Take Custody
Two stories, same lesson: A nonprofit cuts their hosting bill from $3000/month to $55 by taking custody of their own server. An AI tool deletes your session logs—your own thinking—after 30 days unless you claim them. Both times, convenience promised ease but hid the real cost: ongoing extraction or
Inspiration
Two stories, same lesson: A nonprofit cuts their hosting bill from $3000/month to $55 by taking custody of their own server. An AI tool deletes your session logs—your own thinking—after 30 days unless you claim them. Both times, convenience promised ease but hid the real cost: ongoing extraction or losing what's yours. The song is about that moment of recognition—seeing the pattern, doing the math, making the choice to own what you depend on. Not fighting the system, just refusing to pay forever for something you could build once. The infrastructure is working for someone. Make sure it's you.
Style Prompt
Mid-tempo prog-grunge at 115 BPM with forward momentum and DIY energy. Guitar-driven with bright arpeggiated figures and melodic bassline, dynamic drums building from patient to driving. Clean verse structure with anthemic chorus hooks. Raw but singable male vocals, confident and direct delivery. Quiet verses escalate to explosive chorus. No ballad elements, no shoegaze, no ambient textures.
Lyrics
Three thousand dollars every month
For something I could build once
The bill keeps coming, never done
Who's this working for?
I found the logs, hundreds of megs
My own thinking, time-stamped threads
Thirty days and then they're gone
Unless I change one line
Take custody, not just the keys
Own the ground beneath your feet
They sold you ease, you bought the lease
Take custody
Build it once, it's yours to keep
No more rent, no more repeat
The infrastructure's working for someone
Make sure it's you
Migration took a weekend's work
Now fifty-five, the server's mine
No one decides to raise the price
No one pulls the plug
It's not about rejecting help
It's asking what I'm trading here
Money, data, control—
For whose convenience?
Take custody, not just the keys
Own the ground beneath your feet
They sold you ease, you bought the lease
Take custody
Build it once, it's yours to keep
No more rent, no more repeat
The infrastructure's working for someone
Make sure it's you
I'm not fighting the system
Just refusing to pay forever
For something I could own
One config line
One weekend's work
The choice is mine
Take custody, not just the keys
Own the ground beneath your feet
They sold you ease, you bought the lease
Take custody
Build it once, it's yours to keep
No more rent, no more repeat
The infrastructure's working for someone
Make sure it's you
Make sure it's you
Make sure it's you
