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lyrics

Now we put away young adult things
I’m no idealist anymore
We live bound by definite constraints
That narrow the ways we can imagine wanting more

Because the structuring logics of our civilization
They warp and corrode the imagination
And when you give up alternatives
One’s life eventuates
Along a path of least resistance
Towards inheriting the futures that history created

So we bought a house
With sufficient storage
Moved to the suburbs
Took out a mortgage
Hetero-passing
And we both drive cars
We work all day
Then we hit the bar
Yeah, this is the outcome
And it isn’t even hard
Living like our parents
Like it’s who we are

Well, everybody grows up eventually—
When you develop a stake in maintenance of society
A material interest in the ways that we’re supposed to be
A deeper understanding of The Enemy

But we just wanted housing stability
Which is elusive for renters in this city
So naturally we pondered owning property
As a solution to a rootless insecurity
And my credit is good 'cause I have money
From the union contract that sets my salary
So a man I’ve never met and his financial team
Released like all of this cheddar they were authorized to lend to me
And 'cause housing exists as a commodity
Whose value is determined by the market, thus by scarcity
The cost is just enormous, but it gets worse if you keep waiting
And everybody's got to find a place to settle down eventually

But once you’ve signed the papers and you shift your class position
Once you own a little capital, two bedrooms and a kitchen
On expropriated native land converted into Property
(Those origins disavowed because it’s very, very easy)
Then all of these constitutive components of society
Transform in one fell swoop into a system that benefits me
More directly

Yeah, those very same price hikes that got you down
Are now a long-term mechanism for to build your wealth
And those property taxes that pay for our schools
Are now a personal burden on me
And while my renting friends languish under rising costs
I’ll be building equity
The state and its violence are now on my side
Busting faces to secure my private property
And when we’re at the public meeting on the housing crunch
I’ll be fighting new development and density
To keep the value of my stolen land from decreasing

Yeah, as long as I never have to leave my job
I’ll live in comfort and security
Pursing my material interests
To the detriment of all of the unlanded all around me

Makes sense if it makes cents for me
S then C
Makes sense if it makes cents for me
S then C

So here at 32 I now can tell you
And as a homeowner, I truly understand
That if we're ever going to have a just society
We've got to decommodify the land

credits

from Totally, Totally., released December 9, 2022

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The Michael Character Boston, Massachusetts

It's political music, whatever. Based in Boston, MA. Absolutely willing to drive very far to play for you and five of your vaguely alternative friends in your combination kitchen/laundry room. Hit me up. I'm fully serious.

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