Third Mall from the Sun (1999), Relax into the Abyss (2000) and Beyond the Valley of the Proles (2003) featured artwork by Canadian artist Chris Woods, whose paintings lampoon the advertising tactics of major corporations such as McDonald's, The Gap, and Nike.
Discography
Albums
Lies Inc. (1992)
Dear Valued Customer (1994)
Live in the Global Village (limited-edition bonus disc, 1994)
Lies Inc. (limited-edition 2-disc reissue with early material, 1996)
Remote Control (anthology, 1997)
Buy Me...I'll Change Your Life (1997)
Third Mall from the Sun (1999)
Relax Into the Abyss (remixes, 2000)
Beyond the Valley of the Proles (2003)
Your Favourite Electro-Folk Swingers (limited-edition remix CD, 2003)
Sixteen Easy Tunes For The End Times (2-disc greatest hits collection with bonus unreleased material, 2006)
Snog Vs. The Faecal Juggernaut Of Mass Culture (2006)
Singles and EPs
Corporate Slave (1992)
Shop (1992)
Born To Be Mild (1993)
Hey Christian God (1993)
Cliché (1994)
The Future (1995)
Make the Little Flowers Grow (1997)
Hooray!! (1998)
The Ballad (1998)
The Human Germ (1998)
I Snog, Therefore I am (1999)
Justified Homicide (2001)
Crash Crash (Vs. Remixes & Exclusive Tracks CD Single - 2006)
Vs. The Faecal Juggernaut Of Mass Culture (2006)
City EP (2008)
Other
Adventures in Capitalism DVD (2003)
Angst (Movie soundtrack) (2000) (contributed four tracks)
Pearls Before Swine (Movie Soundtrack) (contributed tracks, along side NON and Death in June)
This Is Capitalism
Snog Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Almost everyone's generic views.
The crushing of dissent and
The money that's already been spent.
And more... much more than this...
This is Capitalism...
Propaganda as education,
No rising above your station.
All the victims that can hardly wait.
And more... much more that this...
This is Capitalism.
In these lyrics to Snog's song "This Is Capitalism," the artist highlights the negative effects that capitalism has on society. The first line, "The lie that's the news," refers to the way that mainstream media often manipulates the truth to fit their own agenda. The following line, "Almost everyone's generic views," further emphasizes the way that capitalist society tends to suppress independent thought and encourages conformity.
The third line, "The crushing of dissent," speaks to the dangers of speaking out against the status quo in a capitalist society. The fourth line, "The money that's already been spent," refers to the way that capitalism perpetuates itself through the accumulation of wealth and the dominance of those who have already amassed power and resources.
The lyric "Propaganda as education" highlights the way that capitalist societies tend to indoctrinate citizens into a particular way of thought, often to the detriment of critical thinking skills. The following line, "No rising above your station," refers to the way that capitalism tends to stratify society based on economic class, and makes it difficult for people to move up the social ladder regardless of their inherent talents or abilities.
The lyric "A totalitarian state" describes the ways in which capitalist societies can become oppressive and dictatorial, with power becoming more and more consolidated in the hands of a few people. Finally, the lyric "All the victims that can hardly wait" speaks to the way that capitalism creates a cycle of exploitation and oppression, with those at the bottom of the economic ladder often suffering the most.
Line by Line Meaning
The lie that's the news,
The news is just a lie that everyone is blindly accepting.
Almost everyone's generic views.
People have shallow and unoriginal opinions about everything they encounter.
The crushing of dissent and
Opposing ideas are suppressed and silenced.
The money that's already been spent.
Money has already been spent on things we don't need, leaving us with less for things that truly matter.
And more... much more than this...
There are countless other examples of this pervasive issue.
This is Capitalism...
All of these problems are inherent to the capitalist system we live under.
Propaganda as education,
Education is just another way to spread biased information rather than facts.
No rising above your station.
It is very difficult and often impossible to move up in the world and achieve true success.
A totalitarian state,
A government that has complete control over its citizens' lives and freedoms.
All the victims that can hardly wait.
The oppressed and marginalized people who are waiting for change to come.
And more... much more that this...
Again, there are many other examples of the negative aspects of capitalism.
This is Capitalism.
All of these issues stem from the capitalist system we are living in.
Contributed by Isabelle V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
tate Winch
The lie that's the news
Almost everyone's generic views
The crushing of dissent and
The money that's already been spent
And more... much more than this...
This is Capitalism...
Propaganda as education
No rising above your station
A totalitarian state
All the victims that can hardly wait
And more... much more that this...
This is Capitalism
Hnat Kubov
An old soviet cold war era joke:
An American says to a Russian
"We have democracy in the US. I can stand in front of the White House and yell that Reagan is a fool and nobody will harm me."
The Russian replies:
"Well, we also have democracy. I, too, can stand on the Red Square and yell that Reagan is a fool and go unharmed"
That being said, this song is more about Communism than it is about capitalism, but the little communist David Thrussel sees the world through the prism of diamat, where "Freedom is slavery", so "propaganda as education" becomes a capitalistic trait in his eyes.
And about the video, well, acting like only capitalists lead wars? Forgot about communist-inspired post 1917 "Civil war"? Or about Winter War in Finland? Or Afghanistan? Or invasion of Czechoslovakia?
el.come.zombis
Thank you very much, its is one of my favorite Snog tracks as well.
pilaman82
the ending to this track would bring tears to my eyes if capitalism hadn't taken my soul
Jo Malone
yes! still brill! bought this on cd back in the day and just revisiting the excellence of dave thrussell. love your work mate! still relevant, sadly
Игорь Мотыгин
Thanks, great video, great song. Fear, because it is true...
unfit242
I'm sure David would be proud. This has a lot of awesome to it!
Glokas7
One of my all time fav Snog tracks!!! Man, this video is so bad ass, great job on this. One of the best fan made vids i've seen!
andras siiix
i love snog , i wish there would be more goth bands with political lyrics
JUAN MANUEL BECERRIL ARELLLANO
Ha ha ha Don´t make me laugh!!...There´s nothing more goth that the painful feeling of selfdestruction as a result of the concupiscence.
vv stern
@andras siiix aye mate, agreed with everything but that goth branding. if you like to see it goth, am okay with it, tis insignificantly nowadays
andras siiix
@vv stern dude this is as goth as it can get ;) first you need to get a majority of your population to support something else , and in the US that wont happen anytime soon ... im by the way totally on the side of socially managed democracy .. SOME capitalism most have room in society, but market has to be regulated by the government too BIG TIME, and corporations should have ZERO say in policy making