The Rebel Black Dot Song o' the Day: SKAfter Party

Less Than Jake, "The Upwards War and the Down Turned Cycle" from Anthem (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: I tease Less Than Jake for having so many songs about growing up & leaving home, but I tease out of admiration & appreciation. No other band does a better job of chronicalling the quiet, everyday desperation of ordinary Americans, the nihilistic culture & dysfunctional economy that produced both the opioid crisis & the populist rebellion of Donald Trump.

"All my friends always talk about
The stories of moving on and getting out,
And packing up and heading south,
Their heads full of hopes and dreams,
They're just like me.

"My friends aren't going anywhere,
My friends all act so unaware,
Well, now they have to face
Their best plans have all gone up in flames,
They're just looking for something to take
To break up the day to day
And all its loneliness, vacant space,
A tragedy of minimum wage…

"My friends aren't worried about last calls
And working jobs at shopping malls
Because they're in between
A mix of pride and apathy,
So now there's talk of calling in,
Calling in with bitter grins,
Laughing at the state they're in,
What a mess! They're just like me…"

Of course, Anthem was released twenty years ago (20 May 2003); so, the hopelessness chronicled in "The Upwards War and the Down Turned Cycle" are not new & are becoming multi-generational.