Us vs Them is about the distraction — the whole left-against-right shouting match that keeps everyone busy while the actual story goes untouched. And the actual story is wealth inequality and money in politics. That’s it. That’s the thing. But it’s a lot easier to get people arguing with their neighbor, calling each other liars, than to get them to look up at who’s actually running the extraction.
What frustrates me most is the faction that would genuinely rather see other people suffer more than lift themselves up. They’re not even trying to get ahead; they just want someone below them. Some of that’s tribal, some of it’s something else, but it’s the trap. And the message of the song is simple: stop. Stop arguing with your neighbor. It’s not the immigrant’s fault, it’s not the poor person’s fault — that’s the misdirection. It was never neighbor vs neighbor. It’s us against the system that wants us pointed at each other.
For the sound I wanted something bare and piano-led, directional — moving, going somewhere, like the piano in Coldplay’s “Clocks.” A traveling song, with a raw, frustrated vocal on top. I fought Suno on this one — it kept wanting to noodle and show off on the piano, and I kept dragging it back to something rhythmic and driving. What I ended up with wasn’t exactly what I pictured, but it works, and honestly part of that is knowing when to stop.
The video is a little different from the redos. Claude generated the image prompts in the punk-ink style I’ve gravitated toward across my blog, ChatGPT made the stills, and I brought them into Filmora with simple Ken Burns moves — pushes and pulls — and built the lyric video on top.
How I made this one (the honest breakdown)
- The idea: mine — the left-vs-right distraction hiding the real story of wealth inequality and money in politics.
- Words & lyrics: I dictate, then work them through with Claude as an editor and sounding board — reject, rewrite, keep pushing until they land.
- Music: Suno. I directed the feel — bare, piano-led, directional like “Clocks.” I fought it hard to stop it noodling and keep it driving.
- Video: Claude prompts (my punk-ink style) → ChatGPT stills → Filmora with Ken Burns moves → lyric video, assembled by me. (Not a Kling redo — this one I built from stills.)


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