Interpretations:Our Cannibal Friends
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When Rich Assholes Infiltrate an Art Scene[edit]
This song reminds me of the way, especially in cities like New York and LA, rich people will swoop in whenever a scene becomes the hip new thing and blow it up, often in a way where the people who started it get little credit or money. The last verse could then refer to derivative--or even morally bankrupt--versions of that art made by wealthy jerks that can then become the face of that scene to the rest of the world. I would not be surprised if this is something the Johns have seen happen more than once in NYC, as it seems to be something of a cycle, given the way the mainstream art world exists in a constant cycle of fancy art dealers to gobbling up pieces by young poor artists that will just end up sitting in warehouses for years as part of some billionaire's investment portfolio.
I suspect the reason the song never got a proper release is because it could be misread in a racist way, and obviously TMBG are strongly against that sort of thing. - Never (talk) 21:02, 24 September 2022 (EDT)
Cannibal As Metaphor[edit]
Sometimes I wonder how an interpretation hasn't already been posted here. Our cannibal friends seems like a direct sort of continuation on the idea Flansburgh had with Your Racist Friend, just with a few extra layers of metaphor. In the same way that Your Racist Friend is about how by association you are going to lose friends by hanging around someone disagreeable, in this song the "cannibal friends" are really "racist friends" or bigoted friends in general. Though this song takes more of a "brainwashing" approach where the idea is that the "cannibal friends" are attempting to get you on their side.
No where is this better supported than in the second verse, with the line "From the moment they walked in, with all their sweet talking, they had you then." The target of the song ignored any other red flags they may have noticed and let the "cannibal friends" convince them to hear them out. In the case of "There's just one degree past the point of no return," I think you could interpret the point of no return as simply being cannibalized, but it could also be that you're one step away from simply being a "cannibal friend" if you continue to listen to the cannibal friends.
The final chorus part I think seals the deal. With the already established line of "They'll make their move when your consciousness ends" it seems like they'll batter you down with their opinions or beliefs until they can move in and get you on their side. "When your consciousness ends, it starts a new tale with a moral that's wrong, like a story from jail." Clearly whatever action your "cannibal friends" are doing (apart from literal cannibalism) is disgraceful and can be associated with low morality or literal crime. "And that cannibal art, it's hard to defend, but that is the deal with our cannibal friends." When all is said and done and you have moved on from the "cannibal friends," you will still have that "cannibal" art hanging in your room, and people will ask about it and you will have to explain it and defend it. Because that is the deal with being associated with bigoted people for so long, or even living that kind of life yourself.--Robot Parade (talk) 10:30, 7 January 2025 (EST)
