People in a Box

Feb. 17, 2014

by Bob Farrell

More People Than Ever

In the winter of 1984 I was writing songs for the Farrell & Farrell Jump To Conclusions album, which was released in ‘85.  Several of the songs were co-writes with Eddie De Garmo, who was again co-producing the album with me (earlier that year we had done the same for F&F’s Choices, which was arguably christian music’s first techno breakthrough).

One of the songs from Jump was “People in a Box”.  Essentially the song’s subject matter deals with over-indulgence in front of the TV - taking all your cues for life from the talking-head ‘people in a box’.  Sound slightly familiar as pertains to our current culture?

“People in a Box” became a raging hit.  For a couple of years while doing our regular concert touring, Jayne and I found ourselves judging countless ‘live video’ competitions staged by youth groups all over the country (usually at sound-check or after a gig) - and all from spontaneous response, no coordinated marketing plan by us.  As in none at all.

No doubt if there were a Sonic Hymnal in Christendom, PIAB would be in its Top 10.  And, in fact, I’m about to release a 30th Anniversary dance-mix using the original recording with an updated bridge lyric - I’ll let you know soon how you can get an MP3 for free.

To this day we still feel PIAB shock waves: from countless fans who made it their soundtrack-theme-song of the mid-80’s; several home-brew videos existant on YouTube; Facebook postings that engender many excited responses and chats. 

Every time I see my friend Michael Tait (lead singer of Newsboys) he starts singing PIAB to me before even saying hello.

If these were simply random or only occasional responses, I’d just write it all off to exuberant fans land-locked in the 80’s.

But the part of me that thinks? Thinks it’s more.  

I suspect that the implication of achieving such popularity with fans - then and now - is that we had hit a very sensitive nerve.

And PIAB just keeps on hitting it.

Let me give you some 4-1-1 on what I think the deal is with PIAB...

Eddie Degarmo and I have always found our writing together easy, painless, and fast.  And often we wrote a lyric first, then set it to music later, as happened with several songs for Jump - including the little ditty: “People in a Box”.

It was just a title Eddie had, referring to all the folks inside our television sets.  I remember telling him: “It’d be really cool to make a statement about how lame it is to watch too much TV - learning and living our lives based on what all those talking heads tell us - and make the point that Jesus doesn’t endorse mediocrity - in any form”.

We didn’t want the lyric to be ‘preach-y’ or pedantic, so we figured we’d just describe two ordinary people waking up one day, hearing the voices from the box, and doing everything the voices said to do:

WELL , I ROLLED OUT OF MY BED - I WAS FEELING SEMI-DEAD

SO I WANDERED FROM THE BEDROOM TO THE COFFEE

THEN I WOKE UP TO THE SOUND OF LITTLE PEOPLE ALL AROUND

RELENTLESS NOISES FROM THAT T.V. THERE BESIDE ME

AND THEY TOLD ME WHAT TO WEAR

HOW TO SMELL AND DO MY HAIR

AND HOW TO CHARGE THE NEW CAR I’LL BE BUYING

I JUST SAT AND SOAKED IT IN

AREN’T THESE PEOPLE ALL MY FRIENDS?

IT NEVER DAWNED ON US THAT THEY COULD ALL BE LYING

A very dangerous proposition to follow their advice:

PEOPLE IN A BOX - T.V. PERSONALITIES

THEY SHOW ME HOW TO LIVE

IN SPECIFIC GENERALITIES

PEOPLE IN A BOX - OUT OF BED AND TUNE ‘EM IN

The problem with such behavior boils down to one burning question:

HOW MUCH DO I LEARN

FROM PEOPLE IN A BOX?

Turned out that following the advice of the people in a box proved quite disastrous:

WELL, I COMPLETELY BOUGHT IT ALL

REVOLVING CREDIT WALL-TO-WALL

WITHOUT A PAYMENT TIL SEPT. ‘89

Their salesmen-delivery was so silky-smooth and sincere - surely their intent couldn’t be sinister or ill-advised?

