no name, no face

can ya blame us if we had enough of it?
we're sold false hope and our dreams are counterfeit
 
it's a slide ya can't really climb
destination mirage to the enthralled mind
get buried in debt to survive
surrendering your lives to the bestial eye

one by one they plant their seeds
feeding your competitive disease

and no matter how hard ya try it's always out reach
keeping their pets forever hungry

can ya blame us if we had enough of it?
we're sold false hope and our dreams are counterfeit

blame yer parents,blame yer friends,
you can blame yourself for the misery it brings
controlled desires swayed to meet their ends
no one's exempt they become the next trend

can ya blame us if we had enough of it?
we're sold false hope and our dreams are counterfeit

we drink from the demon's blood
it has no name, it has no face
and as the corruption runs through our veins
we're reborn addicts of consumption

revolution? ha! what a lie!
tune into the station feel like a rebel for a night
dancing on boomer generation graves
dancing on soles of Indonesian slaves

can ya blame us if we had enough of it?
we're sold false hope and our dreams are counterfeit

break free

the alarm is ringing, push the snooze,
roll over, wish it away,
try to remember the dream I had,
forgot I never have any,
the sound echoes in my ear,
I hear it buzzing throughout the day,
can't remember how I got here,
exhaustion blurring memories

this might be the nightmare
I can't wake from
I'm too plugged in,
I want to break free

no such thing as stooping too low,
nothing's off limits when
it comes to crushing my soul,
playing on my anxieties,
can someone tell me? why don't I dream?
locked in the same goddamn routine
why don't I dream?
why don't I dream?

this might be the nightmare
I can't wake from
I'm too plugged in,
I want to break free

this might be the nightmare
I can't escape from
they got me locked up,
I want to break free
cause your world is killin' me

rebel business

I got some money

now I can be a true member of the punk rock scene

I got some money
and now people want to play music with me

I can't unsee
and I can't look past
the irony
participating in a class system
with the people who sing about watching it fall

I guess nothing we do really means anything

you say they don't deserve it
they never put in their time
you say they don't deserve it
have you lost your fucking mind?

is it just me?
I can't look past
the irony
upholding the punk rock hierarchy
are we really promoting seniority?
I guess nothing we do really means anything

I've never wanted to be a politician!
jockeying for position
earning social currency ain't for me
just want people to say what they really mean

but it's business as usual
it's never anything else
it's business as usual
seems like there's no escaping this hell

worry about who has the biggest draw
who's sellin' the most merch
gotta push the product
gotta grow the brand
gonna throw myself at the next big trend

I can't unsee

and I can't look past
the irony
we're just little salesmen taking the stage
yelling "look at me!"
cause nothing we do really means anything
yeah, nothing we do really means anything

and we'll see
and we'll see if there's anything left
and we'll see if there's anything left of me
and we'll see if there's anything left of me
in the end

the nothing man

do ya got an idea
bouncin' off the walls of yer mind?
so hard to catch, we'll wait while you try
ya put everything on hold
well, I'm sick of living on pause!

if you're not gonna go!
get outta the way!
quit being a roadblock!
quit acting like an authority!

if ya have no plan
no course of action
quit being a roadblock
you buried your roots but I'm walkin' free!

why don't you learn to let go?
the control is so suffocating
it's clear you don't know where you are
well, you can stay but I'm movin' on!

you don't have to play captain all your life
(there's no direction, no destination)
yelling in rhythm should be considered a crime
I'm done wasting time waiting on you
(no more aggression, no more frustration)
it's lookin' like a mutiny is overdue

the show must go on

the plot's all laid out

characters take the stage

the antagonist riles the crowd

egocentric heroes rise to save the day

have I seen this before?

yeah I've seen it before!

i've seen it all before!

and i know, i know, i know

where this goes!

now we got the setup

the villain reveals his plan

though it seems a bit far fetched

it appeals to the crowd's short attention span

just a sideshow distraction

it's all a bit contrived

the motivation all too obvious

yet the crowd can't help but divide

have I seen this before?

yeah I've seen it before!

i've seen it all before!

and i know, i know, i know

where this goes!

come one, come all to the greatest con-show

where we're all participating
we just don't know

they got us with the oldest trick in the book

classic sleight of hand while they gotchya on the hook

so we pontificate, argue, and debate

and play into their hands the more we separate

they keep seeding dissent and feeding the hate

new actors take the stage but the script stays the same

does nobody notice?

I must be going insane!

it's the same shit night after night

always two sides lookin at each other to blame

the villain is defeated

the hero takes his place

only to repeat the cycle again

same person with a different face!

have I seen this before?

yeah I've seen it before!

i've seen it all before!

and i know, i know, i know

where this goes!

come one, come all to the greatest con-show

where we're all participating
we just don't know

they got us with the oldest trick in the book

classic sleight of hand while they gotchya on the hook

so we pontificate, argue, and debate

and play into their hands the more we separate

they keep seeding dissent and feeding the hate

new actors take the stage but the script stays the same

you bring me down

yeah, it ain't no secret
you bring me down
whenever you're around
you bring me down

