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Smart kids love Slayer, System of a Down

Posted by aubin on Thursday, April 5, 2007 at 12:00 PM (EDT)

Fifteen years after Esquire declared "Five out of five kids who kill love Slayer," the truth has come out. According to a report month in the UK's national daily newspaper The Independent, a study reveals that "death metal and thrash bands such as Slayer and Slipknot produce the music of choice for today's brightest youngsters."

The report is based on an online survey conducted with students at Great Britain's National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth, representing the top five percent of the country's students. The report further states that

This intellectual elite often [finds] themselves facing situations and issues not encountered by less able students." Researchers associated with the study admitted their surprise that "intelligent" genres traditionally associated with the precociously bright, such as classical and jazz, were the least populaar.

According to the story, kids responded to the combination of political ideas and aggressive tendencies in songs from System of a Down, Tool and Slayer.

American Recordings (80 comments)

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. Seriously.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

first

2+ Replies

Someone (April 5, 2007)

I really like that Punknews is posting more stuff regarding music in general instead of just band news/tour dates/etc. I'd like to see more of it.

Someone (April 6, 2007)

Your a fag. Any body who simply writes first is a loser with nothing to say. What a up chump?

baseball (April 5, 2007)

i refuse to believe the "brightest" kids listen to Slipknot

and it says System Of A Town in the last line

3+ Replies

HentaiFlag (April 5, 2007)

I usually associate Slipknot,Pennywise,Metaillica fan with retard

Someone (April 5, 2007)

it also says populaar.

i'm gifted and i don't listen to either of th ose bands. this report is incredible.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

"it also says populaar.

i'm gifted and i don't listen to either of th ose bands. this report is incredible. "

i"M GIF TED T OO

Someone (April 5, 2007)

Wow. That has to be the biggest ownage ever witnessed on punknews.org!

YasserBossin (April 5, 2007)

after im done with my claculus and nuclear physics, ME GONNA SMASH!!!!

1+ Reply

YasserBossin (April 5, 2007)

lol claculus

justahippie (April 5, 2007)

so i guess this means i'm dumb since i like Phish, Mineral and Miles Davis and HATE "system of a town", tool and slayer?

oh well, i'd rather be dumb and listen to good music than be smart and listen to crappy metal.

5+ Replies

sickboi (chris) (April 5, 2007)

No, it probably means you just smoke a lot of herb.

alex_pastepunk (April 5, 2007)

If you hadn't mentioned Phish, your argument would have beena lot more valid.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

Username kind of hurts too

Someone (April 5, 2007)

Hey hippie, the article says "Smart kids love Slayer, System of a Down". It doesn't say dumb kids don't like Slayer and SOAD. And "good music" is a matter of personal taste. Maybe you are a dummy after all.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

That doesn't make any sense. It didn't say dumb kds don't listen to metal and smart kids do. It said that not all kids who listen to metal are dumb.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

This news is older than, uh, Kerry King. Original story:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007 /03/21/nmetal21.xml

1+ Reply

Someone (April 5, 2007)

Sorry Aubin, your source was posted first after all.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

this isn't news

1+ Reply

Someone (April 5, 2007)

Neither are you.

sickboi (chris) (April 5, 2007)

This comment from a related argument best explains my complaint with the type of crowd that Rage Against the Machine drew:

Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name is a song about racism from a passionately political group, but hearing a crowd of metal-heads chant along to the chorus, “F**k you, I won't do what you tell me,” it sounds more like a protest at being asked to clear up an untidy bedroom.

4+ Replies

baseball (April 5, 2007)

totally agree

Rage had a good message and good songs but i think the majority of their fanbase didn't give a shit about that

i saw them when they were together at the Baltimore Arena (an arena of all places) and it was basically a radio station festival type of crowd with really awful mosh pits and tough guy attitudes

Someone (April 5, 2007)

My first year in college I lived with a World of Warcraft addict that was about the most conservative person I'd ever met, and his favorite band was RATM.

Wentz_Equals_Death (April 5, 2007)

i have a friend just like that, loves strike anywhere and george bush. he's from orange county and he looks like cartman. yeah i'm talking about you tim. get back to work

swank (April 5, 2007)

so true.

WorryRock (April 5, 2007)

And I always thought I was intelligent for listening to Bad Religion...

