One Man Mambo/Youtube
Creepy clowns have dominated headlines of late, and the student loan crisis has earned its fair share of alarming coverage as well. But these two horrifying storylines haven't converged — until now.
Business Insider came across a new lyric music video bemoaning the perils of the student loan crisis. The video, published Monday by the band One Man Mambo under the title "Buck the Trend (I BORROWED AGAINST MY LIFE!)," features a clown in a graduation cap and gown singing lines like:
"Student loan application
Brace for litigation
Late on a payment
Tax refund garnishment
Degreed, unemployed or underpaid"
The music is pretty catchy, in a distinctly classic rock kind of way. I found the lyrics less compelling, but I am not a song writer, nor have I attempted to write verse about student loans (a hard task, I would imagine). So I'm loath to judge. Also, I've watched it at least a dozen times by now, so let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
The chorus goes like this:
"Buck the trend
Buck the admissions man
Buck the trend
Sell organic hen
Buck the trend
Buy a plot of land
"I borrowed against my life"
I followed up with band member Lazar Wall, who sent us the video, and he acknowledged that he had no personal school debt horror story that inspired him, but rather he is alarmed by the student loan bubble in general. Americans now owe $1.3 trillion in student debt.
"I have a major in business that was paid for by my parents, but the plight of student debtors is heartbreaking," Warren said. "Also, the US government borrowing money at 0.25%, then lending to students at 4%-plus is sickening."*
Wall cited his musical influences as Rush and Guns N' Roses.
Asked about the clown in the video, Wall explained: "It's a cap-and-gown clown who borrowed beyond his means to get a degree."
If you're not averse to clowns, check out the video below.
*Note: The US 1-month treasury rate is currently 0.26%; student loans are in the 4% ballpark depending on the type of loan and when it was taken out, but they're benchmarked against the 10-year Treasury note, which is currently at 1.75%.
