Steam Engenius

I wrote an essay on it... I haven't done the conclusion yet, but here's what I've got. I think it's what he meant, because I read in an interview something about his view of technology.

Modest Mouse’s song “Steam Engenius” from their album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, takes a metaphoric approach to addressing the issue of human over-reliance on technology. The writer, Isaac Brock, combines biblical and technological references as well as stylistically portraying his message through the music itself by choice of dynamics and tempo.

From the very first phrase, “I was born in a factory” Brock offers a perfect summary of his point. The imagery is clear — conveyer belts whisking parts through a crowded warehouse and being assembled by countless robots, all at a speed much faster than their human counterparts could do the job. The factory itself is Brock’s first metaphor, embodying technology’s eventual usurpation of humans. He expands on this theme in later stanzas, seamlessly supporting his claim with facts that can be proved using his own factory analogy. Why are human workers being replaced with robots? The simple answer is efficiency. Technology works faster, better, and asks for nothing in return. It truly is “all for you”.

But there is another point in his opening line — what came from the factory was not merely created, but born. That is the key to revealing the deeper layer of Brock’s meaning, and understanding the metaphor of the factory. That technology, as well as replacing humans, is being made to become human. Now it is not merely the manual labor of a factory worker that is being replaced — it is our very minds. The line “I was thought up by man to think better than them” shows the paradox of the situation. Aptly deemed the “mechanical sacrificial calf”, the men that created it in the first place are forgotten as their inventions are revered and admired.

However, it is clear that while it seems technology is taking over, it is the humans who should be in control of the situation. We gave it deity. A machine has no power, no thoughts, no needs… it works for us, but on its own, it is like a rickshaw pulling another rickshaw — pointless. Man gives it purpose. A rickshaw doesn’t have anywhere to go, your phone doesn’t have anyone to call, and the essence of what Brock is saying is that they are tools for us to use, not something greater than ourselves.