4+ Replies

Someone (April 5, 2007)

haha, i thought i was intelligent for listening to my balls slap against your moms ass

Someone (April 5, 2007)

amen.

FatTony (April 5, 2007)

Well played.

dev (April 5, 2007)

Not true. BUT, you would be intelligent if you understood every last word of every Bad Religion song... without looking any of them up!

randomhero323 (April 5, 2007)

i must be retarded then.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

Let's face it: the truth of the matter is that punk and metal *is* listened to by dweebs, losers and schmucks.
Even academia doesn't mean you're not a total schmoe.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

Fuck that shit yoo. Kids who listen to slipknot aint even smart, they is fat kids who get no booty and still watch WWF.

-Darryl Strawberry

Someone (April 5, 2007)

I luv sdlipsknot yaaaaaa go teem

wearestillalive (April 5, 2007)

i freaking love the independent.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

the Kottonmouth Kings taught me to smash the system. peace not greed mufukas.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

why is slayer being grouped in with that trash

4+ Replies

ChokingVictim (April 5, 2007)

because they suck as well

Someone (April 5, 2007)

oh

GlassPipeMurder (April 5, 2007)

w3rd

Someone (April 5, 2007)

False. Reign in Blood, anyone? If you like metal at all, you have to respect that as a groundbreaking album.

epoch (April 5, 2007)

This is a lesson on how not to do a study. Instead of getting a hundred kids at a Slayer show, and giving them an IQ test, it merely looks at a few smart kids and asks them "Hey, what kind of music do you like?"

The data is correct, but they go about it all wrong. I'd wager that the reason their survey group enjoys metal -- or, let's just be correct, here -- aggressive music, is because they are social outcasts.

Intelligence leads to ostracizing, which leads to dejection, which leads to rebellion and anger. What better musical form to vent with than with aggressive music?

2+ Replies

Nameless (April 5, 2007)

I see your point... but I'm afraid I have to pose a contradiction.

While me and my friends are the typical AP/Honors social outcasts, the valedictorian and his buddies are some of the most popular kids at school. That cliche doesn't always happen.

I don't think they listen to Slayer though...

kennyh_2004 (April 5, 2007)

It says "Smart kids love Slayer, System of a Down," not "Everyone who likes Slayer is smart."

That's why they did it that way, not your way.

notfeelingcreative (April 5, 2007)

I must be missing something. The artilce basically states that a great number or intelligent kids listen to metal. Nowhere does it state, "anyone who doesn't listen to the aforementioned bands is, therefore, unintelligent". Yet people somehow find this offensive?

2+ Replies

Someone (April 5, 2007)

Some people are offended by the idea that anyone "intelligent" would listen to metal because they, personally, don't like it, while others have taken to reinterpreting this article to read "all people who listen to the aforementioned bands are smart and if you don't listen to them then you are not smart".

notfeelingcreative (April 5, 2007)

Neither of those conclusions strike me a intelligent.

Cannsaw (April 5, 2007)

SLAYER!!!

Someone (April 5, 2007)

english people dont know whwat they are talking about, they have bad teef

3+ Replies

notfeelingcreative (April 5, 2007)

teef? I believe you mean 'tooths'.

YasserBossin (April 5, 2007)

ugh stop with the tooth jokes.. i just had my top 6 front teeth ground down for a bridge..14 shots of novacaine, id rather get my taint tattooed

Someone (April 5, 2007)

No, you wouldn't. Trust me.

FatTony (April 5, 2007)

I think you'd also find a strong correlation between kids who listen to metal (specifically, Slayer) and religious affiliation (or lack thereof), which only serves to confirm the correlation between intelligence and lack of religion.

/The more you know

1+ Reply

Someone (April 5, 2007)

i'd like you to serve me by becoming Showbread's next singer.

- Jesus

NoControl (April 5, 2007)

S/T>Toxicity>Mezmerize>Steal This Album>Hypnotize

5+ Replies

kennyh_2004 (April 5, 2007)

You like Mesmerize more than Hypnotize? Eww.

RoyStorey (April 5, 2007)

I liked Mesmerize more too...

