R.E.M.
A bubblegum-bright chorus of togetherness repeated to the point of hollowness, this is R.E.M. at its most deliberately…
manufactured happiness conformity propaganda and slogans
Pink Floyd
An opening address that sounds like gentle life-advice slowly reveals itself as a warning about the trap of compulsive labor and…
existential dread conformity and labor the passage of time
Mission of Burma
A defiant refusal-of-conformity anthem that curdles into self-doubt by its final lines. The song sets up an adversarial…
conformity vs individuality institutional control self-doubt
De La Soul
De La Soul use a mirror-gazing conceit to push back against critics and industry types who wanted to pigeonhole them as hippies…
individuality vs. conformity authenticity in art resistance to stereotyping
Radiohead
A speaker invokes a childhood fantasy of cosmic justice to punish people who irritate him, then realizes partway through that…
petty vindictiveness corporate/institutional conformity self-recognition and guilt