5
$\begingroup$

As posed by Frank Zappa and Don Pardo on “Saturday Night Live” in 1976:

“I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed and deranged
I have existed for years
But very little has changed
I'm the tool of the government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you

“I might be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say
I'm the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I'm the _____________

“You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't go for help ... no one will heed you
Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold

“That's right, folks, [hint:]

don't touch that dial!”

Improve this question
$\endgroup$

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4
$\begingroup$

Oh, this is an interesting idea for a puzzle! Is the answer

Television?

My reasoning:

I am gross and perverted
I'm obsessed and deranged

There has always been moral outrage over violent TV shows.

I have existed for years
But very little has changed
I'm the tool of the government
And industry too
For I am destined to rule
And regulate you

For a long time there have been government PSAs and corporate advertisements playing on nearly every TV channel.

“I might be vile and pernicious
But you can't look away
I make you think I'm delicious
With the stuff that I say

People enjoy watching TV and generally find arguments (especially ones that they already agree with) from pundits very convincing.

I'm the best you can get
Have you guessed me yet?
I'm the _____________

Self explanatory.

“You will obey me while I lead you
And eat the garbage that I feed you
Until the day that we don't need you
Don't go for help ... no one will heed you

Again, people like watching TV even if the content isn't intellectual.

Your mind is totally controlled
It has been stuffed into my mold
And you will do as you are told
Until the rights to you are sold

Advertisements can be seen as "selling" viewers to companies.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ Close enough for a cigar, @Deusovi ! The full answer in the song is "I'm the ____ ____ing ___ from your [answer you gave]. The clues above don't help narrow it down that much though. $\endgroup$
    – humn
    Jan 14, 2016 at 3:42
  • $\begingroup$ Three words? I thought it was "ooze running from your tv set". $\endgroup$
    – Carl
    Jan 14, 2016 at 4:14
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Awesome that you got it without knowing the song. $\endgroup$
    – Carl
    Jan 14, 2016 at 4:14
  • $\begingroup$ So close, @Carl ! Zappa's just one step ahead of us. He used two words for [Deusovi's answer], used "[synonym for ooze] oozing" and threw in an "out." As seen on youtube.com/watch?v=NARfmp0PW4E and heard on youtube.com/watch?v=NeKrt4fc16I $\endgroup$
    – humn
    Jan 14, 2016 at 5:25

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.