Motörhead - The Wörld Is Yours
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Lemmy should have called it The World Is Mine. This record is not about affirmation. Lemmy’s too old and too drunk for that. He’s still handing out beatdowns (“Born to Lose”, “I Know What You Need”, “Bye Bye Bitch Bye Bye”). His worldview is still apocalyptic. “Get Back in Line” calls out humanity’s tendency to be sheep. “Waiting for the Snake” proclaims, “I see the world is dying, you know I sure ain’t lying”. Lemmy’s Earth is a wasteland, and he’s its Road Warrior until the bitter end.
The end will be bitter, alright. Since Motörhead records are Motörhead records, they’ve come to be distinguished by their curveballs. (Critics who trot out the “all sound the same” cliché – I’ve been one – miss the fact that no one has thrown heaters for decades like Lemmy. He is Nolan Ryan with warts.) Here, instead of, say, a ballad, we get one hell of a bummer. “Brotherhood of Man” is so pessimistic, it still shocks me:
We are worse than animals, we hunger for the kill
We put our faith in maniacs, the triumph of the will
We kill for money, wealth and lust, for this we should be damned
We are disease upon the world, brotherhood of man
If I get to 65, I’ll probably feel the same way, and I won’t be half as eloquent about it. “Brotherhood” is a heavy metal grumble – even its solo grumbles – with the sort of disgusted growl that Tom G. Warrior owns. But Lemmy is more than qualified to borrow it. Perhaps that sound is ageless, the voice of doom that’s enraged because it knows it won’t change anything.
But if we’re doomed, we might as well have a good time at it. And this World is a good time. It’s 10 lean and mean anthems that execute with ruthless efficiency. Even after countless spins, this record still makes me feel like a kid. I sit down, I push play, and I read along. It gets me each time – a cowbell here, a turn of phrase there. Only one song, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music”, brings me out of the moment. It’s so sunny that it’s out of place amidst all the bleakness. Does Lemmy really believe “rock ‘n’ roll music is the true religion”?
I think he does. Lemmy’s survived because he’s found God: himself. When he says, “Gonna get you right to where you wanna be, do it till the day I die”, he sure ain’t lying. Like many other musicians, rocking is all Lemmy knows how to do. Fortunately for him – and us – he’s better than most at it. You only wish you kicked this much ass at 65.
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HEAR THE WÖRLD IS YOURS
– Full album stream –
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A5AF85D2F08EF7B2
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BUY THE WÖRLD IS YOURS
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SEE ALSO
16 year-old Dennis Dread’s drawing of Lemmy
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