Cannsaw (April 5, 2007)

Toxicity > Mezmerize > Steal This Album > S/T = Hypnotize
Life Is Peachy > Follow The Leader > S/T > Issues > Take A Look In The Mirror > anything else
S/T > The Subliminal Verses > Iowa > anything else

That's right, I like the dreaded nu-metal trio.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

Dude, Iowa is the best.... You must be listening to too much Miles Davis.

justahippie (April 5, 2007)

i remember listening to the S/T in high school, it was pretty good. there was that one song, darts, or something. it was loud. like all the other ones.

Big_Guy (April 5, 2007)

from my experience, people that listen to Slipknot are not only the dumbest people I've ever met, they also smell horrible and wear clothes that are 3 sizes too big for them

2+ Replies

Someone (April 5, 2007)

how can people so white-trash afford $100 nylon pants from hot topic?

and once you wear that shit, it's gonna drag on the ground and get ripped up anyway.

pfft.

Guacam0le (April 5, 2007)

agreed. what is that all about? the huge bondage pants bother me a lot.

GutterRock (April 5, 2007)

Smartest kid in my high school listened to Cypress Hill. True story.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

All System of a Down fans might not be dumb, but this study sure as hell is. Anyone that works with kids can tell you:
1. None of them listen to classical or jazz music.
2. The smartest students want to fit in with their peers, so they'll listen to the bands on the radio that their classmates like (System of a Down, Tool, Linkin Park, etc.)
Trying to write this off as some sort of new discovery is just plain stupid.

GlassPipeMurder (April 5, 2007)

wrong. people who listen to slipknot are idiots. i should know, i'm from iowa.

1+ Reply

Someone (April 5, 2007)

hey so am i. and i completely agree. whoever came to this conclusion is an idiot.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

FUCK SHIT UP!!!!

Someone (April 5, 2007)

I clown love you, ninja.

-Violent J of ICP

VictorIkpeba24 (April 5, 2007)

Being a very good student does not necessary means being very intelligent...

Someone (April 5, 2007)

PEOPLE EQUAL SHIT!!! PEOPLE EQUAL SHIT!!!! I WANNA SLIT YOUR THROAT AND FUCK THE WOUND! very intellegent lyrics indeed....

Someone (April 5, 2007)

this study is bullshit. Most Slipknot fans, and nu-metal fans suck in general in terms of intelligence. And don't even try to call Slipknot "death metal"; that is such a load of bullshit.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

This is bullshit...

CountChocula (April 5, 2007)

They might be 'smart' when it comes to exams n all that, but I bet they're still socially retarded losers.

Someone (April 5, 2007)

this is the weirdest thing, I was in my west and the world history class today and I was listening to probably the smartest kid in our class, Daewood, go off on a rant about the easter holiday, and I was thinking to myself "man, this guy is so much smarter than I am." Then I notice that he is wearing a Slayer t shirt, now there is nothing wrong with Slayer, IO am not personally a fan but I don't mind the music. Basically, this guy Daewood is the person I would least think would listen to Slayer.

Heh, just weird considering the article I guess.

1+ Reply

TheeValiantRA3 (April 5, 2007)

You think that's weird, yet you failed to make any remark about a kid named Daewood...

Someone (April 5, 2007)

As interesting as this article seems on first glance, there's really not that much to it. The Independent (and all the other newspapers I've seen this in) have just seized on a bunch of random statistics and twisted them to create a fun colour piece. Basically, this report came from an online survey of gifted and talented youth where they were asked to name their favourite style of music. The percentage of people who said they liked "heavy metal" (a very vague term) as their favourite genre was pretty low, 6% if I remember right (the one third quoted in this article is for kids who rated it "among their favourite styles"). It seems like the "researchers" were surprised to find any metal fans at all.
Like I said, there's a heap of problems with this article. There's been no attempt to compare the numbers of metal fans among "gifted" kids with the rest of the population,

show rest of comment

Cheesetits (April 5, 2007)

So THAT's why you kids are so dumb, you don't listen to metal. I'm glad they got to the bottom of this.

Someone (April 6, 2007)

i thought smart kids/complete dorks listened to weezer.
i thought fat kids/complete dorks listened to the bands above.

Someone (April 6, 2007)

This can't be true, why? One of my best friends who is a hardcore Slayer fan is a total dumbass!

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