Put That On Your Playlist: Synthesizer

Song: Synthesizer

Album: Aquemini

Honourable mention: Whole World (Big Boi and Dre Present… OutKast), Elevators (Me & You) (ATLiens)

— — —

What a loaded choice, this one is. Elevators (Me & You) should probably be the pick if we’re trying to remain objective, but what’s the point in being objective about music? A song featuring George Clinton in all his glory simply can’t be denied.

Synthesizer is a song that tackles society’s ongoing obsession with commodifying everything in our daily lives and our tendency to yearn for ways to formalize every aspect of our humanity in the avowed hope to make human nature more accessible. We humans yearn for connections so we look at creating ways to help us connect with our peers rather than, you know, actually making deep and lasting connections. If we’d like to connect with someone then we should simply connect with them; we have to stop trying to find ways to make it easier and simply, like, do it. That’s Synthesizer essentially.

Big Boi leads things off with a solid verse, then the incomparable George Clinton does George Clinton (read: unpredictable) things, but the highlights are a quick interlude that plays like a “newsflash” and essentially spells out the song’s thesis for us and forecasts Andre’s verse to close the song: innovative science is and can be good, but it sometimes comes at a price. As Andre would say it, “Virtual reality? Virtual bullshit! Synthesizer preachers can reach you up in the pulpit.” Just cause they’re from the church (of technology) doesn’t mean you must follow them blindly.

Our salutations to the Facebooks, Twitters, Instagrams and TikToks of this world.

— — —

Beat: 7/10

Lyrics: 8/10

Overall: 8/10