Uploaded April 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Official music video for "Not The End" (out 4/30) by TEOA (The End of America). Filmed and edited by Kirby Sybert. Footage from TEOA's performance at NPR Mountain Stage at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on 2/9/2020.
“Not the end” answers the question, what message do I need to hear right now? Born out of the desire for hope in despairing times, this song explores the landfill that is our current state and asks whether or not it can be cleansed and our fate changed. Opening with three part harmonies that are reminiscent of The Eagles’ “Seven Bridges Road,” the song swells from piano chords to organ and kicks in with reverby electric guitar and a driving beat ala The War On Drugs. The lyrics set up a dystopian scene and the narrator comes across as despairing - a relatable feeling in a time of climate change deniers and unstoppable corporate greed. The images of plastic bottles, pill bottles and shattered TVs further push the problems of waste, addiction and the media into purview. The juxtaposition is the reaffirming chorus - “Though we’re standing at the edge, this is not the end.”
It’s anyone’s bet what the future holds for us, but it’s clear that we need hope to continue on and to strive for something better. This song reinforces that it all starts with the optimistic mantra “this is not the end.”
Official music video for "Not The End" (out 4/30) by TEOA (The End of America). Filmed and edited by Kirby Sybert. Footage from TEOA's performance at NPR Mountain Stage at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV on 2/9/2020.
“Not the end” answers the question, what message do I need to hear right now? Born out of the desire for hope in despairing times, this song explores the landfill that is our current state and asks whether or not it can be cleansed and our fate changed. Opening with three part harmonies that are reminiscent of The Eagles’ “Seven Bridges Road,” the song swells from piano chords to organ and kicks in with reverby electric guitar and a driving beat ala The War On Drugs. The lyrics set up a dystopian scene and the narrator comes across as despairing - a relatable feeling in a time of climate change deniers and unstoppable corporate greed. The images of plastic bottles, pill bottles and shattered TVs further push the problems of waste, addiction and the media into purview. The juxtaposition is the reaffirming chorus - “Though we’re standing at the edge, this is not the end.”
It’s anyone’s bet what the future holds for us, but it’s clear that we need hope to continue on and to strive for something better. This song reinforces that it all starts with the optimistic mantra “this is not the end.”
