The Prongs - Stanley Milgram Says (Official Video)

Your instructions from The Prongs: “Never OBEY orders unquestioningly. But LISTEN NOW to Stanley Milgram Says.” Stanley Milgram Says is a magnificent slice of post-punk power pop that punches you in the gut with its ethical compass. It is the eagerly awaited follow-up to November 2025's Hey! Dandy (a blistering ode to the birth of 1970s pre-punk Irish counterculture). Stanley Milgram Says is a stark portrait of how global leaders induce decent people to do terrible things: “Every man becomes a torturer/Every man becomes a slayer/Obediently sitting there/Flicking switches for the electric chair.” In the early 1960s, Yale University conducted experiments around authority and obedience. Prompted by WWII and other horrors, pioneering psychology researcher Dr Stanley Milgram and his team dug into the soul of ordinary citizens. Devising simple tests, they looked at how people act on the orders of tyrants, dictators and despots to commit atrocities. Stanley Milgram Says reminds us all the evil state of the world is in fact the fault of each and every one of us. Its implicit messages? Refuse to obey the murderous orders of tyrants. Instead, let’s combine as individual forces for the greater good. In a former abattoir in Dublin's East Wall, Prongs visual collaborator and film-maker Susan Gleeson brilliantly captures an eerie recreation of the Yale psychology laboratory from the 1960s, as Prongs John Fleming and Niall Toner Jr re-enact Milgram’s grisly obedience experiments. Their twin identities as sinister white-coat researchers and electric-shock-experiment victims reflect the duality of human nature. Infused with post-war anxiety and B-movie style, Susan's video powerfully exposes the banality of evil. But with a grim humour that is almost Chaplinesque. Few pop songs channel the sinister history of atrocity into a snappy zeitgeist tune but this one does. Stanley Milgram Says is a milestone by Dublin new wave legends The Prongs. Vocalist/lyricist John Fleming and musical maestro Niall Toner have crafted a deft psychosocial pop song that melodically peers into the dark heart of humanity. If there was ever a tune to whistle in these troubled and hegemonic times, it is Stanley Milgram Says. Directed, filmed and edited by Susan Gleeson *VIDEO CONTAINS FLASHING IMAGES* STANLEY MILGRAM SAYS (Fleming/Toner) [Laboratory experiments show that 65% of us obey when ordered to kill our fellow humans - 65% of us obey orders to kill our fellow humans.] Stanley Milgram Voltage pilgrim Stanley Milgram says Stanley Milgram Voltage pilgrim Stanley Milgram says Electrocute my every sinew Science dictates you must continue Stanley Milgram Stanley Milgram Stanley Milgram says “I was only acting on orders You cannot blame me for those murders I was only acting on orders You cannot blame me for those murders” Every man becomes a torturer Every man becomes a slayer Obediently sitting there Flicking switches for the electric chair Light bulbs surge in Yale’s fair town A needle flickers into the red A dial, a smile, the white coat syndrome Experiment concludes: this man is dead “I was only acting on orders You cannot blame me for these murders I was only acting on orders You cannot blame me for those murders” Stanley Milgram Voltage pilgrim Stanley Milgram says Stanley Milgram Voltage pilgrim Stanley Milgram says ZZZZZZZZZZ x 4 Stanley Milgram Voltage pilgrim Stanley Milgram says Stanley Milgram Voltage pilgrim Stanley Milgram says “You cannot blame me for those murders I was only acting on orders You cannot blame me for those murders I was only acting on orders [Imagine governments, tyrants and dictators using their power and authority to bend the will of ordinary people to commit murder.] Give him 100 volts Aaaargh! Give him 200 volts AAAAAARGH! 300 volts No stop stop STOP! Stanley Milgram Stanley Milgram says “You cannot blame me for those murders I was only acting on orders You cannot blame me for those murders I was only acting on orders” etc Stanley Milgram says [Imagine governments, tyrants and dictators using their power and authority to bend the will of ordinary people to commit murder.] ENDS Lyrics/vocals: John Fleming Music/production: Niall Toner Jr Cover photography/video: Susan Gleeson/Rebeldiamondz Special thanks to Les Keye (Arad Studios) and our pals and live Prongs Daragh McCarthy (bass), Phil Murray (drums) and Duncan Maitland (keyboards). Copyright The Prongs 2026/All rights reserved The Prongs Released worldwide June 17th, 2026 Stanley Milgram Says is available for purchase at https://theprongs.bandcamp.com/music