Released: 1986
“Who Made Who” by AC/DC is a thunderous track that delves into the symbiotic yet paradoxical relationship between humans and technology, with a heavy emphasis on the era’s burgeoning digital dominance. It’s a powerhouse song that encapsulates the band’s electric dynamism while pondering the existential quandary of creator versus creation. Let’s break down this rock anthem and unearth the layers beyond its electrifying riff.
The song opens with the lines, “The video games say play me / Face it on a level but it takes you every time / On a one on one / Feeling running down your spine.” Here, AC/DC isn’t just talking about the literal act of playing video games; they’re addressing technology’s addictive grip on humanity. The game isn’t just a game; it’s a metaphor for how technology challenges us, often beating us at our own game, making us question who’s controlling whom.
The verse “Nothing gonna save your one last dime ’cause it own you / Through and through” speaks to the consumerist trap of technology. It’s not just about spending money on gadgets; it’s about how technology consumes our identity, our time, and ultimately, our control over our own lives. When they say “The databank knows my number / Says I gotta pay ’cause I made the grade last year,” it’s a commentary on how our achievements and identities are reduced to data points, commodified and monetized in the digital age.
The chorus “Who made who? Who made you? / If you made them and they made you / Who picked up the bill, and who made who?” is the crux of the song. It’s AC/DC’s philosophical musing on the cyclical relationship between creation and creator. It’s an endless loop where the lines blur—did we create technology, or has it started to reshape us in its image?
In the stanza about satellites and pictures, the lyrics “Yeah, satellites send me picture / Get it in the aisle, take it to the world / Spinning like a dynamo” highlight our interconnected world. The imagery of satellites and dynamo spinning around hints at the global reach and influence of technology, as well as its ability to keep us in a constant state of motion and information overload. The line “Running out of chips, you got no line in an 8-bit town” cleverly uses gaming terminology to depict a scenario where we’re all just characters in a larger tech-dominated narrative, potentially losing our individuality (“running out of chips”) in a digitalized society.
The repeated questioning throughout the song, “Who made who?”, doesn’t just serve as a catchy hook; it’s AC/DC challenging listeners to reflect on their own relationship with technology. It’s a call to ponder whether we are still the masters of the machines we’ve built or if we’ve unwittingly become cogs in a system designed by our own creations.
In conclusion, “Who Made Who” is much more than a rock anthem. It’s a reflection on the double-edged sword of technological advancement, wrapped in AC/DC’s signature electrifying sound. The song masterfully questions the dynamics of control between humans and machines, leaving us to ponder our role in this intertwined relationship. In the grand tapestry of rock, AC/DC not only gave us a track to headbang to but also to think deeply about the evolving world around us.