Broken Dreams, Inc.

Album: Nowhere Generation (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was released in September 2000 on the soundtrack to the comic book series "Dark Nights: Death Metal," whose artist, Greg Capullo, contributed artwork for the music video. McIlrath and Rise Against guitarist Zach Blair are big DC Comics fans (especially Batman), and very excited to be part of the project. In June 2021, "Broken Dreams, Inc." was included on the band's ninth album, Nowhere Generation.
  • The song incorporates dialoge from "Dark Nights: Death Metal," but the subject matter was inspired by the very real universe where the band saw America becoming a land of broken dreams, with an unconscionable concentration of wealth that left many suffering. Lead singer Tim McIIlrath explained: "How do we level the playing field so everyone can have a real chance at attaining the American Dream? One word, 'disruption.' You have to put power into the hands of the people, not business, you have to value people and community over profit. You can't have a shareholder-run country or a shareholder-run world, a world that values profit above all else, because profit above all else can result in dangerous repercussions for humankind."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gilby Clarke

Gilby ClarkeSongwriter Interviews

The Guns N' Roses rhythm guitarist in the early '90s, Gilby talks about the band's implosion and the side projects it spawned.

Scott Stapp

Scott StappSongwriter Interviews

The Creed lead singer reveals the "ego and self-fulfillment" he now sees in one of the band's biggest hits.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Paul Williams

Paul WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

He's a singer and an actor, but as a songwriter Paul helped make Kermit a cultured frog, turned a bank commercial into a huge hit and made love both "exciting and new" and "soft as an easy chair."

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.