Music

HIGH FIVES: Bomb the Music Industry!

by Sam Sutherland

Every week, High Fives asks five bands fives questions over five days. This week, we’re getting personal with New Year’s resolutions.

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of what Bomb the Music Industry! does. And I mean that in a very comprehensive way. Their ethic is unmatched in their scene, but isn’t burdened with the snootiness that often comes along with fancy punk rock ideology. Their live shows are the kind of ramshackle spectacle that Paul Westerberg’s dreams are made of, inciting absolutely bonkers crowd reactions in every city I’ve seen them play—from El Paso, Texas, to their hometown of Brooklyn, New York. And their songs just keep getting better, evolving from inventive laptop-ska (new genre!) to a full-on amalgam of punk, hardcore, ska, and Neutral Milk Hotel. And it all works because it’s all so transparently honest that even the strongest aversion to the sound of an upstroke can’t stop most hot-blooded listeners from connecting on some level.

In keeping with their consistently unexpected and unplanned trajectory, the band recently cross-posted a new demo from band braintrust Jeff Rosenstock on their tumblr, “Hurricane Waves,” another interesting new sonic detour. Embracing a compellingly lo-fi punk vibe, the song (and its unexplained release late last week) is only in keeping with what makes Bomb such a genuinely exciting band in an era where no one is ever excited anymore.

Does the change in calendar year make you think / reminisce / care much at all?

I think the biggest difference the change in the calendar year makes for me at this point is getting the year wrong whenever I write out the date. It always seemed so easy, and even FUN in high school… you’re like “WHOA! NEW YEAR! LOOK HOW WEIRD THAT LOOKS!” But now, I feel like whenever I’m writing the date out for something, it’s a pretty formal reason… writing a rent check, filling out some kind of tax form or whatever, signing my name at the bottom of some utility I’m signing up for. None of this shit happens all that often, so it takes a REALLY long time to adjust to it. I’m still fucking writing xx/xx/08 on checks sometimes.

Do you normally make New Year’s resolutions? Did you make any this year?

I usually make pretty basic paltry new years resolutions… stop drinking and eat better, which always lasts just under a month until I’m like “fuuuuuuck iiiiiit.” This year, I didn’t do any of that for once, but I did make a winter’s resolution to stop trying to leave my house in the winter and just stay inside, wait ’til it gets warm out… ’cause usually I try to say, “Hey! This winter’s gonna be real exciting! I’m not gonna let the cold get me down!” and then the cold gets me down. So, fuck it, I’m gonna let the cold be the cold and I’m gonna wait ’til it goes away to attempt life stuff. Oddly enough, without trying, all this has led to me getting an okay temp job, becoming a very good cook, and going out drinking with my friends more. Reverse psychology, I suppose.

What should the music industry resolve to change in 2001?

The American music industry should REALLY stop suing listeners who download music, maybe do something to make people actually want to buy music. Also, we have big entities that now control all the larger venues and ticketing services, so now concerts are going to also be unaffordable and people are just going to stop going to these bigger shows. So I suppose the music industry should stop shitting on its target demographic. I know the internet was a bummer, but get over it, guys.

2011, year of…

Cheap Girls and Laura Stevenson and the Cans. With any luck, it’ll be the year that everyone on the planet realizes that Good Luck is the best, Into Lake Griffy is an amazing record and they’ll all get rich somehow. Also, The Sidekicks hopefully too.

If you could make a New Year’s resolution for another musician, who would you pick, and what would it be?

My resolution would be for Usher, and it would be to come up with my own rad dance moves and sweet songs and to stop stealing them from Jeff Rosenstock.