The Legendary Pink Dots are a Netherlands-based band formed in August 1980 … Read Full Bio ↴The Legendary Pink Dots are a Netherlands-based band formed in August 1980 in the UK who, although distinctly underground, have been musically influential over the years. The band name was derived from pink dots of nail varnish on the piano in their squat, where founding members Edward and April lived. The band has as its focal point vocalist Edward Ka-Spel, who is, along with Phil "The Silverman" Knight, one of the original remaining members of the band. In the mid eighties the band resettled in the Netherlands, where they still reside today. Apart from Edward and Phil, the line-up has gone through many changes. Members such as Ryan Moore, a Canadian bass player, who joined in 1991 after the recordings of the Last Man to Fly with the Tear Garden (he joined as a session musician), went on to form their own labels and musical projects. See Twilight Circus and M Records. Their music is nothing if not original and it is difficult to categorise, but comparisons may be drawn with bands like Pink Floyd and Can.

Their sound has been described as an amalgamation of psychedelic rock, industrial, synth-pop and avant-garde. They have released over 40 records and continuously tour the world.

Members of the band have also collaborated with Nurse With Wound, The Dresden Dolls, Jarboe, HNAS, Jim O'Rourke, Skinny Puppy's cEvin Key, forming The Tear Garden. Ka Spel accompanied Skinny Puppy for a small part of their 1988 European 'Head Trauma' tour in Sweden. Key also appears on the 1994 album 9 Lives to Wonder.

Window On The World
The Legendary Pink Dots Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Behold a human brain. What wonders lie within?)

Cable kings got Saturn's rings, got radiation, sabre sting, got fingers,
news at ten, those faces - fear temptation. Over rainbows, Rambo, Tower of
Babel, running red, exploding heads, Oh, the naked and the dead, and
sometimes both - soft focus. Asterisking, "UC" - cables pumping sperm
for all the family. Gone horizontal sucking on their full frontal lobes.
The psycho show. The cuckoo's nest. Electric eyes in blue-light

haloes. Ghost effects, your window on the world, shut down. Chain lock,
smoke alarm, Go dial a six pack. Sink back - fold your arms. Be Jesus,
Suffer! Little children - (Peace on Earth) We're watching Scuds and blood
rain down. Wise-guy rabbits breeding, bleeding, dies for us a hundred times a
day. Exclusive here on CNN, the resurrection in slow motion, I can feel

those holes (cut!) They've got the anti-Christ. Got horsemen (cut!) Saturating,
slick - Monopolize. The whole world dies before your eyes, take that. Zap!

Overall Meaning

The Legendary Pink Dots' ‘Window On The World’ conveys how media networks have disseminated distorted versions of reality that fluctuate between fear and temptation in contemporary times. The lyrics suggest that the media has created an alternate reality that is perpetually feeding the masses with lies and propaganda. The reference to the ‘Tower of Babel’ and ‘Asterisking’ refers to the confusion of languages and symbols that have been created by the media industry. The song’s chorus ‘your window on the world, shut down’ represents the metaphorical shut down of viewers' perceptions of reality due to the reduced personal experiences from being immersed in online social media spaces.

Furthermore, the song references the media's fascination with violence and its glamorous portrayal. The ‘running red, exploding heads’ and ‘Rambo' refer to images that are dramatized and disseminated worldwide through the media network. The lyrics suggest that audiences are fed a constant stream of violent content, depicted in a ‘soft focus’. The reference to the ‘naked and the dead’ alludes to pornography and reality TV shows where people willingly expose themselves to generate personal attention or fame.

Line by Line Meaning

Cable kings got Saturn's rings, got radiation, sabre sting, got fingers, news at ten, those faces - fear temptation.
Media conglomerates have a stranglehold on the flow of information, with power over things as grand as planets and as ominous as weapons of war. They use fear to control the population, delivering endless supplies of bad news through mediums like TV stations that constantly deploy propaganda.

Over rainbows, Rambo, Tower of Babel, running red, exploding heads, Oh, the naked and the dead, and sometimes both - soft focus.
This chaotic world presents confusing and unnerving images that make little sense when pieced together. Violence and bloodshed abound as people struggle to make sense of it all. Even the most basic human functions like sex and death are distorted into something grotesque and unreal.

Asterisking, "UC" - cables pumping sperm for all the family. Gone horizontal sucking on their full frontal lobes. The psycho show. The cuckoo's nest. Electric eyes in blue-light haloes. Ghost effects, your window on the world, shut down.
Television stations use subliminal messaging and sex to entice viewers to stay tuned in, all while the programming itself gradually takes over the audience's cognitive function. The resulting mental state is akin to being trapped in a psychiatric ward or slipping into a coma, all while surrounded by indescribable hallucinations.

Chain lock, smoke alarm, Go dial a six pack. Sink back - fold your arms. Be Jesus, Suffer!
The only hope of breaking free from this mental prison is to disengage and take personal responsibility for your own life. Be prepared to suffer for your choices, but take solace in the knowledge that you are in control of your fate.

Little children - (Peace on Earth) We're watching Scuds and blood rain down. Wise-guy rabbits breeding, bleeding, dies for us a hundred times a day.
Children are forced to bear witness to the horrors of war and senseless violence perpetuated by people behaving like animals. Meanwhile, animals themselves are often subject to the same arbitrary and meaningless suffering.

Exclusive here on CNN, the resurrection in slow motion, I can feel those holes (cut!) They've got the anti-Christ. Got horsemen (cut!) Saturating, slick - Monopolize.
Mainstream media presents shallow and sensationalized accounts of even the most profound and spiritual experiences, all while pushing a hidden agenda. This agenda is often tied to big business interests, who are more than happy to wield their wealth to get what they want.

The whole world dies before your eyes, take that. Zap!
It is easy to become detached and desensitized to the overwhelming suffering and chaos of the world, reducing everything to a meaningless blur of insanity. But the truth is that everything is real, and choosing to ignore it only makes the situation worse.

Contributed by Skyler W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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