Contributors:

Jonathan Chaffer

Jim Kuemmerle

There is ample wordplay in the chorus of this song. First is the title, which is a play on the song "The Age of Aquarius" from the musical Hair. Other than the similarity of the phrases "Dawning of the Age of Aquarius" and "Spawning of the Cage and Aquarium," the songs bear little resemblance. Also, there are a couple of paradoxical statements: "Don't wait a moment too soon" and "Used to be different, now you're the same."

In a departure from format, here is a paper written on the subject of the song:

"I Wanna Be a Nonconformist Just Like Everybody Else!!!!"

Jim Kuemmerle

April 19, 1993

In their song "Cage & Aquarium," John Linnell and John Flansburgh, also known as They Might Be Giants, convey their views on the growing apathy and indifference of American culture during the 1980's. The song is sixty-five seconds long and consists of three sections: a brief instrumental at the beginning, a vocal section with instrumental backing, and another brief instrumental almost identical to the other two instrumental elements. The piece was written in E minor for bass and baritone voice, synthesizer, and drum machine, which, as Flansburgh said in a 1988 interview, they use "because we can use strange rhythms and not worry about the drummer's head exploding." (Dougherty 35.) The lyrics consist of four sections: an expository quatrain, a developmental triplet, a chorus that resolves the 'problem' established and developed in the previous stanzas, and the same chorus repeated for emphasis with a slight variation in the rhythm of the last line. The lyrics have no regular rhyme scheme or meter, but are written in free verse.

In the first stanza, the listener is introduced to the problem of the subject, a former hippie who has since rejected his nonconformist ways and settled into the mainstream of middle-class society. Because he has chosen to conform unquestioningly to the traditional norms of his society, his reactions and beliefs have become quite predictable. This is what Flansburgh and Linnell mean by "Somebody's reading your mind / Damned if you know who it is." (TMBG 5.) This statement also means that the subject is unable to determine who is controlling his mind or, more importantly, why they should even care about the thoughts of a former idealist who has abandoned his beliefs. The song continues, "They're digging through all of you files / Stealing back your best ideas." (TMBG 5.) The telepathist and his cohorts have been searching through the hippie's memories and subconscious, only to find that the hippie has no original thoughts or ideas. Everything of any worth in his belongs to someone else.

The second stanza begins, "You cover your windows with lead / Even keeping the pets outside." (TMBG 5.) The significance of lead is twofold: it is both a protector and a poison. The lead in these lines represents the hippie's paranoia as he begins to search frantically for a way to protect himself from the telepathist's probe. The hippie's paranoia might protect him from the probe, but it simultaneously wounds him. The pets symbolize those close to the hippie. According to J. E. Cirlot, "the frequent symbol of the 'tame animal' can signify the reversal of those symbolic meanings associated with the same animal when wild." (Cirlot 9.) The pets, like the former hippie himself, are creatures who abandoned their roots and let themselves be domesticated. The pets also represent fidelity and trust, which the hippie betrays when "keeping the pets outside." The hippie betrays his friends, family, and kindred souls - those who trust him - as easily as he betrayed his ideals. The next line is "Then you hear a moment too late this sound coming over the phone." (TMBG 5.) There is little hope left for the hippie - he has severed almost all ties with the outside world, with the notable exception of his telephone. The line also describes the negative consequences of his apathy. By failing to do anything about his deteriorating morals, he limits his options for recovery. He has no remaining refuge from the harmful results of his folly. It is literally "a moment too late."

