It's definitely the bass. This bass line creates a nice pocket from the beginning and throughout all three acts of the song. The first could almost serve as the bass line of a dub song if reverb and delay were slathered over it. As the pace increases, it retains some of its original flavor while no longer taking center stage of the soundscape. By the third act, it's traded sandals for Doc Martens and bringing it home.

The opening words and refrain are Holden Caulfield specials, guaranteed to resonate with someone growing up and realizing life isn't exactly the way it's described on the brochure. I do recall softly chanting "Everybody, everybody" to myself during some classes, particularly history. But I digress...

To me, Perry Farrell's voice fits. It floats within the song as opposed to standing out from it, even when proclaiming that "Sex is Violence. Then again, I was also listening to Public Enemy and NWA at the time. Almost any other vocals would be tame in comparison.

While it's the longest song on "Nothing's Shocking", the journey it takes doesn't overstay its welcome. I imagine the words had a stronger impact on my teenage years than listening through the lens of a few decades of living, but they sound like parts of conversations I've had in multiple places over the years. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to see if I can find out who Ted was.