THE GREED MACHINE

the eighth album by samuel kinsella.

i found a few more things to say. autonomy, existence, addiction, economic crises, ancient societies, isolation, creativity, fear, maturity, and futility make up the conceptual sum of THE GREED MACHINE. the album is a diverse refrain, a subtle retrospective on all that preceded it, and a look into whatever the future looks like for us. this album feels different to me than my previous work, in a few ways. i released Uncommon Communication with the intention of it being the bookend to that part of my musical life. THE GREED MACHINE picks up the pieces and reinvents my sound in so many different ways, it creates these pillars based on either my existing work or things i’m inspired by, and builds this new view into my outlook. it’s some of my most advanced work, some of my most introspective.

i knew i wasn’t going to abandon music, but i didn’t want to approach it in the same way i used to. i wanted to really have something interesting to explore, a new way to make it, more to say. i think after experiencing in many ways one of the worst years of my life, this album comes to me as an important reminder of who i am, and a proclamation of who i will be. it also comes right at the official quarter century point in my life, where i’ve been faced with some existential questions.

this record experiments a lot in things i’ve never experimented in, and as is said in the album, “if you don’t get it, then it gets you.” it contains some of my proudest work, and surprisingly some of my most memorable and accessible work to date. i hope you enjoy.

and once again

stuck in this dance

i guess the sands of time

have turned to glass and forced my hand

well,

i make my own light

i make a way out

i give myself the right

to rearrange the dots

and write between the lines

i need a

i need a hand here

i need a

i need a friend

to spread the lie

and watch me write between the lines

well here goes nothing

the cattle prod

you’ll barely feel it

i assure you

negotiations gone awry

and now you’re on the lam

a thousand miles away from where you started

you threw a fire into the sky

and now it’s comin’

down

i make my own light

i make a way out

i give myself the right

to rearrange the dots

and write between the lines

i need a

i need a hand here

i need a

i need a friend

to spread the lie

and watch me write between the lines

now

i make my own light

i make a way out

i give myself the right

to rearrange the dots

and write between the lines

i need a

i need a hand here

i need a

i need a friend

to spread the lie

and watch me write between the lines

a mirror image

a loose smile

a sneak peek

a sundial

a subtle hint

a sharp pain

a briefcase

filled with blood

and business cards

the long game

the strep throat

the bad idea

the bank note

do you think?

or do you just

follow orders?

"oh, what a beautiful day"

the synergy

the coffee leaf

the name tag

the polo breed

well gentlemen

please allow me to

introduce myself

you don’t know my name?

the yellow smile

the resumé

the never ending talk of good days

the salt breeze

on white wood

the PCH

the canyon

the washed up movie star,

the girlie pop queen,

the woodstock man from the seventies,

drivin’ from his palace in the palisades,

TO FEED THE GREED MACHINE.

blame a flaw

your gapin’ maw

so many words

no weight at all

a politik

a blackmail ring

a big bribe

a simple thing

you poor thing

if you don’t get it,

then it gets you.

this is over your head

this is performative

you know it’s not real

you know it’s not true

its words to make you kneel

the greed machine (straight from the farm)

the greed machine (they come so fresh)

the greed machine (you can almost trick yourself)

it has to feed (to think it’s flesh)

it has to feed

the greed machine

the tomboy

the insecurity

the face she changed

the new body

the lifestyles of

the rich and powerful

the summer house

lookin’ good on the tax forms

the secret crying

the hidden habits

the bad dates

the kissy shit

the hand that covers

the flashbulbs of

photographers

you’re not what you think

a greater good

a resonance

a white light

a certain elegance

and gentlemen

please allow me to

introduce myself

you don’t know my name?

the hand shakes

the contracts

the false attempts to try to counteract

the glaciers

the solar flares

and in time

i’ll end up like

the washed up movie star,

the girlie pop queen,

the woodstock man from the seventies,

drivin’ from his palace in the palisades,

TO FEED THE GREED MACHINE.

the nail gun (i’m out of my mind)

the plastic

a farmhouse

the lawyer

it can’t be stopped

someone dies alone tonight

TO FEED THE GREED MACHINE.

blame a flaw

your gapin’ maw

so many words

no weight at all

a politik

a blackmail ring

a big bribe

a simple thing

you poor thing

if you don’t get it,

then it gets you

this is over your head

this is performative (the greed machine)

you know it’s not real (it has to feed)

you know it’s not true (it has to feed)

its words to make you kneel (the greed machine)

the greed machine

the greed machine (straight from the farm)

the greed machine (they come so fresh)

the greed machine (you can almost trick yourself)

it has to feed (to think it’s flesh)

it has to feed

the greed machine

and so, what was it all for?

