Review Summary: I'd leave if I were you.
The Long Island Sound: A Reflection on Suburban New York’s Musical History – Part 4
When Jeff Rosenstock came up with the title of Bomb the Music Industry!’s second studio album, he wasn’t just strapping a name to a collection of songs he and his band put together. He was making a statement, a statement about the suburbia in which he grew up in and how it was affecting his life. Along with many other members of the ska punk group, Rosenstock was raised in the south shore of Long Island’s very own Nassau County. Bomb the Music Industry!'s members came from multiple southern Long Island towns, including Baldwin, Rockville Centre and Lynbrook. In 2005, they released a series of two albums, the second of which,
To Leave or Die in Long Island saw Rosenstock and the boys making some of the most fun, energetic music in their entire careers.
Anyways, back to that title. It offers essentially two options for the seven million people who call the island their home, the first one being
leaving. That’s right, pack your bags, move out of your parents’ house and lead a successful life in New York City. If anything, that’s the choice Bomb the Music Industry! chose, recording most of their records in city boundaries and occasionally dipping back into the island. The only other choice would be to
die, which is a morbid thought, yes, but it’s not just dying – it’s dying in Long Island. Virtually, if you don’t leave Long Island, you’re going to die there, and that’s the message Jeff was trying to convey with the album title. Now, this sense of anti-Islander pride would soon strike back again in his work with The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, whose 2006 swansong contained the track “RocketRocketRocketship” and its core lyric of “Maybe we could fly away from here… pack up everything and get out of here, this sub-suburban wasteland”. Now, the song could be about a myriad of other things, but that one interpretation makes sense considering his sentiments. After all, Long Island is known for its upper class society and nationally recognized school districts, making it an ideal suburbia to raise children and adolescents. To make matters worse, the town of Baldwin where Jeff grew up is in one of the poorer areas of the island, surrounded by fellow lower-class districts of Roosevelt, Uniondale and Hempstead.
But judging from this album, it’s hard to see any hint of that in his music.
Like most other Bomb the Music Industry! records,
To Leave or Die in Long Island is just an incredibly fun listen. Whether its Jeff Rosenstock’s energetic vocal delivery or the blaring brass sections, everything about the band just shouts excitement. It always seems as if they’re having a good time, no matter what hardships beat them down. From the less-than-a-minute hardcore punk homage in “Showerbeers” to the optimistic reflection on life that is “Syke! Life is Awesome”, BtMI!’s second album prides itself on the vivacious spirit that Jeff Rosenstock carries with him. Without his presence as the band’s frontman, Bomb the Music Industry! would be completely different, and
To Leave or Die proves that.
The band’s instantly recognizable energetic brand of ska-punk is best showcased on “Congratulations, John, For Joining Every Time I Die”. The track features humorous lyrics that semi-sarcastically commend bassist John DeDominici (who at the time was close to becoming a member of the metalcore band Every Time I Die) for his accomplishments, knowing that his time spent with BtMI! would be limited if he got the gig. Luckily, the job was given to Kevin Falk of Between the Buried and Me, and the rest is history. Starting out with a low-tuned bassline, the song quickly erupts into an all-instrument jam session featuring drums and guitars over the iconic repetition of “Nice going, asshole”. It’s a great example of Bomb the Music Industry! doing what they can at their very best, which happens multiple times on
To Leave or Die. “Happy Anterrabae Day!!” begins the album with some high-pitched warbling keyboard before the guitar-driven track adds in the riffs and Jeff’s signature “na na na na”s. It’s got the typical Bomb the Music Industry! energy to it, with a loud, in-your-face chorus, relatable lyrics and the spirit of multiple 20-something year olds leading the way.
There’s only one stopgap in
To Leave or Die in Long Island’s quest of conquering energy and spirit throughout. Luckily, every ounce of fun is swapped with the same amount of emotion in “Stand There Until You’re Sober”, a song that truly exemplifies the greatness found in Bomb the Music Industry!’s slower tracks. Inspired by “8 Full Hours of Sleep”, the closing track off of Against Me!’s seminal 2002 debut
Reinventing Axl Rose, as well as Neutral Milk Hotel and Arcade Fire, Jeff Rosenstock swaps the newfound adult energy with pure unadulterated goddamn emotion. Chronicling the extreme melancholy felt when the beers aren’t working their magic, “Stand There Until You’re Sober” drops the electric guitar in favor of acoustic and fuzz bass. As he cries “I'll make you party at my funeral ‘cause mourning is for suckers. I'll rent a ferris wheel and cotton candy machine and have open bar with all the Pabst that you can drink, the PA blasting my Clash records,” the resulting climax is so powerful that it’s hard to be moved by Jeff’s vocals and lyricism.
Despite all they’ve accomplished as musicians, perhaps the most prominent aspect of Bomb the Music Industry! is their do-it-yourself ideals. Not many bands play by their rules – offering all of their albums for free on Jeff’s very own Quote Unquote Records label with the option of paying what you want for their work only a recommendation and not a requirement, but then again, that’s part of what makes them so unique and special. Although their DIY ethic has earned them compliments such as “the Fugazi for the internet age of punk,” it’s only a fraction of their accomplishment. Even through all the profits they’ve made through devoted fanatics, every single song the band has made is still available for free, and in spite of their breakup in 2014, will most likely always be. Jeff Rosenstock is the true example of a man who became a musician for the love of performing, not just for the money, and his actions clearly suggest that. He poured his heart and soul into everything he made, whether it be Bomb the Music Industry!, The Arrogant Sons of Bitches or even his solo work.
There’s a reason Bomb the Music Industry! have maintained a strong, almost cult-like fanbase ever since they released
Album Minus Band. back in the February of 2005. They’ve got one hell of a boisterous frontman in Jeff Rosenstock, their songs are filled with unfathomable amounts of energy and the band’s lyrics are often relatable to the struggling, newly emancipated twenty-something year-olds that are just trying to make it on their own, and many of them are amongst their legion of fans. Of course, their DIY attitudes will probably be their legacy as people reflect on what they accomplished as musicians ten years later. I can’t name another band that would offer free CDs of their material at concerts or give people the opportunity to play onstage with them if they learned a song of theirs and brought an instrument with them. Then again, that’s part of what makes Bomb the Music Industry! so special. Their brand of upbeat, riffs-and-horns filled ska punk is always exciting and never with a boring patch. As
To Leave or Die in Long Island’s closing track states, “Life is awesome”, and BtMi!’s music clearly reflects that statement. Let’s just go ahead and get fucked.
Part V:
You won’t find it here…
