Often heard in politics and public relations doublespeak is language which shrouds and sometimes misrepresents topics through neutral, inoffensive wording (e.g. “downsizing” is doublespeak for “layoffs”).

The Underground Man tells the story of an unnamed man, presumably a friend or colleague of Desaparecidos frontman Conor Oberst, who once shared the same radical leftist views as Oberst, but was pushed into a different, quite opposite agenda after joining the military. Through the temptation of military benefits, financial security, and good ol' fashioned guilt tripping, Oberst’s good friend became a cog in the very machine he once fought to dismantle.

Lump sum or monthly pension? The question applies to a number of situations, fiscal or otherwise. Commonly when receiving large amounts of money for a retirement fund or, even rarer, winning the lottery, recipients must choose between a small amount of the money being given to them regularly for an extended period of time, or less money given in one large lump sum.

Here, Monks compares himself to the monthly pension; a wise, safe investment that was turned down for a faster albiet less fruitful lump sum by his lover. Even worse is that his betrayal comes after his attempts to console his lover after her mother’s death.

Through a detailed account of the process of decomposition, Monks assures his lover that once the spirit has departed, the physical remains belong to the earth, and a sense of oneness and unity with the world is felt. He assures her that, in death, the most literal and real example of love and togetherness is felt.

In the opening two lines of Graves, we hear vocalist David Monks address a second party, asking them to bring what appear to be bare essentials for some sort of excursion. It’s soon revealed that Monks is merely attempting to console a love interest who has lost her mother. Perhaps in an attempt to trivialize or mitigate the death, Monks assuages his lover’s concerns by emphasizing the timelessness of our universe.

Maybe he should consult the works of protopunks DEATH for further information!

Vocalist David Monks outlines return of the greaser – the James Dean badboy mentality, popular among American teens in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Monks lampoons a specific person, a friend of his, who seems to have adopted the cocky and belligerent attitude of the leather-donned ruffians of the past, so much so that he is like a remake or caricature of the subculture.

Though the two have only conversed through letters since the girl’s departure, Monks feels as though the two have been good friends for a centennial, or 100 years time.

Writing in the form of correspondence between himself and a former love interest, vocalist David Monks retells a childhood “romance” between himself and a girl when they were children. His love interest, a precocious child he met through his parents, most likely moved away at a young age. These lines show a comparably young Monks as he attempts to chase after his friend’s family car, an old Volkswagen bus.

Nick Cannon may not be working as a producer on the doomed Bynes rap album, but Waka Flocka Flame sure is:

So [Amanda] was like, she wanted to go to the club and she wanted to be inside the club. So I’m like, you know I’m the king of the club, not to be all arrogant, but that’s just what the fans voted me. So I might as well go ahead and take her to the club and…introduce her to the lifestyle."