Idles frontman Joe Talbot was raised in the cathedral city of Exeter, England. Speaking on the meaning of this marauding song, he said: "I hated growing up in a city that was really a town that was really a fishbowl. I left as soon as I could, only to realize the fishbowl didn't exist... just the fish, and they're everywhere."
A model village is a re-creation of a village on a small scale open to the public as a tourist attraction. Here, Talbot reflects on small-minded patriotism by pointing the finger at people he considers have a warped perception of normality. He takes them out of their own town by looking at it like it's a model village. Talbot explained to Apple Music he is telling them, "Look how small and insignificant this place is. Don't be so aggressive and defensive about something you don't really understand."
Talbot told Mojo magazine the satire of "Model Village" is "me laughing at how stupid this country is, how f---ed America is. That song comes from a place of complete despair."
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