Rob's Best: #10: Bomb The Music Industry! - Scrambles

Released: February 14, 2009.

This is my best album of 2009.  I've been listening to this album constantly since midnight on the 14th when I downloaded this record.  It's amazing!  I've never so personally connected with the lyrics of any album before this one.  I feel like I could have, and should have, written half this record myself.  But Jeff Rosenstock went ahead and did it first, and made it catchy as hell, and he made it all happen for less than $50 and released it for free off of his own record label, Quote Unquote Records. 

From this point on on my side of this list, the writers and lyrics are a huge factor in reaching the top 10 of this pinnacle of music journalism.  Jeff Rosenstock is easily one of my favorite lyricists ever, I mean, I stole the name of this blog from the name of one of his songs, "Brian Wilson Says SMiLE, a.k.a. Beard of Defiance" off of To Leave Or Die In Long Island.  I'm constantly torn over what my favorite song on this record is, but as of this moment, it's "(Shut) Up The Punx!!!":

‘Cause the last thing I wanna be is another negative asshole.
Like God speaks through my acoustic guitar
and I’ve got the perfect set of morals
on a dry erase board at the front of the house:

'FOLLOW THESE CONDITIONS OR WE’LL KICK YOUR ASS OUT:
Vegans only: NO MEAT ALLOWED!
Straight Edge only: NO DRINKING ALLOWED!
Fixed gears only: NO THREE-SPEEDS ALLOWED!
Me me me!!!: I’M SMART! I’M RIGHT! I’M SMART!'

I think it’s dumb when you take the inherently fun like riding bikes
and singing songs and say they’re not for everyone
as if for your whole life you were cool as shit.