Regina Spektor – Machine

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  My Interpretation:I definately think this is about illuminati and all that shit. Maybe she's trying to warn us about it? Machine... it's a machine, the whole concept. I mean, look at the lyrics of Consequence of sounds, a lot of stuff that implies to illuminati and how "they claim they will save us but want to enslave us" enslave, like a machine.. make us machines.. hmm. But yet still Marc Webb, who directed her two videos fidelity and better, made the videos seem like regina is a part of illuminati.
  But she's not. If anything, she's trying to warn us.
  love u regina<3
  Sorry for this messy and unclear interpretation

  Flag Lilyflosson February 24, 2013   Link

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  My Interpretation:I've listened to this song a lot, and often wondered about its meaning, when the other day I all of a sudden had an idea. I strangely enough this it's about an unborn baby. "The machine" is its mother.
  
  "I live in the future" doesn't mean "I currently live in the future", it means "The future is when I will live".
  
  I collect my moments
  Into a correspondence
  With a mightier power
  Who just lacks my perspective
  And who lacks my organics
  And who covets my defects
  And I'm downloaded daily
  I am part of a composite
  
  The baby is "corresponding" with its mother, a higher power, who thinks that everything about her baby is perfect. The baby is part of a composite because it is joined with its mother - two lives in one.
  
  Everything's provided
  Consummate consumer
  Part of worldly taking
  Apart from worldly troubles
  
  The baby has a peaceful existence, not having to worry about anything, because it gets all it needs from its mother.
  
  Living in your prewar apartment
  Soon to be your postwar apartment
  And you lived in the future
  And the future
  It's here
  It's bright
  It's now
  
  This part is I think someone else talking to the baby. I'm inclined to think that "war" refers to birth, i.e. the baby's about to be born. This seems an even more likely explanation with the last few lines - the baby is about to be living in the actual world, and life has the potential to be great.

  Flag Erc107on October 20, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:I don't know about the war bit, but otherwise it seems to describe virtual communities (or blogging / facebook / myspace) pretty well. The facebook conglomerate is the mightier power, which "updates me daily" and "lacks my perspective". As a composite the community is both an entity in itself and the sum of the many people who have joined it.
  
  Anything the protagonist does is done to spy for the virtual community and this is part of the futuristic relationship; the description of her body makes it clear that this transcends the normal evolution as she becomes part of the machine, hence eyes can become bifocal and hands get sept-jointed. Maybe like a robot or a man-machine? Having sept-jointed hands to me is surely a tongue-in-cheek exaggeration.
  
  upgrading daily and wires without traces alludes to the manipulation that gets pushed down from the "higher power" which watches her every move.
  
  "Everything's provided / consumate consumer ..." a typical facebook scenario. Most people do not realize that on these platforms they are not the customer but they have become the merchandise themselves, the war is fought between the various media companies (google / facebook / twitter / myspace / flickr etc.) who "lack (my) organics" and "covets (my) defects" as these are the fodder needed to fuel the consumation of the "service" which is really just selling things and trading customer data (email addresses, private data, private content).
  
  The "friends in high places" can both relate to the "community friends" and the "big brother(s)" who sit and watch over the administration of these virtual communities.
  
  "Part of Worldy Taking / Apart from Worldly Troubles" shows that this situation is more about consumerism than about politics and that it is in itself artificially set up and not part of the real world "in my pre-war apartment, soon to be post-war apartment". Although the person has transformed into something new, the situation remains the same, life is still only happening in the apartment, and no real experiences have been made.
  
  I know this is a pretty daring interpretation but its also a very chilling and fitting one to me; I love the feedback of the piano strings when everything tries to burst!

  Flag RealRaven2000on December 20, 2011   Link

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    very very fitting. I agree my exact thoughts while listening.

    Flag reginasbitchon July 11, 2012  
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  General Comment:i don't know what the real meaning to the song is but i absolutely adore Regina. this is one song i always have to follow through to the end with once it starts - i can never turn it off, just beautiful.

  Flag LemonCookieon June 27, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:
  "Living in your pre-war apartment
  Soon to be your post-war apartment"
  
  Now that's an ominous lyric if I ever heard one... :D

  Flag Seradaneon June 02, 2011   Link

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  My Interpretation:Anyone else think it might be to do with the conversion of religious faith into something modern and technological, as opposed to traditional, possibly leading into the number of religiously 'justified' attacks? I reckon the 'I' of the song might be either the prospective believer, or just a personification of faith itself.
  
  My eyes are bi-focal
  My hands are sub-jointed
  I live in the future
  In my pre-war apartment
  
  
  The pre-war bit is just a set-up for later, but the rest of it - the eyes being bi-focal could be commenting how religion has become an 'it's either you're with us, or without us' or a 'your either right, or wrong' scenario, as opposed to being poly-focal, it's just bi-focal. The (sept)-jointed hands are the niche-denominations of Christianity, the hand of Christianity spreading out and becoming more and more complex and 'sept-jointed', as opposed to a unity. The future reference is just implying that this reality of it going to the extremes lives in the future, and is the precursor to a war between faiths.
  