CAN I RUN? CAN I ESCAPE? ARE THEY ALIVE OR JUST ON TAPE?

THEY SEEM SO WORLDLY AND SO WELCOME TO THE EYE

But soon it was obvious to any casual observer that those voices had the stooges in their thrall:

HEAVY PRESSURE FROM THE START

T.V. MADNESS STOLE OUR HEART

BLACK AND WHITE AND VIVID COLOR TURNED TO GREY

DAYTIME SOAPS THEY’RE NOT CLEAN

NIGHTIME COPS BLAST THRU OUR SCREEN

WE’RE A NEILSEN RATING LIVING ON DISPLAY

Eddie and I used the bridge of the song to drive home our message - tongue-in-cheek but very pointy:

ARE THESE SULTANS OF VIDEO ACTIVITY

TRULY THE MASTERS OF MY DESTINY?

WAS I CREATED IN THE IMAGE OF TRINITRON?

CAN JESUS EVER ENDORSE MEDIOCRITY

WHILE WE CONSUME HOURS OF PROGRAMMED PHILOSOPHY?

WILL WE EVER LEARN ‘OFF’ IS AS EASY TO TURN AS ‘ON’?

There it is: over-consuming the philosophy of the ‘people in a box’ can render spiritual death.  One becomes a mouse in a trap - an automaton - a zombie. 

OK.  That was 1985.  Now come forward 30 years (hard for me to believe) - and what do you have?

WorldWideWeb - IPhone - IPod - IPad - Droids - Blackberrys - Cable TV - Dish TV - simulcasts - myriad cable channels - YouTube - Facebook - Twitter....on and on.

And the omnipresent Spokesmen, for every pursuit: from purveyors of violent video games - to www-connected ‘clubs’, i.e. pedophiles or Al Queda.  Spewing out their philosophy and signing up followers.

People in a Box on steroids.

I’m not saying everything about the Information Age is evil - no doubt there are redeeming qualities and much that is good to be found.

But I am saying that man is very much still man: chock-full of humanity.  Since his creation in the Garden of Eden man has proven capable of taking good and transforming it into evil.

And, I’d have to say the basic message of PIAB remains steadfast and true: that Jesus will never ‘endorse mediocrity while we consume hours of programmed philosophy’.

It’s OK to have a thousand Friends on Facebook - or to get your news on your Smartphone while you eat your morning bagel.  

It’s NOT OK to spend all your time doing that - or surfing E-Bay - or Tweeting on Twitter - or shopping on HSN - or yucking it up with reprobates memorializing bad behavior on reality TV shows - or...phew.  

Heck, you fill in the blanks.  You know what they are.

Before I start sounding like a schoolmaster intoning your sins while he whacks your fingers with a ruler, let me cut to the chase: over-indulgence of all that news and entertainment is a formula for disaster.  Too many ingredients will most decidedly ruin your cake.

I believe it imperative that you develop Godly ‘junk-filters’ for you and your family.  And critical that you limit tech/media consumption - to ignore such a regimen could most assuredly invite worldviews and lifestyle choices that would later shock and dismay you.

I guess what I see the PIAB Syndrome doing more than anything is polluting our culture - dumbing-down our kids - destroying boundaries - eradicating self-control - appealing to the lowest, not the highest, ideals of humans.  Its salesmen preaching a gospel wherein every person is God - the beginning and the end of their personal destinies.  

And billions follow their voices - resulting in a planet whose inhabitants have lost any semblance of a moral compass.

Jesus said: ‘My sheep hear my Voice - and follow it’.

His voice - not that of PIAB.

WILL WE EVER LEARN 'OFF’ IS AS EASY TO TURN - AS ‘ON’?

(lyrics from “People in a Box” by Bob Farrell and Eddie DeGarmo, circa. 1984)