The Rebel Black Dot Hello Rockview Song o' the Day

Less Than Jake, "Al's War" from Hello Rockview (Rude Boy Mike Papa Whiskey)

Skammentary: Thus concludes our impromptu fête of the twenty-third anniversary of Hello Rockview, released on 6 October 1998. This is arguably the most seminal album from Less Than Jake, one of my favorite bands, period, & mainstays of my favorite musical subgenre, third-wave ska-punk. I like every song on Hello Rockview. That said, I'm not sure we'll ever repeat this experiment. The burden of the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. is having to choose a song every blessed day, but the joy of the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. is getting to choose a song every blessed day. With this project, I made one choice that perdured for fourteen days, instead of fourteen discrete daily choices. I'm not saying we'll never try this again; like Shakespeare's Caesar, "I am as constant as the Northern Star!" Only time will tell.

Lest I be misunderstood: I have a great affinity for Hello Rockview & it has been a delight to fête the album's twenty-third anniversary.

"Al said goodbye to his mom and dad
For the first time in his life.
Tonight, he left the house and
Walked to the waiting car outside.
Yeah, somehow he thought they'd never understand
That nothing lasts,
And he just knows that time is just spinning by
And life is passing him by so fast.

"And sometimes I think
I'm the only one who feels like going nowhere's like giving up,
Sometimes I think
I'm the only one who feels like going.

"Al said to me a few days ago
That he just thought for the first time in his life,
He feels that the last few years
Were only a waste of time (only a waste of time)!
Yes, it was always a compromise
Of what he always felt inside.
His declaration
Under the orange street light.

And sometimes I think,
I'm the only one who feels like going nowhere's like giving up.
Sometimes I think
I'm the only one who feels like going.
Yeah-ah!

"He was the one who always did the right things,
He was the one who would always
listen to everything they say.
But today, he's never going back. (Woah-oh-oh)

"And nobody said,
That there would be days like these,
There'd be days like these,
There'd be days…"