Drowning Pool say Arizona gunman misinterpreted song

Texas metallers Drowning Pool have responded to news stories that the alleged Arizona gunman Jared Loughner listed the band's 2001 hit Bodies as a favourite on his YouTube channel.

Loughner, 22, was named by the authorities as the gunman who opened fire on a public meeting held by U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords outside a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona on January 8.

The attack left 13 people wounded and six dead, including a nine-year-old girl and a federal judge. Giffords was shot in the head at close range but is making a recovery in hospital.

"We were devastated this weekend to learn of the tragic events that occurred in Arizona and that our music has been misinterpreted, again," says Drowning Pool in a statement posted on their official website. "Bodies was written about the brotherhood of the moshpit and the respect people have for each other in the pit. If you push others down, you have to pick them back up. It was never about violence. It's about a certain amount of respect and a code.

"We want to continue to spread positivity for the future, not dwell on negativity," it continues. "For someone to put out a video misinterpreting a song about a moshpit as fuel for a violent act shows just how sick they really are. We support those who do what they can to keep America safe. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families of this terrible tragedy."

Loughner made his first court appearance yesterday (January 10) to face charges of two charges of murder. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Tags: Drowning Pool

Posted by Simon at 11:01AM | January 11, 2011

yeah but if all people listen to pop music then the world would of course be a happy and wonderful place to live and there would never be stories where sick people kill and media link it to music.
sorry but the media are just as much to blame for this as they referenced the killings to the song and played 'when the bodies hit the floor' so what now all music that has swearing, speaks of violence, and basically everything which is true of the world we live in should be banned and burnt so that these incidents will never happen again.
On the other hand top song, got me back into listening to the album again after hearing it on sky news. (dont worry not planning a mad rampage anytime soon)

Posted by rotten69 | January 11, 2011 11:32 AM | Reply to this

Gotta love the American constitutional right to bear arms...not!

Bowling for Columbine really opened my eyes when I first watched it.

"Yes sir, you may open a bank account with us. And as a reward you get to choose a gun of choice from our vault".

Nutters.

Posted by kim84 | January 11, 2011 12:48 PM | Reply to this

So he listed your song as a favourite? It's obserd to think that would be the cause of what happened!

The states amaze us again with their idea of rock music.

USA - 'Rock music is the devils music, and as such will cause only hurt, pain and death'

Bahahahha! Morons!

Posted by Jezi | January 11, 2011 1:52 PM | Reply to this

Oh and another thing.. how about the R&B music coming out...

mentions guns, sex and violence?

Posted by Jezi | January 11, 2011 1:57 PM | Reply to this

Bodies is one of my favourite songs and my daughter absolutley loves it. But i continually find that america loves to blame the music choice of extremely ill individuals as a catalyst for mindless violence.
What happened to this person that he found the need to murder innocent people.
America needs to look at that than rather blame somebodies music choice

Posted by debora priestley | January 11, 2011 2:48 PM | Reply to this

why is it whenever an event as tragic as this happens, the media always place the blame on specifically rock music or heavy metal. They clearly pay no attention to the negative influences that are sent out by some mainstream artists every single day

Posted by emma | January 11, 2011 3:37 PM | Reply to this

The song has nothing to do with it. Loughner made the choice to what he did, no one forced him to shoot those people. He deserves the death penalty for what he did.

Posted by OneByOneThePenguinsAreStealingMySanity | January 11, 2011 3:53 PM | Reply to this

If I may quote the wonderful MM who has ''inspired'' many a shooting spree in his time:
''Is adult entertainment killing our children? Or is killing our children entertaining our adults?''

Posted by A.D.A.M. | January 11, 2011 5:16 PM | Reply to this

They - the US government, courts, etc - wheel out this pathetic excuse every time. Maybe Loughner did misinterpret the song, maybe he didn't. But here's a novel idea - what about the way he might have been brought up, or what about other things he might have looked into? They keep bringing it back to heavy metal all the time. This sort of crap should been left in the 80's with the PMRC.

I don't know a lot about US politics but I did hear the shooting brings into question the rightwing rhetoric used by some politicians - perhaps to suggest that the politicians, while certainly not to blame, are whipping up a storm with the words they use. And of course, they could take a look at their own gun laws over there.

But no, let's bring it back to some obscure reference like 'Bodies'. I listen to Slayer more often than not, and have done so for over 10 years - I don't feel the need to shoot anyone, nor do I feel the urge to mutilate or sacrifice anything. You can't take that kind of thing seriously. That said, their song 'Dittohead', though written in 1994, still rings so true of American gun policy & law enforcement today as it did then.

As for Loughner, he deserves whatever is coming to him. He committed a heinous crime and deserves no sympathy.

Posted by Peter | January 11, 2011 5:16 PM | Reply to this

Really? they're blaming it on metal again? Why when there are gang killings does it never make it into the news that they listen to rap music? Surely the link between the two is far more explicit.

Posted by Markoos | January 11, 2011 5:19 PM | Reply to this

This is just absurd!! I mean even if the song was actually about murdering people, how would it be their fault??

I love Disasterpiece - Slipknot, but that doesnt make me wanna go around slitting people's throats and fucking them!

I mean seriously, the media need to realise that it's their fucking fault more than Drowning Pool's. Fucking sensationalists!

Posted by Peet | January 11, 2011 5:28 PM | Reply to this

Just because it's saved as favourite doesn't mean that song drove him to commit crime.

Posted by elle | January 11, 2011 5:56 PM | Reply to this

Alot of Americans are rock fans, hence why Metallica get into the charts there when they release a record.

