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Bonus Track - Oh Mein Maker (Demo)

from A Decade Into Darkness by Shock Octopus

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Oh Mein Maker was one of four demos that Dave and I recorded in 2009 and that we released on MySpace music (those were the days) in order to entice people to join the band. The other three tracks were ‘A Deer Caught in the Headlights’, ‘He Lives Underground’ and the so-bad-it-is-almost-good ‘Ronnie Gotta Hold.’ They were good enough to convince Scott and David into the fold which then fortunately led to bigger and better songs. These four songs formed the core of our very first sets until we dropped them one by one, only ‘Deer’ survived.

I wrote the prototype of the song that eventually became ‘Oh Mein Maker’ as a teenager. It was very informed by the semi-spoken word alt-rock on Triple J in the early 90s; U2’s ‘Dumb’, Butthole Surfers ‘Pepper’ – that kind of thing. The original title was ‘Stop Right There’ until a classmate informed me – sneeringly – that the Spice Girls already beat me to it.

‘Oh Mein Maker’ is based on the idea that we have created an economic system which is now virtually a living entity, one which has become our ruler and subjugates us to long gruelling work hours in order to feed itself. An overly literal depiction of capitalism critique I guess.

This was the first song that I wrote with Dave at his home studio and the vast majority of the instrumentation, as well as the chorus vocals can be attributed to him. He has always been a great song crafter, transforming my curiosities into compelling compositions. At the time I thought ‘Oh Mein Maker’ was genius. I know much better than that now, but I still have a soft spot for the song. Maybe it is the wacky lyrics, a curious blend of work-balance banality and dystopian kink imagery. I was reading J.G. Ballard at the time which probably explains it.

- Michael Bayliss
Shock Octopus

lyrics

Woke up feeling shit today, I really didn’t want to wake
Work commitments through the roof, there is no room to breathe or move
Can’t keep up with Mr Jones, just want another fucking cone
But I must toil another day, to find I’ve done things all their way

Chained up to our desks like dogs, we hail the monitors like god
The gold shine glitter in our eyes, its why we traded in our lives
Feel my life force enervate, the workload exponentiate
I think I’ve lost humanity but fuck me got a great CV

Oh mein maker, my mother, my father
My bearer, mon bella
Oh your slaver, your ruler, your fuhrer
Your first born, your blood spawn
Raus, raus, raus

Can’t remember what my family looks like, eons since I fucked my wife
But gotta do more overtime, oh god I’m running out of time
Can’t move can’t scream too late to try, I’m bound to serve before I die
The growing monster that we feed, we hail the Lucifer we freed

Like a greyhound at a race, keep me muzzled keep the pace

God I’m running out of breath, left foot step away from death
Ashen embers slowly pale, pilot light has gone to fail

credits

from A Decade Into Darkness, released May 29, 2021
Music and Lyrics: Michael Bayliss

Michael Bayliss: Vocals, Keyboards
David Blair: Backing Vocals, Bass, Drum Programming, Guitars, Keyboards.

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Shock Octopus Perth, Australia

Contemplative, Existential, Art Rock.

A collective stream of consciousness and social commentary by Michael Bayliss, David Blair and Scott Andrews.

Ride the waves!

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