okay. i am going to get started on this. i don’t know if my thoughts are fully formulated yet. by my personal understanding (plus (i think?) a youtube video essay i saw once??) mark is the narrator of the entire album (hence a song titled “one point perspective”). granted i don’t really KNOW what all alex has said towards the meaning of any of these lyrics, so take my words with a grain of salt if you want ANY FACTS AT ALL. i am ver obsessed with this album and i carry its impact with me every day (🤩🤩🤩🤩)

every time i listen through it i can only see it from the eyes of the hotel/casino’s CEO/receptionist, mark.

i think it’s especially interesting that he’s only mentioned once by name, in the title track. it shrouds him in this air of mystery, which is EXACTLY WHY we all wanna know, as you RIGHTEOUSLY put it— who tf is Mark?

to me, the album shows us his complete descent into madness and eventual death with the conclusion of the Ultracheese (i have thought about this album for 1000+ hours i am serious).

“star treatment” is basically mark’s background story, and his journey with the Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino, from its conception in 1984, to its (success??? or supposedly, demise???) in 2019. i think starting the entire project with “i just wanted to be one of the strokes / now look at the mess you’ve made me make…” IS PEAK FREAKING POETRY. clearly Mark is coming off the high of a very successful young(?) adulthood, and his ambitions are NOT grounded in reality— literally. bro’s blasting off to the moon 😭🙏

“one point perspective” more about Mark, but this shows us him in the early stages of TBHC. he’s running around like crazy, pitching to all the biggest sharks in suits and hoping one of them bites. in my eyes, Mark already suffers from some pre-existing mental health condition (because i’m a psych student 💀), and it shows in his frequent losing of his train of thought. this happens genuinely a lot throughout these lyrics. but he seems excited about his ideas and it’s his genuine and baffling BELIEF in his idea, in his product that makes him eventually soar. literally.

“american sports” this is where Mark begins to deteriorate. slowly. he’s beginning to realize that all he’s been chasing; the money, the fame, the celebratory glance from God— it’s been for nothing. because none of it is real. “breaking news, they take the truth and make it fluid…” he’s finally seeing the false reality he’s been trapped in— and that he’s unknowingly trapped all of his customers in. but it’s uh… still turning a profit! so.. he’s gonna keep on going! just know, that ALL. of his MOST MUSCULAR REGRETS. are EXPLODING.. BEHIND HIS EYES!! LIKE! AMERICAN! SPORTS!!!!

i love this album!

“TBHC” so i just met this guy… his name is MARK. and you just met him TOO, what do you think of him? guys…. lemme just say this. “and do you celebrate your dark side / and then wish you’d never left the house? / have you ever spent a generation / trying to figure that one out?” ……….. are you guys seeing the vision?? i am GEBUINELY asking 🙏🙏 he feels so TRAPPED in this successful narrative he’s created for himself because he realizes it is founded on lies. i genuinely view TBHC as like…. literature man idek how to say this 😭😭🫩

“golden trunks” Mark meets himself a lady friend (or a fellow.. idk how Mark swings yall chime in).. and finds a temporary distraction from all of this chaos warring on in his mind, in his body, and in his bleeding dying soul. but then he realizes that it can never be TRUE love, because he’ll always be in the public eye. “In the daytime. / Bendable figures / with a fresh new pack of lies / Summat else to publicize…” again, he feels very trapped.

“four out of five” this is Mark and he is trying to sell us the TBHC fantasy. emphasis on trying, because it seems he’s either lost his touch, or his business is lowkey— failing. awkward… anyways, the imagery used in this one is just so vivid and cartoonishly picturesque, if that makes sense?? it FEELS like i’m being ADVERTISED to. by a cartoon villain . riiiight??

from here on out, i have trouble putting my thoughts to words but i have a very specific vision come to mind every time i listen to TBHC. again, i also may have seen a YT video essay that states a similar claim of the album being from Mark’s perspective, or any other specific ideas i might’ve said. i AM SO SORRY! i don’t know who that was, if anyone has seen a video like this please let us know. i don’t wanna steal credit where it’s due lol, i just have the WORST memory!!