Dead Pony’s music fills you with an energy that absolutely needs to be unleashed. Get ready to go crazy…
ACTIVITY 1
Read the notes below then watch Dead Pony’s ‘MK Nothing’ video and/or live performance.
Wikipedia tells us that Project MKUltra was a human experimentation program designed and undertaken by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to develop procedures and identify drugs that could be used during interrogations to weaken individuals and force confessions through brainwashing and psychological torture. Project MKUltra began in 1953 and was halted in 1973. MKUltra used numerous methods to manipulate its subjects’ mental states and brain functions, such as the covert administration of high doses of psychoactive drugs (especially LSD) and other chemicals without the subjects’ consent.
Which brings us to the Dead Pony track: ‘MK Nothing’.
“MK Nothing came from a daydream about a wicked and cool girl who was MK Ultra mind controlled to go out and assassinate bad guys of the world,” says Anna Shields. “It’s the first time I’ve written lyrics where it felt like the story was already there in my head, in vivid, comic book colour, and all we had to do was put it down on paper.”
ACTIVITY 2
Read the lyrics to ‘MK Nothing’ more carefully. Look at how Dead Pony step inside the shoes of their character. Then pick a character from one of the texts (it could be someone from a novel, play or poem) you’re studying at school and write a lyric/poem that sums up that character’s experience.
You might want to practise using some of the poetic techniques that Dead Pony make use of. For example:
- assonance – that ‘ow’ sounds (“now”, “out”, “down”) gives a sense of the pain the speaker is feeling at the start.
- repetition – the repeated preposition (“down”) clearly underlines how ‘low’ the speaker is getting and how intense the pressure from ‘above’ must be
- more assonance – the ‘oo’ sounds (“new”, “you”, tattooed”) hint at the sudden fresh feelings being experienced and maybe the suprise and delight too.
- colour symbolism – the “red” paint might signify blood and death – and the danger the speaker poses.
You might also want to incorporate some key quotes from the text you’re referring to in the poem itself. Use this as an opportunity to revise those quotes that feel so significant when discussing your character. Revision has NEVER been so fun 😉
Dead Pony, ‘MK Nothing’
I got the doc to open up my head
Wanted to see if I’m living or dead now
I always feel like I’m gonna black out
Maybe he knows that I’m feeling it right now
Hook me up to poison
I need my face on
I feel control going down, down, down now
I’m feeling brand new
Ring ring I’ll kill you
I won’t forget your name, tattooed on my brain
I can’t fight no more
I can’t run no more
MK Nothing
I don’t want your drugs
I can stand these thugs
I can’t fight no more
I can’t run no more
MK Nothing
I don’t want your drugs
I can stand these thugs
I’m coming up and I’m falling between
Keep feeding me, I’m a killing machine now
I see his face and it’s glowing with red
Give me my gun cause I’m coming for your head
Move in slow motion
Don’t feel emotion
I feel control going down down down now
When he hits the floor
Ring ring you’re done for
I got your face and I crossed it with red paint