Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Motorhead and "Orgasmatron"

It is noteworthy that not only is Motorhead's lead singer, founder, and songwriter, Lemmy, an anarchist, but also that the band covered "Anarchy in the U.K." by  the Sex Pistols, which has been mentioned before as obviously anarchist in nature.

Furthermore is Motorhead's song "Orgasmatron".  The lyrics are as follows:

I am the one, Orgasmatron, the outstretched grasping hand
My image is of agony, my servants rape the land
Obsequious and arrogant, clandestine and vain
Two thousand years of misery, of torture in my name
Hypocrisy made paramount, paranoia the law
My name is called religion, sadistic, sacred whore.
I twist the truth, I rule the world, my crown is called deceit
I am the emperor of lies, you grovel at my feet
I rob you and I slaughter you, your downfall is my gain
And still you play the sycophant and revel in you pain
And all my promises are lies, all my love is hate
I am the politician, and I decide your fate
I march before a martyred world, an army for the fight
I speak of great heroic days, of victory and might
I hold a banner drenched in blood, I urge you to be brave
I lead you to your destiny, I lead you to your grave
Your bones will build my palaces, your eyes will stud my crown
For I am Mars, the god of war, and I will cut you down.

This song is basically a long hyperbole.  We get a bunch of apocalyptic imagery, being led to believe this Orgasmatron is some extraterrestrial monster, and then we're slammed with the truth in a simple statement:  "I am the politician, and I decide your fate".  From "emperor of lies" and "I rule the world" and "my crown is called deceit", we can see that this is no ordinary politician, but one that is high up.  The "servants" that "rape the land" are those who are below this politican and carry out his evil will.  "Two thousand years of misery, of torture in my name" would then lead us to believe that the Orgasmatron is not a single political leader, but rather, a generalization of all the political leaders for a very, very long time.  Therefore, this song is not about just any modern-day politican, or even the president or a king, but the institution of government in general.

 - DEREK HOLDEN

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