In case you haven't noticed a common theme in this article just yet, let me provide this overly simple equation: Troubled youth + misinterpreted rock music = terrible, terrible tragedy. Joshua Cooke's story is another that slides right into this formula. Cooke was 19-years-old when he shot both of his parents multiple times with a 12-gauge shotgun. While he pulled the trigger, he was listening to Drowning Pool's "Bodies" in his earphones. Although the song is actually about the mosh pits that would form at the band's concerts and the brotherhood that forms between those who participate, the repeated, guttural refrain of "Let the bodies hit the floor" has lead many, like Cooke, to misconstrue it as an ode to violence in general. (It was widely reported Jared Loughner took inspiration from the same lyrics when he shot US Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others in 2011.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04F4xlWSFh0 In an attempt to shift the blame away from himself, Cooke and his attorney claim his actions were motivated by the Drowning Pool song (as well as the fantastical violence depicted in The Matrix). Said Cooke:
"I had been listening to the song for about a year nonstop. And I just knew that I had so much hate and rage inside of me, that I knew it was leading to murder."
In response, the band issued a statement that included this gem: "Listening to Drowning Pool music does not make you a bad person. Misleading people does."