  
  
  
  And I count all my blessings
  I have friends in high places
  And I'm upgraded daily
  All my wires without traces
  
  
  High places implies God, but I think more in the sense of using God as an excuse - I'm (religion) is alright to make claims and start fights, because it has friends in high places - God on its side (of course, Regina is being satirical of this). And it's an ever-expanding threat, being upgraded daily, becoming spread by technology, and all traces of any past tradition and unity being lost.
  
  
  Hooked into machine
  Hooked into machine
  Hooked into machine
  I'm hooked into
  Hooked into
  
  Hooked into machine
  Hooked into machine
  Hooked into machine
  I'm hooked into
  Hooked into machine
  
  
  Christianity has become a machine - possibly even a war-machine, an entity existing only to expand and further itself.
  
  
  I collect my moments
  Into a cold respondence
  With a mightier power
  Who just lacks my perspectives
  And who lacks my organics
  
  
  Religion collects its new 'God-given' directives and claims and calls it a correspondence with God. As religion becomes less genuine, and becomes more of a corporation of sorts, it starts making God an excuse for everything - attributing all its wrongdoings to a mightier power, who lacks the perspectives of man and the incongruities of organics, and can justify these acts.
  
  
  And who covets my defense
  And I'm downloaded daily
  I am part of a composite
  
  
  But religion also wants to make its leaders seem good, so makes their 'God' covet them. Or perhaps it's that the defects in religion as a corporation are claimed to be that which God admires, religion, in a form of propaganda, saying that it is God's will that these acts are committed - but God cannot commit them, hence coveting their defects. Downloading daily is again saying how religion is becoming more like a machine, a corporation, a program designed to spread - and people in it are just parts of a composite (very business-like word, there) and not individuals in front of God - like timesharing with God, instead of actually sharing a connection with him.
  
  
  Hooked into machine
  Hooked into machine
  Hooked into machine
  I'm hooked into
  Hooked into
  
  Hooked into machine
  Hooked into machine
  Hooked into machine
  I'm hooked into
  Hooked into machine
  
  
  Same as previous chorus
  
  
  Everything's provided
  Consummate consumer
  Part of worldly taking
  Apart from worldly troubles
  
  
  Religion isn't an effort anymore. You don't have to work at your relationship with God - everything's provided, just give money to religion and receive forgiveness from God in return - everything's provided, so long as you're a consumer, and you get to be a part of the conglomerate that's taking from the world, but don't have to then worry about the world's troubles!
  
  Living in your pre-war apartment
  Soon to be your post-war apartment
  And you live in the future
  
  
  But this cannot be maintained, religion cannot grow like this - this is the impending future, not the state of things now, but it cannot be maintained. Turning religion into a scam, a business, a composite, will lead to wars and violence.
  
  
  And the future
  It's here
  It's bright
  It's now
  
  This bit could have many interpretations, but I like to think it's painting the picture of a bomb exploding in the distance - quiet, but destructive and bright - this is the future, it's here, it's now, and it's as bright as an exploding atom bomb.
  
  Just my two cents.

  Flag regispekon April 28, 2011   Link

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  Song Meaning:This song is a very indepth song. Regina is imply that we are machines, created by a Creator that maintains the computer. Its like being a smart computer, the Maker created you and you have Artificial Intelligence, where you evolve and whatever you do is recorded and also he makes repairs when need be. She also mentions the point about having wires that cannot be seen outright. Its your veins and arteries she is referring too. Most songs on Far are related to Religion somewhat. She also mentions having a respondence with a maker who does not have her perspective and is not tangible like a human would be

  Flag stonerxon April 09, 2011   Link

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• +1
  General Comment:These are things I know about this song: 1)I feel like a jerk whenever I listen to it. 2)I tend to chuckle at myself when I listen to it. 3)I love this song.
  
  Now as for my attempt at coming up with a meaning, there's a number of ways to take it.
  
  I like the 1984 idea. It fits, but that's not what I think of when I listen to it. I personally take it as a dig on herself as well as others for being so dependent on machines (computers, cars, TV, music players, etc). Almost like we've started assimilating ourselves into being a part of one. We blog, we e-mail each other, facebook, twitter, surf, download and upload music, videos, and pictures; it's pretty funny when you start thinking about it, although a tad aggravating at the same time. lol
  
  That's just my two cents on the matter though.

  Flag myselfamion February 12, 2011   Link

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  General Comment:i was listening to this today and decided it reminded me a little bit of chief bromdens hallucinations in OFOTCN and his theorys of the 'combine'...however 1984 makes a lot of sense though :)

  Flag tamsynon June 15, 2010   Link

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  General Comment:I know there are already loads of more detailed comments, but I had a few notions when I heard this song. Firstly, I think she is protected by high up people from some sort of war or revolution that isn't for the best. And then many people that have become robotic due to a technological revolution have become jealous of her humanity and unique nature because she is still human. However, then I got the impression that maybe she is made into a model for people to download and look like because she has faults and organics and now it's fashionable, so they update themselves to look like her- ‘And I’m downloaded daily, I am part of a composite.’

  Flag StephenJaqueson May 13, 2010   Link

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