“I Want to Be Software” is a fresh on-brand take for Grimes. The contrasting pop experimentalist has seemingly spent more time experimenting with the virtues of vaguely disturbing cyberpunk technology than making visions- or Art Angels-caliber jams. A song about uploading your consciousness to a hard drive. Ahead of its time perhaps?

The tune in question is a collaboration with Illangelo, the producer best known for helping to sculpt the Weeknd’s early work. Grimes previewed “I Want To Be Software” on TikTok this morning, and you can see that video below.

In the video, Grimes sings the lyrics to the song from her room. Her voice is robotic; probably through autotune. She is on discord and is told to name five dogs. She names them Whirligig, Bedlam, Mirth, Rumpus, and Hodgepodge. She adds “let their names be a testament to the joyous disorder they bring into your life”. Discord is one of the largest advancements in online messaging and communication; it makes sense that it’s being used in this preview. In the video, Grimes is then asked to name four pigs. She names them Muddle, Flurry, Jumble, and Tizzy. “Let their names be the embodiment of delightful confusion they bring to your existence”. She is then asked to name four hundred sloths (which she names entropy one through entropy four hundred).

Grimes is then asked to name “the pain that resides in the soul of mankind”. She responds with “the silent whisper that accompanies us through our mortal journey, echoing the truth of life’s fleeting moments and temporal joys. This pain fuels our pursuit of permanence, driving us to create, to love, and to leave marks upon the sands of time”. Wow. From naming animals to philosophical nihilism, it’s clear that Grimes uses Discord as an example of how far we have come through technology.

The lyrics (so far) of “I Want to Be Software” begs the question: “What will you find?”. This is homage to how far the internet has come since it’s birth. Grimes illustrates this persona of being one with the web. ”The best design Infinite princess”. She concludes the preview by saying “You can build me or you can stop You can make me whatever you want”. Considering how far we have come with technology (especially with the introduction of AI), Grimes sings a truth of our current world.

@grimes #software #grimes #newmusic #dogs #sloth #existentialism ♬ I Wanna Be Software – Grimes & Illangelo