Ode to "You Suffer" by Napalm Death

Press play.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

In just a blink of an eye, it’s over. You’d think with all the time I managed to save by listening to this single track, I would spend it on something much more constructive. But no, I want to hear it again.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

Why? Good question. I wanted to see if the lyrics actually lined up with what Nik was actually yelling. Sounds more like “you-aghhh” to me.

Maybe I should listen to it again.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

I wonder what it means. Was there any context to what he’s asking, or is it just a general question? Can this suffering be stopped? Or do I choose to suffer? Very existential. I suffer therefore I am.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

The world’s shortest song. Well deserved. One point three one six seconds long. The Guinness Book of World Records had to give it to them. Just the mental image of those stuffed suits with their high-tech stopwatches having to listen to side A of Scum cracks me up. This Guinness goes out to them.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

I also love how an entire generation of musicians picked up this song and ran with it. What might have been a joke to the original writers became the blueprint for noisecore bands to come. Sure, they can try to write a shorter song, but we all know they are just imitators. The Guinness Book of World Records doesn’t care about your no name band.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

I think it’s even more hilarious that none of the people who first recorded this song are actually in Napalm Death now. I guess you gotta keep the legacy alive.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

Whoa. Somebody actually took the time and slowed the song down by 800 times to see what it sounds like. God bless the Internet. Just sounds like white noise to me. Some white noise I wouldn’t mind listening to if I ever fall asleep. It makes me feels so zen.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

The original is still better. When I Google search this song, there aren’t too many entries expanding on why somebody would write a song like this. I wonder if my thoughts about it would show up on the first page if someone ever ends up publishing this garbage.  

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

Why? Why am I still writing about this song? I’m clearly putting more thought into it than Napalm Death did when they first wrote it. So why? Why am I wasting so much time talking about it? I suppose there’s millions upon millions of essays on minimalist art that completely miss the point by blathering on and on about an artist’s single stroke on a blank canvas. I am no different from those art historians.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

I’m definitely not the first person to write more than I should about this song. YouTube comment sections are full of guys laughing about how it took them longer to write their comments than for the song to play. Then there that one guy with the ironic “too long, I’ll listen to it later” comment. Genius. Almost as genius as—

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

Sorry. Had to hear it again. Hope it wasn’t too much of a burden of your time. Sorry not sorry.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

Dude. It’s almost 2 a.m. Why am I still writing about this song when I have papers due on much more serious subjects? If I’m going to stay up all night writing, then shouldn’t I be working on something that is a lot more pressing? Seriously, I could be writing about genocide in developing countries right now. Something much more important and more deserving of thought. I could be working to try to change the world for a better tomorrow.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

It’s not that I don’t care about stuff like that. This is just a welcome distraction from the harsh reality. Because the world can’t be changed. Humans are just going to repeat the same self-slaughter as they have for centuries, and no amount of writing from a privileged white boy is going to change that. So why not concentrate on something that’s worth repeating over and over again.

YOU SUFFER BUT WHY?

Why not?