phAge wrote:
M.A.S.K.
M.A.S.K. crusaders working over time fighting crime, fighting crime.
Secret raiders who will neutralize soon as they arrive.
Trakker's gonna lead the mission, and spectrums got such super vision.
M.A.S.K! Is the mighty power that can save the day.
M.A.S.K.! No one knows what lies behind the masquerades.
M.A.S.K.! Always riding on Venom's trail.
Come see the laser rays, fight away.
Great lyrics, if not a little too much focused on Matt Trakker, the hunky blonde leader of MASK. He may be the striking main man, but he's a bit boring in all fairness to him - in fact you can imagine he's a sensitive man, and coupled with the fact he's got a young boy to look after, he's probably irresistible to woman. Although charming, he obviously lacks a sense of humour - unlike his MASK associates, some of which dish out some sparkling riposte throughout the series.
M.A.S.K. crusaders working over time fighting crime, fighting crime.
Working over time? Well, they do all have normal jobs, granted, but I doubt this counts as over time. I bet they don't get paid as such, in fact if they get any money at all for putting their balls on the line I bet they don't declare it, otherwise it'd arouse suspicion.
Secret raiders who will neutralize soon as they arrive.
There's nothing neutral about MASK, is there? A neutral party would keep out. And they certainly don't neutralize anything as soon as they arrive. The cartoon would have been a lot poorer if that was the case, Matt and the boys turn up and Miles Mayhem goes 'Shit, lads, MASK are here again!! Pack up your stuff, we're going. No point in starting an evil scheme as these guys will stamp it out before lunch!' And that'd be it, everyone would go home. MASK make the scene (normally a vast desert) good again, that's not neutral.
Trakker's gonna lead the mission, and Spectrum's got such super vision.
Spectrum is Trakker's mask, which has 'super' vision. Is that the best superlative they could muster? One of the most advance pieces of technology in the world and they call it 'super'. They may have well have said 'splendid' or 'smashing'!
M.A.S.K.! Is the mighty power that can save the day.
Fair enough, sums up MASK perfectly. It is indeed mighty, and it can almost certainly save the day . . . or night!
M.A.S.K.! No one knows what lies behind the masquerades.
Well, to be fair, we know as viewers, otherwise it'd all get a bit confusing. Now, the word 'masquerade' suggests a front, a false pretence - yet the MASK boys are all in decent jobs. One's a teacher, so how the hell did he get the job if he's putting on a front? You need formal training to be a teacher you can't just turn up. Also it sounds a bit sordid.
M.A.S.K.! Always riding on Venom's trail.
Again, a good description of what MASK are all about. They are indeed always riding on VENOM's trail.
Come see the laser rays, fight away.
However this last line is where the whole songs falls away. What does it even mean? Come see the laser rays? What? Fight away? That's just a rush job - someone's lunch break with a rhyming dictionary. If MASK are so brilliant, I would assume they wouldn't let normal citizens see their lasers fighting away as it would, without a doubt, endanger them, so that line is pretty much redundant. If you take the view that the line actually refers to the viewers then it completely contradicts the earlier lyric 'No one knows what lies behind the masquerades' as the viewers will know this. You can't aim some lines at the local citizens, mystified by this anonymous crime fighting troupe - then suddenly they break the forth wall and start addressing the viewer. It just confuses us. To be fair to MASK, I love this cartoon so much because of the vehicles, which were easily my favourite childhood toy. I'm not as interested in the masks themselves. I know the show's called MASK (standing for Mobile Armoured Strike Kommand - yes, Kommand with a 'K'. Clearly they struggled to make MASK into a decent acronym, so they bent the rules slightly) but I take the view that it's the vehicles that make the show (even though their masks, each with a different power, do aid them heavily along the way, arguable more so than the cars, which they mostly use for driving and stuff. Light chores, that kind of thing) This line gives all the kudos to their masks, rather unfairly in my view.
It's a poor end to a rocking theme tune in fairness, as it tells you what the show's about backed with some subtle synths, powerful drums, walking bassline and some explosive sound effects! You just know you're in for a treat!
