Sunday in Stereo: The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' 'When God was Great'
The Bosstones and the end of something "great."
Happy Sunday! Today I revisit the shelf and share thoughts on The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and why some things must end.
After the release of Jeff Rosenstock’s 2021 Ska Dream, the ska-infused reimagining of his 2020 album No Dream, rock writers made boisterous claims about Rosenstock’s new claim to the genre. Rosenstock’s former ska-punk band, Bomb the Music Industry, was short-lived and dedicated fans were excited to see him return to his roots, while others celebrated the return of what they might have thought was a dying genre. Indie Cast called him the “ska whisperer.” Rosenstock had mixed feelings about this label and took to Twitter:
“While I dunno about ska whisperer, and I'm definitely not the sole person bringing back ska via our band making one covers record of our own songs, I truly appreciate that a lot of music writers the past few months have been reapproaching the genre with an open heart. Thanks!!”
Two months later, critics and fans kept their hearts open a little longer for ska-punk legends, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones to release their latest record When God was Great. The record came off the heels of one of the most confusing times in recent world history, and The Bosstones used the turmoil they witnessed to make a statement about society and themselves.
The cover of When God Was Great looks like the end of a movie. Two people sit on a flipped car while a city burns behind them. One of the individuals is staring at their phone, looking for escape, and the other coldly stares off into the distance: a fitting metaphor for the world’s condition. One could argue the world had also flipped upside down since the humble beginnings of the Bosstones. In 1983, when the band was formed, the cell phone was a year away from being commercially available, MTV was in its infancy, the first music CD had just been released, and the disposable camera had not even been invented, yet. Now, almost all those inventions are obsolete, and the way we interact (the rise of social media), obtain information (the internet) and see the world (globalization) has changed completely.
Naturally, the Bosstones have also changed in the last 40 years. Over their career, the group experienced member departure, long hiatuses, label disputes, and every other classic hardship for hardworking bands. After their 1991 debut album Devil’s Night Out, every album that followed became bigger and contained a sleeker, more polished sound. They reached the top 25 on the Billboard charts in 1997 with their hit, ‘The Impression That I Get,’ and solidified themselves on every 90’s rock and alternative playlist from now until forever. And even though they never reached that level of commercial success again, hardcore fans stuck with them into their later career and even waited patiently during the seven-year gap between 2011’s The Magic of Youth and 2018’s While We’re At It. Little did fanatics know the band would be facing the end.
The Bosstones announced their breakup on January 27th of this year. Some have speculated the split was due to the anti-vax views of lead vocalist Dicky Barret and how it may have been a point of conflict with the band. But that does not mean When God Was Great wasn’t the perfect album to cap off their longstanding career: it’s what makes it perfect.
The album kicks off with the blazing ‘Decide,’ and poses the ultimate question for an aging band: “Decide. / Should we cash in or should we let it ridе?” After everything has gone wrong, the tires have flown off, the vehicle won’t start, and the truth is nothing but a myth, do we keep persevering, or does this mean the end is in sight? One could see this as The Bosstones confronting the world, but it is just as likely the band is confronting themselves and their longevity. I’m sure The Bosstones have seen some of today’s legacy acts go on stage in their old age, embarking on massive tours and playing old hits for the sake of nostalgia and a paycheck. The band must have felt they were approaching a similar moment in their career in some aspects. So instead of facing that dilemma head-on, they take us back to a place away from the flames of the modern era and their mortality: the beginning.
‘Lonely Boy’ travels back to Kingston, Massachusetts while Barrett tries to find some sort of solace in the confusion of adolescence. The title track, ‘When God Was Great,’ takes us running wild through the streets of Massachusetts with friends, taking in a new and exciting music scene, lamenting on the protection of innocence. ‘You Had to Be There’ asks questions about an alternate universe where The Bosstones do not exist:
“If we weren't who we were then who would we become?
Is that a foolish thing to think about?
It might be just because that's just the way it was
And obvious whenever we were out
If we didn't have each other what would we have done?
How would we have made it day to day?
If we didn't go together where would we have gone?
We weren't going any other way.”
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones see the end. They are providing the remnants of their storied career. They are saying, “This is where the world is, this is where we’ve been, and this is us now.”
The final track, aptly named ‘The Final Parade,” provides a bittersweet ending to their story. The song features a giant guest list of over 30 ska-punk artists who have helped carry the genre forward through the decades, including Tim Armstrong (Rancid, Operation Ivy) and Aimee Interrupter (The Interrupters) on vocals. The song acts, initially, as a declaration that the music must go on.
“Let's let the merry go round
Let's hear the musical cheers
Let's get it back up off the ground
Even if no one still cares.”
The song becomes a joyous ska chant that exudes hope, but if you look close enough, it reveals itself as something else: “We were crankin’ and we were skankin’/ all over the world.” The past tense of “we were" becomes a sign that something may be over. The merry might still go round, but they won’t be the band to keep it going.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones drove that vehicle as long as they could. They may have had a few flat tires, changed the transmission a few times, and put on more mileage than the odometer could count as they saw their world transform before them. But eventually, all things must end, and now The Bosstones are sitting atop their totaled vehicle, thinking about when they were great.
I like Stones! I might start using that. Putting on any album of their’s puts me in a good mood.
Thanks, nice article. I still enjoy referring to them as the "Stones". Not sure if a friend came up with that or if it is from a movie or show? The Stones forever!