what did your ramblings earn you?

have all your efforts gone to waste?

you’ll accept that, or learn to

and so, what became of you?

did your words carry weight here?

was your time held with value?

or did you just confirm what they feared?

and i fear that i am fading

with just words still remaining

i’m stuck in a lose lose game

existing in a world that forgets you

and i feel that i am failing

if i abandon all i’m creating

so many names have been erased

bodiless and dispossessed

i’m strugglin' for meaning in the mess

of what becomes of us

but oh…

no use for the broken man

they stayed for the open hand

we’re all just flesh and bone anyway

who’ll hear what i say?

and is the knowledge learned or intrinsic?

is the dance strange and rhythmic?

did you ask me what i meant, before i said it?

existing in a world that forgets you

and in structures turned to ashes

and memories half forgotten

lie the last of our ambitions

and labor fruits turned rotten

it looks like i’ll be forgotten

what becomes of us?

oh yes, i’m strugglin’ for meaning in the mess

of what becomes of us

we are so far down the rabbit hole

and i think all this might be changing now

your vices grip you by the veins

and spit you down the gutters

we’re heading down a frightening road again

we are spinning out so far away

and i don’t know where to go from here

you haven’t eased up on the reins

or split apart the clutter

you’re going further than we’ve gone before

does the road lead to safety

or slippin' down the mountainside?

i’m tryin’ to go in after you

and pull you out the spiral

but you might be beyond my reach this time

i don’t know

the people on this world

are nice to start

they smile real wide

but there’s deceit in their heart

they’re here for your downfall

they want you beggin’ in the street

no time for meaning

gotta get up, set up, link up, wrap it up

day and night,

took my spaceship to the big house

they cheered me on

then gave me painful employment

but i think i liked my life

when i was the alien

nobody could take their

eyes off of me

now i got to wear a suit and tie

impress the zeroes

make 'em think i’m one of them

but it’s time to see

i am not

what you want

much too me

nonchalant

i’m a ten

outta one

you’re a dud

amount to none

(i’m from another world, a different world, a real strange world)

when it’s all

business parks

no signs of life

no truth or art

i am not

what you want

much too me

i don’t belong

let’s look at the facts

i used to orbit, i used to fly

i miss my flying object

this planet’s wack,

and now you are gonna die

i am not

what you want

much too me

nonchalant

i’m a ten

outta one

i am fun

(i’ll zap you with my fkn space ray)

and you are yawn

(i’m from another world, a different world, a real strange world)

i’m goin’ back

to my ship

"outer space

fingertip"

(i’m from another world, a different world, a real strange world)

i am not

what you want

much too me

i'm never wrong

i am he

from beyond

if you blink

i am gone

(i’m from another world, a different world, a real strange world)

take your world

i don’t want

i like my

galactic yacht

(i’m from another world, a different world, a real strange world)

i am not

what you want

much too me

i don’t belong

i’m from another world

a different world

a real strange world

an ancient world

of bone and skull

and there stood

an altar

shimmering

a violent bloodletting

an ancient world

at the center of a city

made by ancient rhythmicity

in a gateway to another plane

they promise you a place

you see

little devils dancin’ in a cave

all the ones that you could never save

they sold you a spot in heaven

but you ended up in flames

ahh

you had wished for it to happen

and lamented when it failed

now their eyes are on you all times

so careful what you say

ohh

a temple maze

with an altar where the lambs will lay

what used to be a sacred place

is now a den of thievery

and place of policy

evil debts

manufactured in the name of greed

on a raft in a tumultuous sea

now they’ve captured you for eternity

and it’s washin’ over me

and ahh

you had wished for it to happen

and lamented when it failed

now their eyes are on you all times

so careful what you sayyyyyyyyyy

speak of the devil

conspirin’ against the world

burned at the stake

eyes of white

twistin’ fingers restin’ on the hills

giant wings that twist like windmills

little one, did the village burn?

did the evil still return?

and in truth

i confess that i am not to save

all the souls that can’t afford to pay

for a ticket to the promised land

but still they raise their hands

ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaaa

what’s another thousand years to me?