In the song's chorus, the point of view shifts from that of an omniscient observer to that of the telepathist. He begins, "This is the spawning of the cage and aquarium," a pun on the line "This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius." (TMBG 5.) The original version of the phrase was a rallying cry for youth of the late 1960's and early 1970's; this version is comparatively tame in both content and context. Instead of being used to celebrate freedom, the phrase has been modified to emphasize the hippie's self-imprisonment. His complete renunciation of idealism has left him trapped by society. He has become a slave to mediocrity and routine, and his descent into neurotic paranoia is merely the coup de grace. The telepathist continues, "Don't wait a moment too soon." (TMBG 5.) This line is the telepathist's condemnation of the hippie's procrastination. The hippie was aware of his descent into mundane prosaicness, but he did nothing to halt it. The next line, "Used to be different, now you're the same," is another testament to the hippie's lost idealism. (TMBG 5.) When he was a radical, he had reached a high moral plateau - he had an internalized code of ethics and the courage to live by that code regardless of public opinion. When he lost that idealism - when he succumbed to the norm - public opinion took a higher priority than justice. The final line of the song is "Yawn as you plane goes down in flames." (TMBG 5.) Flansburgh and Linnell view the hippie's descent into amorality as one of the most heinous of transformations. The airplane represents what the hippie once was - a man with a sense of what was right. He soared high in an ethical sense, embodying many of the values upon which America was constructed: freedom, self-determination, and rugged individualism. Like the airplane, however, the hippie loses the strength to maintain his moral altitude and "goes down in flames." Instead of panicking, adopting a fatalistic altitude, or working to fix the problem, (all viable options for any self-respecting 'pilot,') the hippie yawns - a symbol of apathetic surrender. With no convictions, he has no protection from his worst impulses.

In their 1988 song "Cage & Aquarium," John Linnell and John Flansburgh reveal their contempt for the apathy, amorality, and blind conformity common in American society. How many of society's more recent problems have been blamed on such evils? Everything from gang violence, drug abuse, and the Lakewood, California "Spur Posse" to teenage pregnancy and alcoholism can be attributed to blind conformity. The solution to this problem is nonconformity - the condemnation of conformity for conformity's sake. All of history's great men and women have been nonconformist - willing to risk a bad reputation for a higher moral cause. One must be careful, however, not to confuse nonconformity with anticonformity - the condemnation of all conformity. If conformity to the norm is what is morally and ethically right in a certain situation, (as in the fact that society will not tolerate the 'ethnic cleansing' in Bosnia-Herzegovina,) then nonconformists have no qualms about conforming. If unquestioning conformity to the norm is merely what is expected, only then are nonconformist unable to see the purpose. They Might Be Giants is another example of nonconformity in action. Many people scorn the duo for being so radically different from the norm, but that has not stopped them from producing some of the most creative and original music of this century. As David Menconi notes, "They Might Be Giants have earned admiration in alternative-rock circles for attaining a measure of commercial success with very little compromise."(Menconi 29.) If more people had the self-assurance of They Might Be Giants, fewer people would let themselves slide into vile normalcy - more people would set themselves free. Informed civil disobedience and responsible nonconformity have always been safeguards against tyranny and always will be. There is an old adage that says, "If you don't use it, you lose it." This is true with freedom. As Martin Niemoeller stated,

"In Germany they came first for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."(Rogers 196.)

If one fails to assert one's freedom - if one blindly consents to follow a crowd or demagogue - then one is walking blissfully and fatally into the cage of totalitarianism and the aquarium of apathy.

Works Cited

Cirlot, J. E. A Dictionary of Symbols. New York, Philosophical Library, Inc.; 1962. Pp 1-366.

Dougherty, Steve. "They Might Be Giants, Who, On the Other Hand, Might Just Be Hot Rock and Roll Nerds From Brooklyn." People. New York, Time Inc.; April 21, 1988. Pp. 35-6.

Menconi, David. "But They're Not Your Average Rock Band." Daily Camera. Boulder, Colorado, Boulder Daily Camera; August 5, 1990.

Rogers, Jack. "The Theological Declaration of Barmen. A.D. 1934." Presbyterian Creeds: A Guide to the Book of Confessions. Philadelphia, The Westminster Press; 1985.

They Might Be Giants. (Linnell, John and John Flansburgh.) "Cage & Aquarium." Lincoln. Bar/None Recordings: Hoboken, New Jersey, 1988. Track #5.

Giantisms:

• "Used to be different, now you're the same"