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Cycles of Growth and Decay

by The Tony Hawk Soundtrack

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1.
Walkin' out the grocery store with a big-ass crowbar I've got a backpack that's packed with snacks (and a big-ass crowbar) I've got food for all of my friends, And I can't wait to see how this night ends, But I'm pretty fucking sure that we'll be well fed While we smash shit up with a crowbar
2.
"But she's got bagage!" my father says at 30. "At your age, who doesn't?" his father did reply. And that gives me hope, till my friend says, that "everyone I've met through online dating is somehow broken, Or busted." Wonder what it says if I had to delete mine... Last three summers bought a house plant, First died to root rot, second two forgot, Like a metaphor for my friendships Nothing scares me quite as much, as fear itself Except for all my realized fears that I'm now more afraid of So I'm gonna die alone (or someone's gonna wish I did) Hope that I can change, or come to terms with it. 'Cause I don't have the courage to find a hand to hold But lack the resolve to be on my own. Pockets full of litter like it's my job, Like it could someday make up for all the people I've hurt (or that I will hurt) Cause I'll ignore the needs of others if they tell me they are fine And I have used my trauma as excuse not explanation So while comunication remains imperfect, complex, and so delicate: Nothing will scare me more than the times my desperation Consumes my better judgement, And my instincts for survival So I'm gonna die alone (or someone's gonna wish I did) Hope that I can change, or come to terms with it. 'Cause I don't have the courage to find a hand to hold But lack the resolve to be on my own. You make me elated And I fucking hate it. Cause I'm left a nervous wreck, Half naked on my couch waiting for a text Watching Samurai Champloo with tears in my eyes when the villain says "Man can't know despair without first knowing hope, But man without hope cannot live" 'Cause that's been my excuse for going on 3 years now, While I pretend that self-care means watching anime, And ignoring problems 'stead of making hard choices. So I'd better die alone, so no one has to wish I did. But I'm gonna change, I'm not resigned to this And until I am better, won't look for hands to hold I'll find my resolve to be on my own I'll find my resolve to be alone Until I am better, I'd better die alone
3.
Five P.M. you got the call They found her and by 9 your dad came In time to hear them say that "We don't know when she'll wake up" Drift off on a stiff backed chair next to your mom's new bed I wanna be happy. I wanna feel whole I wanna be healthy, and this time Without taking that from someone else Whoah I wanna know I can tell my friends and old lovers that I miss em Without making them feel guilty if they don't feel the same It's hard to be the kind of person who values your happiness over wanting to be the one to make you smile Hey, I fucking miss you. 8 A.M. you're killing it between semi-conscious classmates With a strength and resilience unknown to most adults While your teacher's fucking losing it cause they've been up since you went down Freaked out by a nightmare where an ex went for their roomies And I'm amazed. No! I'm inspired By the strength that you have shown in the two months that have passed As I regain, the self I've lost It's filled me with resolve to see you pushing through So theses days (most days), I've been doing great I'm awake, alive, alert, enthusiastic But in my dreams (yeah, my dreams) I wake up to my alarm Cause when I sleep I am dreaming that I am the worst of me, I'm defenseless till the dawn. So I'll dread the hours between three and six, But I'll get those bastards someday As I learn to be happy Learn to feel whole, Learn to be healthy, (and this time) Without taking that from someone else Whoa I won't have to tell my friends and old lovers that I miss 'em 'cause the ones that I hold close are the ones who feel the same Won't second-guess your needs when we hang out, cause I can ask you Yeah, I can just ask you "Hey, let's hang out again."
4.
Not this time
5.
Well, it could be worse, You could be hearing them cut or purge. Instead, you're having sex against your will. So two years later, Now you've found that that feeling in your chest That you've been calling love is the same as the one you have for fear, But tonight, lets celebrate. Cause at least you left your house So it could be But then your phone rings and "She's reached out, said 'you're abusive.' If we don't take this claim with severity, we can't build a safe community." And you just laugh, Between the panic attacks, Cause you haven't been safe there (or anywhere) for months But you're not paranoid. Just right. So it could be worse. When the ones who've Fucked you up Have the trust of people that you love, There is no safety. And you'll start to Fixate On the ways you must deserve this (if it's happening) But you're still Breathing So it could be worse It could be worse, You could be in your living room back home. So you might be spitting blood, But this time it's in public. So you just laugh. Between the gasps for breath Waves of pain met with relief now you can prove that this is real. This is your out. So it could be But then your phone rings and "What did you do to get him so angry? I've never seen him like that before. Why'd you dump him? He needs your suport!" While your phone blows up with snaps from your friends At a bar out to find him a rebound. So fuck this place you're out And you're never coming ba 'Till two years later You're stuck as maid of honor With him the best man to his brother dear. Eschewing the open bar, So you can see when he goes to his car, Because it could be so much worse. (The gun's still in his glove-box) When the ones who Fucked you up Have the trust of people that you love And a colt-45 There is no safety. And you'll start to Fixate On the ways you must deserve this (if it's happening) But you're still breathing, for now, So it cou
