Ask Dr. Science

The Experts Respond:

> Parappa The Rapper
	Yo, sometimes dat Michael Stipe cat be one crazy rhyme-droppin' fizoo. But word, do his dope rhizzimes be carryin' weight, or is it just crazy talk?

> Kit

Well, Michael Stipe was a debater at the University of Georgia for a while, a hobby which is often believed to be responsible for a previous line in It's the End Of The World As We Know It: "A tournament, a tournament, a tournament of lies/You offer me solutions and you offer me alternatives and I decline."

> Parappa the Rapper

Stipe's one heavy mofo that way. But what do all those names have to do with one another, besides that whole L and B jive?

> Kit

Leonid Brezhnev was a leader of the Communist Party in the now-defunct USSR, and as such, a feared man here in America during the Cold War. And during that time, paranoia fueled a lot of witch hunts. Leonard Bernstein was suspected by the House of Un-American Activities Committee, and as such was blacklisted by many groups in the entertainment industry. Lenny Bruce was also blacklisted because his stand-up comedy routines were considered harsh, unblinking reviews of American society. Lester Bangs, though never blacklisted or suspected of un-American activities, is considered one of the most controversial critics of the rock-n-roll age.

> Sadi Carnot

Also, they're all dead, like moi.

> Kit

I'm at a loss, however, for the remainder of the lines.

> Parappa the Rapper

Here's what I think, yo. "Dreamt of knives" and "continental drift divide" are each signs of strife, whilst "birthday party, cheesecake, jellybean" are the things we do to help us forget the world's problems. Sometimes, it seems hopeless, know what I'm sayin', because then, "boom" all those problems be weighin' us down again.

> Kit

And "mountains sit in a line?"

> Parappa the Rapper

"Just crazy talk".

> Parappa the Rapper
	Stipe's one heavy mofo that way. But what do all those names have to do with one another, besides that whole L and B jive?

> Kit
	Leonid Brezhnev was a leader of the Communist Party in the now-defunct USSR, and as such, a feared man here in America during the Cold War. And during that time, paranoia fueled a lot of witch hunts. Leonard Bernstein was suspected by the House of Un-American Activities Committee, and as such was blacklisted by many groups in the entertainment industry. Lenny Bruce was also blacklisted because his stand-up comedy routines were considered harsh, unblinking reviews of American society. Lester Bangs, though never blacklisted or suspected of un-American activities, is considered one of the most controversial critics of the rock-n-roll age.

> Kit
	I'm at a loss, however, for the remainder of the lines.

> Parappa the Rapper
	Here's what I think, yo. "Dreamt of knives" and "continental drift divide" are each signs of strife, whilst "birthday party, cheesecake, jellybean" are the things we do to help us forget the world's problems. Sometimes, it seems hopeless, know what I'm sayin', because then, "boom" all those problems be weighin' us down again.