Nobody can stop me

If you really know me you should have seen this coming from a mile away. It's been roughly a week since my first use of the infamous (read: not infamous) holedaemon blog, and I'm back again to bullshit about stuff only I really care about. The hope is to keep doing this until I run out of topics to write about, should keep me busy for a while.

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC IS

BOMB THE MUSIC INDUSTRY!

THROUGH THE LENSE OF SOMEONE THAT NEVER SAW THEM

HEAVEN OR HELL, LET'S TALK

_{DISCLAIMER: I'm not a historian! A lot of Bomb's history is scattered throughout the internet and not always the easiest to find. If I'm wrong about something oh well, but don't cite me on your thesis or w/e}

Again, if you know me, it's been made excrutiatingly clear that Bomb is my absolute favorite. For those not in the know, Bomb the Music Industry! was a band / music collective that ran from the early 2000s to the early 2010s. Fronted by my favorite music-man Jeff Rosenstock, and backed by a whole entourage of different musicians (before eventually finding a stable lineup), they put out like 7 albums, a whole bunch of EPs, and various other stuff. Jeff was, and still is, very prolific.

Bomb's ethos was deeply rooted in DIY. They did it pretty much all themselves. For the first few years, if you wanted merch, you had to bring your own t-shirt or CD for them to spray paint or burn their album onto. Of course, you could (and still can) also grab the albums off of quoteunquote: Jeff's donation-based internet label he started around the same time as Bomb (one of, if not the first, to offer music entirely for free online, in fact!!). Out of demand, they also partnered with Asian Man Records to produce some vinyl and t-shirts. But even still, throughout their tenure they maintained their DIY roots. Besides that, they also had some strict rules about their shows. Those being they would only play all ages, and the tickets had to be affordable. I remember reading somewhere that the most they ever charged for a ticket was $15, and even that felt like too much to Jeff. Could be wrong though.

Earlier I mentioned that Bomb is/was/could be considered a music collective. That is in part because of the sheer number of studio collaborators they had on their various recordings. But it's also because they let anyone play on stage with them. If you knew the song and had an instrument, you could hop up and play along. I've never heard of any other band doing this (naturally it raises some concerns) and that's why it's a big part of why I love and respect them so much. Between that, the free albums, the afforable, all ages shows, and the way they did merch, their focus on community really shines throughout. It definitely worked out for them too; Bomb was never a huge commercial success in any sense, and nowhere near as popular as Jeff is now, but the community is diehard and still lives on to this day.

OK, but what about the music???

First and foremost: Bomb the Music Industry! was a ska punk band, and a pretty great one too. Nearly every release of theirs featured ska in some capacity (except Vacation, which we'll talk about). The most important part of this: they were playing ska in a period that no one else wanted to. Thanks to a boom in popularity in the mid-90s, the Jamaican lovechild of calypso and R&B had become a mainstream success, albeit in a derivative form. But every bastion must fall eventually, and ska was no exception. Due to some oversaturation and other factors, public opinion of the genre soured pretty substantially. Even today, you'll still find people bashing ska for... no reason other than because it's "cool" to hate it. But I digress, the point is they never gave up on it when pretty much everyone else did.

While ska & punk were the mainstays of the group, they weren't hesitant to incorporate other genres into the mix. Throughout their entire catalog, you'll find bouts of synthpop, power pop, hardcore, and folk, among some other stuff. I am not really a musician anymore, but it's still crazy to me what they were able to glue together and make work.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the collective, and another piece of the puzzle that makes up my love for them, are the lyrics. On every release, the lyrics are unabashedly human and raw. Jeff wasn't (and still isn't) afraid to really dive deep on the stuff in his life that was getting to him. Whether it be alcoholism, living in a post-9/11 America, working a job you hate, or what hits me the hardest, turning 25 and still not having your shit together. Like I mentioned before, the community surrounding Bomb was, and still is, pretty diehard. I think the messages and themes of the music are a big reason why. People are able to come together and relate to them, and having a community of folks that may be struggling with the same problems is nice. At least that's how I see it. I dunno.

You made your point, what albums do I listen to? Where do I start?

The 4 quintessential Bomb the Music Industry! releases (in my opinion) are as follows:

1. ALBUM MINUS BAND
2. Get Warmer
3. SCRAMBLES
4. Vacation

ALBUM MINUS BAND

The beginning of it all. Recorded and mastered entirely by Jeff himself. Definitely a must-listen just so you can hear where things started at. Kind of rough around the edges but has lots of heart.

FAV SONG: FRRRREEEEE BIIIIIIIRRRRD!!!!!! FRRRRREEEEEEEEE BIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRDDDDD!!!!!!!

Get Warmer

My absolute favorite Bomb record. I return to this one most often. By this point, the group had found a stable lineup and you can definitely tell. What I would consider the start of the Bomb the Music Industry! golden age.

FAV SONG: Pizza Claus Is Comin' to Town

SCRAMBLES

Another top banger. What I would consider the midpoint of the aforementioned golden age. By this point, ska had kinda taken the backburner, but it was definitely still prevalent in a number of songs.

ABSOLUTE 100% TOP FAVORITE BOMB SONG IN GENERAL: Can I Pay My Rent in Fun?

Vacation

The least Bomb album of all the Bomb albums. Straight up just an indie punk record. However, also notably still a ska album. Definitely one of the best though. I would consider this album the gateway between Bomb and Jeff's solo career as it's more akin to his later work. This was the final album Bomb ever produced, and most definitley the end of the golden age. Glad they went out with a bang.

FAV SONG: Everyone That Loves You

Others! Others!

Naturally, not all of the best songs are on the main albums. There's a couple of songs from splits and other works that I highly suggest you check out.

• If Assholes Got Awards, I'd Have a Trophy Case
• • This is a cover of a song by another awesome band called Infamous Jake and the Pinstripe Mafia. Thanks for getting me into them!
• THERE's My Bailout
• • A fuckin' awesome ripper off of a split with Laura Stevenson and the Cans

That all said, I would highly recommend you finish out the other primary releases too. They all are very good in their own rights.

To Conclude...

That's all I've got. Thanks for reading another thrilling edition of the holedaemon blog. Big thanks to Jeff and Co for years of awesome music, and many more to come. Bomb is forever my favorite band and I'll always appreciate the work. Kinda dorky but eventually I wanna get the amp on the cover of Get Warmer as a tattoo. I think that'd be badass. Also I guess today was coincidentally the 10 year anniversary of their last show. I didn't plan that, thought that was pretty cool though.

Until next time!