I hear your voice and

it brings me down

take another puff- bury that emotion,
wander through the daze- get lost in your confusion,
don't worry about missing the point,
just scream, holler, yell and shout
at the things you can't comprehend,
you'd rather break before you bend

take another puff- fall into your delusions
and don't take note of anything yer doin',
too busy worrying about who to impress,
you've been phony for so long
it's about time you take a rest
and sort those feelings you repress

yeah, it ain't no secret
you bring me down
whenever you're around
you bring me down

I hear your voice and

it brings me down

so you huff and puff- and throw a temper tantrum
and derail any progress or momentum,
you're all talk- never listening,
loyal to impulsion,
always shootin' from the hip,
never checking if you miss

take another puff- bury that emotion,
wander through the daze- get lost in your confusion,
don't worry about missing the point,
just scream, holler, yell and shout
at the things you can't comprehend,
'til you're alone in the end

when did it start?

there's something wrong,
something I can't put my finger on,
a slight difference in demeanor,

I felt ya pull back, get a little withdrawn
yeah, it's so uncouth to be outspoken,
in a world of introverted, trivial speculation
anything to avoid confrontation

not caring who is hurt in the long run

no verbal expression, it's all guesswork,
you're either in or out, very roundabout,
anti-what yer preachin', I'm calling a foul,
so snap this thought, let's say it's the fourth down,
it's not too hard to see punting became your routine,
when backed into a corner, I've learned your game by now

it's easier to distance ourselves
than engage in a little communication,
let it rot on the shelf,
where it's hidden but not forgotten,
affecting all around it,
disappearing in it's own corruption,
'til ya can't recognize a damn thing,
so yer left making assumptions,
stories riddled with plot holes
characters left undeveloped and dull,
and ya ask yourself, "what the hell was this all for?"
no more revelations, yer completely lost,
tuned into the wrong station, still payin' the cost
carrying that weight around, ya can't seem to settle down
or shake this feeling that something might be off
just ask yourself,
"when did it start?"

the selling out

you first saw them live playing in some beat up dive
you clung to the scene so you could socially survive

but it was alright, it was okay
we stuck it to the man the whole way
getting shitfaced and singing along
screaming how their old structures are wrong
we were changing the world with each song

how could it be an anarchist lands a record deal?
and how the hell could she abandon all her ideals?

if you don't understand, it's okay
just down another beer
live another day
go to college, get your degree
get a career
start your next phase
make room for the next kids to take the stage

it's so strange
how these rules don't apply both ways
they're accused for making the same money you're paid
and you never really believed the things you said,
'cause...

you woke up the next day to be on time for your job

you woke up the next day to be on time for your job

you woke up the next day to be on time for your job

you woke up the next day to be on time for your job

so how could you understand
when "it is what it is" and "you have to do it in the end"
and if you can make excuses why can't they?
when you're both looking forward to your payday
take some time, hear what I say
we're selling out together everyday

 ~
We're among them-- and when we finally give up we become them!
We're living on borrowed time here.
Every minute of our life is a minute we steal from them!
You see them out there. You know that when we die-- we become them.
 You think we hide behind scenes or songs to protect us from the selling out!
Don't you get it?
We ARE the selling out!
~

the wicked

you're addicted to the sensational,
fictional reality consuming your mind
where you can't accept you might be
at fault for this consequence
neglecting your guilty conscience

I hear- your voice-
ricocheting in the skull void
through the static, white noise
feeling your desire to destroy
I see- you lean-
the cupped hand, sideways look scene
spewing shit is the routine
and I'm sick of feeling stuck in between

I know I'm in your sights!

misdirection- manipulation-
a magician for twisting situations
ya putting in loads of dedication
to the narcissist's handbook of defamation

I know I'm in your sights!

they follow me around, yeah
wearing on my nerves, the wicked never take a rest

I'm better off keeping my head down
to stay alive in this part of town

to stay alive in this part of town

I can't control these wicked souls
not sure why I bother 'cause
I know, it's all for the show
always in the spotlight ready to go

I know you're wicked
and I've got ya in my sights!

they follow me around, yeah
wearing on my nerves, the wicked never take a rest

I'm better off keeping my head down
to stay alive in this part of town
they follow me around, yeah
eyes over shoulder, I'm sick of straining my neck

I'm better off keeping my head down
to stay alive in this part of town

to stay alive in this part of town

to stay alive in this part of town

why do the smallest dogs have the loudest bark?

how is it?
we're all trapped in a funnel
in the undertow of your life
you're at the bottom pulling everyone down
to your tragic daily strife

there's no light
at the end of this tunnel
it's blotted out from your lies
you like it dark so it's harder to detect
the insecurities ya' try so hard to hide

like a vampire sucking us dry
the nature of how you survive
you say anxiety's the reason why
it activates when your ego's jeopardized, yeah

so you hate
and create a sob story for bait
to get the attention you crave
you rally banner men under your flag
allies for your pity crusade

well I reject and I distance
the only thing I can do
only way I can avoid
this poison- you flood into our veins,
I'm left with no choice
drain the blood or succumb to toxic influence
 
like a vampire sucking us dry
the nature of how you survive
you say anxiety's the reason why
it activates when your ego's jeopardized

well I reject and I distance
the only thing I can do
only way I can avoid
this poison- you flood into our veins,
I'm left with no choice
drain the blood or succumb to toxic influence

how is it?
we're all trapped in a funnel
in the undertow of your life