BONUS: Control Freak

Lyrics

[Spoken Intro] Now, I've been sailing the seas of insight recently About my little songs, and my little job, and my little place In these huge, vast waters they call the 'Music Industry.' And with the aid of some people much wiser and much more well-adjusted than me An intuition I think I've always held has become much more… Vivid, and conscious That of course being: The Music Industry doesn't fuckin' care about me Or them. Or you… Unless, of course, you happen to be a big shot on an alt account In which case, here's what it's like down here Hope you can hear me! See, the systems in place right now to protect indie artists and their work Might as well be a paper cutout of a locked gate with a crayon sign that reads "Pretty please don't lie!" I'm not going to go into details here, security through obscurity and whatnot But it's this sort of realisation that acted as the seed of inspiration For what eventually grew into this song It's a little ditty I've titled 'Control Freak' and it's available to listen, stream and download On all platforms where I have said control ...by my count, it's a list of three (...one, two, three..) [Verse 1] I've been thinking an awful lot recently About the state of the indie industry About the weight of creativity And the tools to help it grow You see, they make it look so easy - And in all the wrong ways, it really seems to be - To leave your mark on history; To become well known Bot scams drop bodies like the plague AI slop brands your favourite artist's front page Content ID has had too much fuckin' whisky But its blurred vision's what decides what cunt gets paid And I know it's awful churlish for me to say When the system that I hate is what puts food on the plate But if they make it clear, crystally They don't give the first shit about me Then I feel fine in saying just the same I will gladly bite the hand that drip-feeds; Look this gift horse in the mouth and say… [Chorus] Fuck labels. Fuck managers Fuck sponsors. Fuck distributors Fuck every single one of you rotten cunts You force-feed me your advice With a shitty glint in your seedy eyes While forgetting that I never fuckin' asked you once All I ever want is to be me But there's a trust fall where there should be two-factor authenticity I'm not the unmilked cash cow that you seek But I bet, to you, all that that makes me is Just another control freak! [Verse 2] Now, I've been thinking an awful lot as of late About the image I present and what I make I craft my own tightropes, walk across the thread of high hopes Putting life, and limb, and lucidity at stake But the winds of cruelty are blowing something fierce Of a thousand arrows fired, one's sure to pierce All it takes is one fuckwit With good aim to go and fuck it all up With no recompense for my tears For a fee, they'll show the road and let you pass With a complementary shield made of glass And when the bandits attack, and you hobble your way back They'll look you up and down and say "...wasn't us." Then back on down you'll go, still unprepared Knowing one of these days they'll have your head They don't care if you survive Your body's cheap, dead or alive And there's far bigger names to care for instead So, if all's the same in games of abuse Let my flying middle finger be Fair Use [Chorus] Let us all sing: Fuck labels. Fuck managers Fuck sponsors. Fuck distributors! Fuck every single one of you rotten cunts You let the crooks walk on by, without batting a fuckin' eye And then pull another one of your publicity stunts All I ever want is to be me But there's a pinky promise where should be two-factor authenticity I'm yet another mouthpiece for the meek But I bet that in your eyes, that makes me - Though to say, it feels so bleak Does wanting agency just make me Another spoiled control freak?