Getting Into Power - The Sand Spiders
Why should narcissists have all the fun?
With the US election only weeks away and Trump having at least a 50/50 chance of winning (or coup-ing), this song seems relevant, although the timing is coincidental. It’s a punk rock song about the naked quest for power that is so lionised in the west.
Photo by Alex Mihai C on Unsplash.
Lyrics
no more mister nice guy kissing ass and acting polite I'm gonna rise like a fire to the top of the tree be the boss of the boss they'll all answer to me corporate president hard and sharp gonna cut out my heart and make a new start I'm sick of being a wage slave doing the same shit again I'm taking control climbing the pole like Machiavelli I'll be the prince you'll see c I'm getting into power (the man of men) I'm getting into power (be great again) I'm getting into power and you're gonna love me like it or not no more dumb orders doing what I'm told like at school they can't fire me when I'm the one making all the rules got my sights set high on the c-suite skyline my profile intensified I will scheme and betray do whatever it takes if you're not with me you're against me I'll make you pay I look after my friends come after enemies think about your future cos it's me
For my sins, I’ve worked in and for large organisations most of my career. I’m always impressed by how insular the company is - like a separate world, a bubble of fiefdoms, territories, castles and moats, and internecine conflicts. Castles of paper - not even paper in the digital age: imaginary but well known and powerful borders, customs, and power structures. Being social creatures, humans instinctively herd and merge. We seem to need to be part of a group. This aggregation of capacity is a green field for a wannabe tyrant to fight for supremacy, status, power. They may not rule a country, but damn they’re a hard-ass in finance and accounts, and heaven help you if you question their ‘authority’ or the fictitious basis of it.
Out of curiosity, I once read ‘The Prince’ by Machiavelli and felt dirty for weeks afterward. It was brilliant and clever, but I don’t ever want to be anything like that, or one of the flock that is shepherded and owned by the mighty leader, the ‘manager’.
In this story, the guy decides it’s eat or be eaten and resolves to climb the corporate ladder by any means. No one won by co-operating. He reads Machiavelli like it’s a self-help manual and goes to work, scheming and devising, his head full of plans for his future empire. Once at the pinnacle, achieving the success he deserves, his people will of course ‘love’ him - show him the deference and respect he has earned. If they don’t, he’ll get rid of them, tout suite. Humans are just ‘resources’ after all, and there’s always more of them.
The song was inspired by a headline about UK PM Keir Starmer getting into power (although what for, I don’t know.) As opposed to Jeremy Corbin not getting into power because he was betrayed by his own party sabotaging the election he would probably have won. Machiavelli would have been proud.
Politics is performative, both in the political system and inside organisations. I feel embarrassed for the full grown human adults who take it so seriously, as if it’s life and death. They know they can’t take it with them, right? They know the universe doesn’t given a shrunken damn about their fancy title or self-defined ‘power’. Go tell it to a storm, champ - then we’ll see how much your ‘power’ is worth.
The track was all done on my Mac M1 with Logic Pro and virtual instruments. I’ve found our car to be a reasonable substitute for a vocal studio. Tucked away in the garage I can shout my lungs out and not draw the ire of others in the house. It’s a bit cramped but I appreciate the privacy ass a salve for my self-consciousness.
One day, when I’m rich and famous (ha!), I’ll have an actual studio. For now, the car studio is my salvation and I laid down vocals for 4 songs last weekend. So expect more over coming weeks. You have been warned!