MEDIUM IS THE MASSAGE
Well the title "The Medium Is the Massage" is a teaser
A way of getting attention
There's a wonderful sign hanging in a Toronto junkyard which reads 'Help Beautify Junkyards. Throw Something Lovely Away Today'
This is a very effective way of getting people to notice a lot of things
And so the title is intended to draw attention to the fact that a medium is not something neutral
It does something to people, it takes hold of them, it rubs them off, it massages them and bumps them around
[Chorus]
The Medium Is the Massage
The Medium Is the Massage, the Massage
The Medium Is the Massage
The Medium Is the Massage, the Massage
The medium of our time, electric technology
Everything from the lightbulb, the telephone, to the computer, to jets, to nuclear energy is changing everything
We are in the middle of a tremendous clash between the old and the new
The medium does things to people and they are always completely unware of this
And they don't really notice the new medium that is roughing them up
They think of the old medium, because the old medium is always the content of the new medium
As movies tend to be the content of TV
And as books used to be the content and all this used to be the content of movies
And so every time a new medium arrives the old medium is the content and it is highly observable highly noticeable
But the real real roughing up and massaging is done by the new medium and it is ignored
[Chorus]
The Medium Is the Massage
The Medium Is the Massage, the Massage
The Medium Is the Massage
The Medium Is the Massage, the Massage
The idea that television, computers and the rest are just tools that we use for better or worse isn't true
The way you react with them is what's important, not in them or on them
How you use your eyes to see and ears to hear
Brings about new forms of human association and action
The way we refer to this new situation created by the new television massage
It is an evaluation made by the old visual types looking in the rear view mirror as usual
Off of something that is threatening the old values and reversing the old values
[Chorus]
The Medium Is the Massage
The Medium Is the Massage, the Massage
The Medium Is the Massage
The Medium Is the Massage, the Massage
When information is brushed against information
Results are startling and effective
We are re-entering the old tribal world
But this time we're going going to go through the tribal dance and tribal dream wide awake