Bomb the Music Industry!

In the midst of the breakup of Jeff Rosenstock’s prior band, The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, Rosenstock recorded an anti-Bush protest song titled "Sweet Home Cananada" using his PowerBook's built-in microphone.[6] He released the song online under the moniker Bomb the Music Industry!, with the use of the word "bomb" deriving from a graffiti term, which was meant by Rosenstock to signify a synthesis between creation and destruction.[7] "I wrote that song and put it out to see if anybody wanted it. That was how it started, people showed interest and I like recording stuff."[8] Rosenstock has cited his frustration with the typical practices of the independent music business as the impetus for trying a different, flexible approach, stating that the “merchandising aspect of things … was getting in the way of writing songs.”[9]

Due to the response to this first track, Rosenstock launched the first online donation-based record label, Quote Unquote Records in 2006; the label’s inaugural release was the first full-length Bomb the Music Industry full-length record, Album Minus Band.[10] Eschewing traditional music merchandising, the band encouraged fans to bring blank T-shirts to shows, which the band would spray paint for using custom stencils, as well as blank CDs, onto which the band would burn copies of their album; Rosenstock and his collaborators provided these services for free, accepting donations when offered.[2] While the band would eventually decide to engage in traditional merchandise sales as well, the free options remained available, maintaining their reputation for DIY ethics.[7]

The first three Bomb the Music Industry! records were almost entirely written, performed, and produced by Rosenstock himself, with early shows featuring Rosenstock either performing solo alongside backing tracks on his iPad, or accompanied by a lineup of sporadic guests varying significantly in lineup size.[11] Several tours featured Rosenstock performing as a duo, either with Mustard Plug bassist Rick Johnson, or collaborator Matt Kurz. The Rosenstock/Johnson iteration toured the United Kingdom as part of the Ska is Dead tour.

In 2007, following their performance at SKAppleton, Bomb the Music Industry! embarked on the Real Bands Tour?, featuring a full-band lineup, an approach which was reflected in the production of their 2007 record, Get Warmer and followed for subsequent records.[12] While they continued releasing their records digitally for free via Quote Unquote Records, from Get Warmer onward they partnered with Asian Man Records for physical releases.[13] Their first official music video, for the song “Wednesday Night Drinkball” from their 2009 record Scrambles, was directed by Bryan Schlam and premiered after the album’s release.[14]

Following the release of Vacation in 2012, the track “Can’t Complain” was featured in an episode of The Office.[15] They also recorded a cover of Little Boxes which was featured in a season eight opening sequence of Weeds.[16] Later that year, the band announced an indefinite hiatus, stating that their summer US tour would likely be their last, stating that "the 9 - 10 months of our lives when we are not playing music are not fantastic. ... it seems like it’s just time to see if there’s anything out there that can provide us with full-time joy instead of part-time joy."[17] Following an international farewell tour in 2013, the band played their final show in Brooklyn on January 19, 2014.[18] A documentary about the band titled Never Get Tired produced by filmmaker Sara Crow, which had been funded via Kickstarter and had begun filming in 2010 prior to the band’s breakup, was released in 2015, commemorating the band’s history and legacy.[10]

While Bomb the Music Industry!'s musical style was originally rooted in ska punk, they incorporated elements from a variety of genres, including synthpop, power pop, folk music, chiptune, indie rock, hardcore, and electronic music.[19] The group's diverse influences and interests have been reflected in the variety of covers they recorded over the years, by artists such as We Versus the Shark, Harvey Danger, Pavement, Anti-Flag, Slow Gherkin, and others.

Rosenstock's lyrics explore both personal and political themes, often incorporating self-deprecating humor. Common song topics include mental health, employment issues, personal relationships, and criticisms of the music industry (including the independent scene). The band made use of a variety of arrangements and instrumentation, including straightforward rock structures, stripped down acoustic guitar-and-vocals recordings, and combinations thereof with brass, strings, electronic elements, and others. The band occasionally incorporated complex time signatures on tracks such as "9/11 Fever".[10] When an interviewer once described the band as "ska for smart people," Jeff Rosenstock responded: "...you could call us ska music for smart people or indie rock for dumbasses at the same time. That's nice that somebody thinks we're smart."[8]

As a collective, the membership of Bomb the Music Industry varied significantly between performances, with a variety of individuals performing only once with a band due to their policy of allowing fans to join them on stage.[2] Over time, a core five-piece lineup solidified for both recordings and live performances, albeit with frequent outside contributions.[20] Due to the impossibility of documenting all live contributors to the collective, this article only lists individuals who contributed to the group's recordings.

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