Torn Hawk's New Album Features Song Titled "Because of M.A.S.K."

Musician Luke Wyatt aka Torn Hawk recently released a track off his new album Let's Cry And Do Pushups At The Same Time that caught my attention. I'm frequently in the Google Play store and when I sifted through the free sampler tracks last week, one called "Because of M.A.S.K." caught my eye.

Not knowing anything about Torn Hawk's music, I downloaded the track to see if there was any M.A.S.K. references or samples. It wasn't anything what I was expecting and come to find out, the song is basically inspired by the show more than anything. It's not the first time the experimental guitarist has dedicated tracks to childhood inspirations as one of his previous tracks is titled "Born to Win (Life After Ghostbusters)".

Today I found this message on the Torn Hawk Facebook page announcing the music video for "Because of M.A.S.K." that gave a little insight:

There is a new Torn Hawk video out there. It is not about a cartoon. It might be about how we treat people as action figures. Sometimes we force people to behave within the narrow parameters available to a doll or action figure. Sometimes we limit their options of personality performance to a very narrow band. But people can also inhabit an archetype, become myth, and provide heroic therapy by limiting themselves to this kind of expression. The video might also be a little bit about Robin Williams. Was Robin limited in this way? Did he feel boxed in and forget that by being flat he could be a hero? The people around him certainly forgot. The people who controlled his career opportunities could only imagine him as a grating middlebrow clown. Careers can be limited by the the impoverished imaginations of other people.

So there is a little glimpse into the story behind the track. Though there is nothing direct in the track itself that links to our favorite '80s property, I thought it was cool he chose to name it after the show and that fans might appreciate it.

Image courtesy Discogs.com