Edison’s Medicine: The Idiot’s Guide to Nikola Tesla

How many metalheads does it take to change a lightbulb? That depends. Alternating or direct current, bro? Actually, let’s just sit in the dark. After all, it means we’re boycotting that scab Thomas Edison, who stole Nikola Tesla’s ideas and was basically an all-around dick. What could be more metal than that? Well, how about a long-winded song about electricity’s greatest rivalry from a band whose name immediately confirms their own bias? Tight, bro. Tight.

“Edison’s Medicine”, the band Tesla's 1991 tribute to, you guessed it, Nikola Tesla, rips Edison a new one from start to finish, and even includes a ham-fisted theremin solo that sounds like it was performed with boxing gloves. Too bad Tesla only missed Edison’s death by about 60 fucking years. I guess it’s possible the executors of Edison’s estate shed a few tears after hearing this tune. We can hope, right? I mean, that would be pretty sick.

The song opens with Tesla vocalist Jeff Keith boldly finding Edison “guilty of crime in the first degree,” before throwing in “second and third as well” for good measure. Can you imagine having such a pea-brained view of the criminal justice system that you believe in degrees of crime? Since the band stops short of accusing Edison of murder (what a bunch of cowards), I’m not really sure why they insist on leading us down this path. But, hey, it’s not a bad line otherwise. Keith’s jury then sentences Edison to serve out his time in hell. As if naming your band Tesla wasn’t enough of a conflict of interest in this fight, Keith gets to pick his own jury? That’s just fucked up.

Although this track admittedly gets pretty rocking, the video for “Edison’s Medicine” offers up the real feast for the senses here. While the group delivers a straight shot of metal, viewers are treated to a series of news clippings and images documenting Nikola Tesla’s legal wrangling with Edison over the years, in the hopes of finally receiving due credit for his work. If you ask me, patent dispute rock is an almost completely untapped genre, but what do I know? The band probably paid some grad student a few bucks an hour to dig up all this microfilm while they scored dope outside the library. It’s still a nice touch, however dubious the educational value of the video might be. Would the “man outta time” himself, Nikola Tesla, have appreciated the effort? Fuck, no. Forget “Edison’s Medicine”, whatever that means, it’s time for Tesla to move on. I know it’s a bitter pill for them to swallow, but how about a killer jam about Elon Musk? I’m ready and waiting, boys.

Comments

You wrote this 25 years after album LOL,  and you seem to be calling out the band for being lame. Most people still don't know anything about Tesla because he isn't included in history curriculum and his theories/writings were confiscated after he was murdered. Now go F yourself

Wow so edgy and snarky...I guess Karyin is your typical token virgin for 4 life loser who is mentally 15 and loves anime. Hence the misinterpretation of the entire song, while being completely clueless about Tesla and Edison. Sad. So Sad :( Condoms were invented for a reason, somebody should've told Karyn's parents. 

youve written a fairly bitter and bizarre review of the track, without even bothering to research exactly what "Edisons Medicine" was, not very clever are you.

you think the song sucks? lets hear your musical efforts then?

youve taken it all a bit seriously without realising... its just a song, songs dont have to be historically accurate, just entertaining.

maybe keep the 4Chan style reviews to yourself, eh?

Somebody isn't getting the joke?

(This reviewer...)

This article is confusing on many levels. Is it meant as satire? Written 25 years after the song was released...why? And here's me just finding and reading it 4 years after its writing. If this piece is meant in jest, then all the comments so far can be disregarded. But if it's how "Karyn" really feels, then he or she is obviously rather ignorant when it comes to scientific history. I mean, even the article's title is wrong - this literally tells us nothing about Nikola Tesla. In a nutshell, Tesla was an eccentric genius and Edison was a thieving dickhead. Hell, both Drunk History and The Prestige handily outlined that. But seriously, Tesla was a visionary whereas Edison, well, was not. Thankfully, in today's digital age, people can fine real articles and read up on the truth of Nikola Tesla, his life, his inventions, and his brilliance.

Wow!! I think this person who wrote the article is taking this song way to seriously!! Lol and edison did steel ideas from tesla if you look into it with any platform like Google lol. And they wrote there scathing review over 20 yrs after the song was released! Ilmao to the person who wrote this article you look really funny and pathetic.  Who takes a song over 20years old and 'tries' to rip it to shreds for seemingly no real reason AND gets the facts wrong to boot!? Ilmao at this one

The most lame and pathetic review I've ever read.

The total absence of any form of even the simplest research is testimony to the lazy approach to both the band and the subject matter.

Hard to comprehend how this writer could ever land a job in this field and completely discredits the employer organization. At least now, I know to never waste any further time reading material from ION Magazine.

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