In “They Could Tune Us Right,” Chip O’Gamma finally pulls back the curtain on the “frequency warfare” of Sector 8, but he does it with a shrug and a smirk. This is perhaps his most cynical track—a bouncy, high-tempo admission that the technology exists to heal the world, but it’s much more profitable to keep the population “barking at stars.”
The Healing That Don’t Trend
Chip reveals that the “government groove” isn’t just for surveillance; it’s a wasted opportunity for utopia. He acknowledges that they could “fix your bones with a frequency beam” or “clear your head like a sonic broom,” but chooses to explain away the lack of compassion as a budget issue. In Chip’s world, “compassion don’t trend,” so the authorities would rather leave you trapped in a “popcorn dream” than actually mend your mind.
The imagery of “hum in your teeth” and “tick in your ear” reminds us that for the citizens of KNF-7, the broadcast is literally inside their bodies. Chip isn’t just a DJ; he’s the foreman of an “internal wire” factory.
Confusion as Currency
The closing disclaimer—“Offer void if clarity occurs”—is the ultimate Chip O’Gamma punchline. It confirms that the goal of the broadcast isn’t communication, but the maintenance of a profitable state of confusion. He openly mocks the listeners, telling them to “clap along to the scrambled light” because healing simply doesn’t pay the bills. If you’re waiting for the signal to get better, Chip has a jingle to remind you that you’ll be waiting forever.
THEY COULD TUNE US RIGHT
by: Chip O’Gamma
There’s a hum in your teeth and a tick in your ear
Static on the dial but the message is clear
Ain’t no flute ain’t no harp no righteous choir
Just a jingle to jangle your internal wire
That buzz in your bed not a dream my friend
That’s a government groove with a twist at the end
Could cure your back could sharpen your sight
But they’d rather just spin you into satellite light
They could tune us right oh yes they could
Make ya feel ten years young and twice as good
Fix your bones with a frequency beam
But they’d rather you scream in a popcorn dream
They mapped out your mood with a vinyl wave
Then sold you peace in a sponsored cave
They got tones that’ll heal and rhythms that mend
But compassion don’t trend and the budget won’t bend
They got charts they got graphs they got chords that bloom
They could clear your head like a sonic broom
But instead they twist the dial just right
And now you bark at stars in the middle of the night
They could tune us right but they won’t they won’t
They could drop the pain but they don’t they don’t
So clap along to the scrambled light
Cause healing don’t pay but confusion just might
Now accepting barter brainwaves or bonds
Offer void if clarity occurs