An Eternity For Every Tear They Mock
With the sinister organ and heavily reverbed vocals, “Grievance Merchants” sounds like a sermon designed to counterprogram hateful forces.
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I think of “Grievance Merchants” as Mike Cooley’s incel song. Others have interpreted it as a song about white supremacists or mass shooters. Exactly who the “aggrieved” party is doesn’t matter. The real blame rests in the hands of the titular grievance merchants, who specialize in offering troubled men a place to direct their resentments. “Incel” and “manosphere” may be neologisms, but the tactic of manipulating resentful men is as old as men.
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