the sands of time wash me away

alien sounds

in a language i can’t understand

million symbols written on their hands

they will guide me through eternity

or tie me to the tree

and now i am

on an altar of brutality

with the blood of ancient men on me

i am sacrifice for all their deeds

and conduit for their need

to please

the deceiver and the maker

an ancient world

of bone and skull

i’ve no equal

we are vessels

to the future

original

i’ve no equal

flow in silence

take it outward

play it backward

completely full

strange unnatural

two identical

somethin’ is breakin’ apart

and back again

i’ve no equal

unique people

somethin’ tells me

i’m alone here

i am one

i am more

i’m above

and now i’m below

well yes, thank you.

no i wasn’t saying anything important, anyway.

let’s reconvene at another time.

let’s circle back to this.

it’s all business, you know.

and we must feed the greed machine.

jealousy

is a lie

that tells you

you know what you want

but once you reach

out your hand

and receive the reins

you’re gone

ohh, you want it (but if i could just reach out and touch it)

i know it’s tempting (i’ll be satisfied)

well i’ve warned you

it’s all fun and games ‘till it’s not

well now my hand’s

off the wheel

let’s see what happens now i’m gone

well now i don’t

want to say

that i told you this would happen

and even when the world is right

and day has passed into the night

i feel every second slip

away from me in ignorance

and even when the world is right

and day has passed into the night

i feel every second slip

away from me in ignorance

well now i don’t

want to say

that i told you this would happen

and even when the world is right

and day has passed into the night

i feel every second slip

away from me in ignorance

and even when the world is right

and day has passed into the night

i feel every second slip

away from me in ignorance

and even when the world is right

and day has passed into the night

i feel every second slip

away from me in ignorance

and even when the world is right

and day has passed into the night

i feel every second slip

away from me in ignorance

all my life is dumbing myself down

tryin' to connect with nothingness

somehow tryin' to get my mind across

now this feeling, now this anger

it washes over me like a river

and this failure,

it just exists as ink under your skin

an unforeseeable outcome

and what good does it do

to let it fester

to seethe in anger

a rage that colors you

someone is tired of the same night over and over

and someone's trying to fall in line

and someone's getting out

and someone is out to get you

something's melting

walls are melting

like a wasp in flame

and sometimes weight won't lift

no words will ease the pain

no matter how soft

all my life is dumbing myself down

tryin' to connect to nothingness

somehow tryin' to get my mind across

sometimes it's easier to cut the line

i'm stuck between two directions

and if i don't look out the window

it all comes back

all my life is dumbing myself down

tryin' to connect to nothingness

somehow tryin' to get my mind across

all my life is dumbing myself down

tryin' to connect with nothingness somehow tryin' to get my mind across

someone is tired of the same night over and over

and someone's trying to fall in line

and someone's getting out

and someone is out to get you

all my life is dumbing myself down

tryin' to connect to nothingness

somehow tryin' to get my mind across

all my life is dumbing myself down

tryin' to connect with nothingness

somehow tryin' to get my mind across

someone is tired of the same night over and over

and someone's trying to fall in line

and someone's getting out

and someone is out to get you

i’m pullin’ on the string

that holds together everything

the world is unraveling

at an alarming rate

what if the sky tears?

what if the wind blows me away?

you'll still be there to attack

pay the toll, and pay the tax

and oh,

i’m pullin’ on the string

to reattach

to come in focus

and separate

you see it with your own two eyes

they say

“can you keep a secret?”

now you’re skating on thin ice

in lies,

you don’t know what’ll come into the light

but if you say it,

if you say it

they say it’s a lie,

they say it’s false

ahh, you’re puttin’ up a wall

if one comes down

the rest are soon to fall

the silent skeptic’s seein’ red

he’s met his match and beat his equal

but he knows down inside his head

he’ll never design

a way from underneath his house of lies

there’s something sinister lurkin’ in the shadow

creepin’ round the corner and listenin’ in

are you dead, or are you alive?

you never know

the being hears you try to buy some time

it’s all hushed voices,

candid cameras

it’s being lied to,

to your face (the weight is too much)

you know if the being meets your eye

you’re dead alive

you want to, but you can't give up the fight

but if you say it,

if you say it

they say it’s a lie,

they say it’s false

ahh, you’re puttin’ up a wall

if one comes down

the rest are soon to fall

return

and return

but if you say it,

if you say it (i’m on my last legs)

they say it’s a lie,

they say it’s false (they got me for good this time)

ahh, you see the being fall

if he goes down

the dark will take us all

back home.