The Eyes Of Society

Electric Six “Born to be Ridiculed”

The characters populating the lyrics of Electric Six songs are mostly creeps, rubes, charlatans, and losers. In this respect they’re like a Steely Dan for the 21st century, but with the noble and romantic loser archetype replaced by a more pathetic and deeply uncool version. “Born to Be Ridiculed” is from the POV of one of those guys, a hapless fool who’s come to realize they can’t avoid putting themselves in situations that bring them humiliation and/or the disdain of strangers. But as far as E6 characters go, this guy isn’t that bad and the appeal of the song is how the rockabilly energy of the music and Dick Valentine’s vocal performance make him seem very accepting of his fate. He sounds like he’s owning it. He sounds like he’s almost unafraid.

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