"The war is inside. And it doesn't stop."
Heaviest production on the record. Dark trip-hop, 135 BPM, distorted bass, oppressive synth pads. The vocal is the calmest on the album, and that gap is the song - uncomfortable things said in a steady voice over crushing weight. The title isn't a flag for being anti-machine. The Luddites weren't anti-loom either; they were weavers whose wages were getting cut by the loom owners. The narrator owns the survivor's side of that math out loud: "We're the ones who kept our seats / We're the ones who learned the tools / We're the reason it got faster / We're the ones who wrote the rules." And the verse about friends who didn't make the jump - "My friends are sending me their resumes / I told them years ago to learn" - is the ethical center of the album as far as I'm concerned.
Luddite mode Pull the plug Kill the feed That's the voice inside of me Burn the model Cut the line Half of me says that every time Built the pipeline, love the speed Ship on Monday what took me weeks Half my brain says this is right Other half won't sleep at night Three jobs vanished from the floor below Saw the boxes by the door Told them all to learn the tools They said they'd figure something more We're the ones who kept our seats We're the ones who learned the tools We're the reason it got faster We're the ones who wrote the rules Pull the plug Kill the feed That's the voice inside of me Burn the model Cut the line Half of me says that every time The Luddites weren't afraid of looms They were weavers watching wages fall I'm not afraid of what it builds I'm sad for those who couldn't crawl My friends are sending me their resumes I told them years ago to learn But twenty years of doing things one way Is a hard corner to turn We're the ones who kept our seats We're the ones who learned the tools We're the reason it got faster And I wish they'd come with me Luddite mode on Luddite mode off The war is inside And it doesn't stop
Lyrics & direction: Brian 200. Vocals & arrangement: Suno.