Brian Johnson
Album IV — Unplugged
Bonus Track
Lyrics
[Intro — opens with a sampled clip from The Breakfast Club's physics-club scene, landing on "sorta social, demented and sad, but social"]
[Verse 1 — Magic Garden, sweet and sunny]
Welcome, welcome to our club
We share, we laugh, we hug, hug, hug
Physics class is so much fun
We measure things 'til we are done
[Chorus — still sweet]
It's sorta social
Demented and sad, but social
La la la, we're social
Demented and sad, but social
[Verse 2 — still sweet]
We drop a book, we drop a chair
We drop our favorite volunteer
We clap and cheer, we count the bounce
A gold star for "most pronounced"
[Chorus — repeat, sweet]
It's sorta social
Demented and sad, but social
La la la, we're social
Demented and sad, but social
[THE SLAYER SWITCH — production note: the gentle music stops cold, thrash crashes in]
We talk about physics, the properties of physics, and how to apply
We run our practical labs on a person — until they fucking die
UNTIL YOU FUCKING DIE
[Bridge — stays heavy]
You think we're dorks, that's all you see
Go on and ask, "who do you think you are?"
Oh, what do you care?
You see us how you want us there
It'll come as a surprise
When we measure your insides
[Outro — the thrash cuts out, gentle ukulele sweetness snaps back]
It's sorta social
Demented and sad, but social
La la la, we're social
Demented and sad... but social
Inspiration
Inspired by The Breakfast Club. John Bender's needling of Brian Johnson over the physics club's yearbook caption — "sorta social, demented and sad, but social." That line is the chorus, taken completely literally.
Premise: the physics club as a club of psychopaths who murder people using the properties of physics — how much pressure before a skull gives, what height and speed it takes for a body to come apart on impact. Played entirely straight.
Production note: built on two influences the band has never reconciled — the soothing melodic sensibility of The Magic Garden, and the bone-crushing intensity of Slayer. The whole song is sweet, sunny, singsong — until the Slayer switch flips.
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