6.
5 Cups of fruit And a table spoon lime-juice Full bag of sugar Throw in the rind Let it turn into goo on mid heat for 10 minutes Then not much to do till the water bath boils, so you get to thinking: When did we all get so tired? When did getting caught up start to be work? Now before sending texts I must steal my resolve, Cause just saying "Hi" takes emotional labor, But I don't get it, Just don't get why When did I get so damn boring? When did I stop going out in the world? Now all my good stories start with "way back When I was in college" or even "in high school" And that don't look to soon be changing When did we all get So overwhelmed that The simple becomes impossible? Like enough hygiene not to have bedsores Or just doing laundry, and folding that laundry, By the next time I need to do laundry. Shit, the pot's boiling over so, Grab parchment paper to take of the froth, and fill up a jar with a quarter inch head-space Wipe off the rim with a wet paper tower, Pop on the lid and it's back to the pot To a full roiling boil for 5 to 10 minutes, And not much to do, so you've got to thinking: It's been a year since you spoke with Sam Gonzales. The other Sam Gonzales it's been 3 times that long, And I wonder if Alex ever got that job teaching... There are so many people who I hold important Who I have no clue if they're even living. But if I can get called up by Henry Inviting me out to his wedding day, Get there 5 hours late 'cause I got the damn date wrong And still talk all night like the years of absence Have cost us nothing, It gives me hope that Maybe it's just getting older. You meet more people and get spread thin. And the years in between when you both can find time Hold nothing in front of foundations you've built up In time before then. So now I'm thinking, As I take the jars out to cool overnight, That this is the batch that I'll finally send out with a card. (I still need to do that...)
7.
How fucking dare you? How fucking dare you? If you wanna start a war Then come at me. Don't disembowel civilians or give guns to drug lords. But I swear to god if it's a fight you want, Then it's a fight that you won't get. 'Cause I don't think that it's ok to turn scars into a weapon And I don't think that it's ok to talk shit 'til someone's useful. And I don't count on vengeance as the bottom of Maslow's food pyramid, Cause I can forgive. And unlike you I'll die sober, So when I fuck people up I don't blame it on the aaaaaalcohol And have to live with the fact I'm a monster, Oh god, I'm a monster... So for a week, there was anger, then months of despair. It's been years of exhaustion, and a broken life I can't... fix They must be right They must be right That I don't respect women, or destroy the lives I touch When the fourth person says it, there must be something to it. Too trapped in my headscape, A hellscape I can't escape, where I relive all my past mistakes and act them out in tandem. I wanna go away to a far off country where I don't speak the language, So I can't drag anybody down with me. Where I can die sober, So when I disappoint my friends on a daily basis, They know what to blame. For the week, there was anger, and the months of despair. and the years of exhaustion, But I'm getting better I... Promise But what's the point? When there's a one player game of Jenga on my desk Made of dishes it'd be easier to wash than stack up higher, But I've a mastery that's been hereto unseen in my life. Cause I haven't left my house outside of work (for weeks) Lost a couple of Gs On grad-school classes (that I didn't complete) when you're too burnt out to hate yourself, you're too burnt out for anything, 'Specially writing self-righteous garbage, Ladadada blah blah blah Um. Sober. Through the week of anger And the months of despair And the years of exhaustion But this shit's gotten old and I swear I will make better beds for me to lie in I will find healthy habits that stick I will take the hands that reach out to me Focus on the build and the break. I will heed any justice in my anger, Forgive myself for the despair, And I know that there will be exhaustion, But I will find growth from all this decay So today I'm (Walking out the grocery store with a big-ass crowbar)

about

This is mostly an album about trauma recovery, and getting to the point where you can admit it was trauma. It's been an absolute trip getting it done, and I've definitely learned a lot in the process. Long way come, long way to go yet, fer shure.

credits

released July 23, 2020

Music: Christian
Illustration from the album art: @rinchy1112
Digital album art: Christian

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The Tony Hawk Soundtrack Cambridge, Massachusetts

We sing about depression and self improvement. Grab a kazoo, we brought bubbles.

We will play the heck out of your basement/living room, hook some homies up!

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