What you have to look into is that the American media often uses violent music as a scapegoat to draw America's public's attention away from the real issues such as gun control and freedom to bear arms.

Posted by LB | January 11, 2011 6:23 PM | Reply to this

Screw that it was the 1st drowning pool album i listened to and it def sounds like there talkin bout circle pits not killing and mauling people again they blame metal for peoples actions 666 is the number of the beast! But rap music is definately more violent

Posted by yoshi89 | January 11, 2011 6:50 PM | Reply to this

Posted by yoshi89 | January 11, 2011 6:51 PM | Reply to this

Posted by josh.s | January 11, 2011 6:52 PM | Reply to this

Posted by josh.s | January 11, 2011 6:53 PM | Reply to this

And yet again the world of rock & heavy metal is being stereotyped for something much darker and more violent than it really is.
I'm sick of people using any old shit to attack a style of music that intends nothing bad or harmful whatsoever.
Fuck all this generalisation.

Posted by Angst | January 11, 2011 7:14 PM | Reply to this

And once again the American press try to blame violence on metal, just as they blamed Columbine on Marilyn Manson and another on Slipknot.

As Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden said at Sonisphere 2010, "If everyone listened to metal, there would be a lot of songs about killing and death, but no one would ever actually get killed." He was referring to the fact that at rock and metal shows, everyone is your family. We help each other out. So tell me, how can such a caring community be responsible for this gunman prick? I'll tell you how, we're not. America's shitty gun laws and blatent ignorance of a troubled individual is.

Posted by Your Mum. | January 11, 2011 7:44 PM | Reply to this

The question once again that nobodies asking: Where were the parents at?

Posted by johnny | January 11, 2011 9:04 PM | Reply to this

Fucks sake are those american fucktards gonna blame it on metal again?! Maybe look at the reasons he was such a fucked up animal insted of blaming in on media,IDIOTS

Posted by Alex | January 11, 2011 9:14 PM | Reply to this

Well i wonder if this is gonna lead to Holywood version 2 as MM was blamed for a similar crime 10 years ago

Posted by Chris | January 11, 2011 10:17 PM | Reply to this

Well i wonder if this is gonna lead to Holywood version 2 as MM was blamed for a similar crime 10 years ago

Posted by Chris | January 11, 2011 10:18 PM | Reply to this

The media always need someone/something 2 blame, just like with Michael Jacksons death they blamed his doctor wen he obviously was not the cause. The same goes for this horrendous crime that has taken place, neither the song or the band are of fault here, the guy was obviously mentally ill and he should be severely punished for it.

Posted by Danny | January 11, 2011 11:09 PM | Reply to this

the USA is a nation build up by fear... the all live terrified of what's to come... natural disasters, crime, robbery, nuclear attacks, etc etc.... and as well metal music.

Always looking for the easiesr way by blame of the feared factor..... instead of thinking hard and ask the question the whole world is asking... "WHY THE FUCK THEY ALL NEED WEAPONS AND GUNS UNDER THEIR TEETH???"

of course nothing will change and for sure there will be a next shooting episode where the one to blame will be a metal band yet again!

Posted by Brian | January 11, 2011 11:33 PM | Reply to this

what the fuck is wrong with people. you cant blame rock/musicmusic for something when its law thats the problem. if u blame rock/metal music i say u insult millions of people. people choose to be diffrent because they dont wanna follow the governments way of keeping society still. rock/metal is a movement and we could easily rise up and tear down the rules and stop this idiotic way of blame. CHANGE THE LAW/BAN THE GUNS/ GET A LIFE WHICH DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND FEAR!!!!!!!!! Rant over

Posted by Theo | January 12, 2011 12:23 AM | Reply to this

Won't somebody please think of the children?

Posted by Helen | January 12, 2011 1:08 AM | Reply to this

Face it, we're all rock music-listening, videogame-playing, hopeless head cases who are all gonna grow into mass murderers and high school massacrers.

This is what happens when you live in a country that gives inbred retards the right to own a gun. People and kids are gonna get killed.

Posted by Purple Demon | January 12, 2011 8:59 AM | Reply to this

It'd be lovely if, when things as terrible as this happen, people could look at themselves and their actions before they point a finger. Might go some way to preventing things like this happening in the future and groups like Westboro Baptist Church springing up.

Posted by Tom | January 12, 2011 10:31 AM | Reply to this

This Chris Rock quote seems pretty spot on:

Everybody is wanting to know what music were the kids listening to, or what movies were they watching. Who gives a fuck what they was watching! Whatever happened to crazy? What, you can't be crazy no more? Should we eliminate crazy from the dictionary?

Posted by Adam | January 12, 2011 12:37 PM | Reply to this

This is like when My Chemical Romance were blamed for that girl's suicide and The Daily Mail had a go at them for it

Posted by Pansy | January 12, 2011 6:55 PM | Reply to this

end of the day, metal is just another genre of music. hip hop surely makes more gun and violence references yet media choose metal as it is stereotypical genre for outcasts/loners. Whatever happened, whatever caused it some sympathy must go to the guy who did it. he deserves watever is coming to him but he was born just like us and someting or someone caused him to be like that.

Posted by Weederdude | January 12, 2011 7:03 PM | Reply to this

Kinda like what happened in 1999 with Marilyn Manson and the Columbine Massacre.

"The media has unfairly scapegoated the music industry and so-called Goth kids and has speculated, with no basis in truth, that artists like myself are in some way to blame. This tragedy was a product of ignorance, hatred and an access to guns. I hope the media's irresponsible finger-pointing doesn't create more discrimination against kids who look different." - Marilyn Manson after Columbine.

Posted by Garnet | January 20, 2011 4:57 PM | Reply to this