Ohio Tpke
I’ve got a song stuck in my head again.
NO DREAM, by Jeff Rosenstock, is a power-pop/pop-punk record of the workmanlike Weezer-influenced variety you also find with, say, PUP or Rozwell Kid. It’s a nice way to spend a sunny day, high energy, short songs, good shit.
“Ohio Tpke” is the last song on the record and is a nice capstone. It goes through a few movements, from straight-ahead punk song in the beginning to a more subdued middle section followed by an even more uptempo bridge ending on an almost ballad-esque note. The last sounds are someone playing things out on the piano before closing it and leaving.
It’s one of those songs about being in a relationship while you’re on the road and how tough it is, but the part that stood out to me and lodged in my brain was
you’re the only person that I wanted to like me
you’re the only person that I wanted to like me
all these other motherfucking dipshits can bite me
’cause you’re the only person that I wanted to like me
I don’t think of myself as surrounded by dipshits, but otherwise I relate. I don’t expect to be liked, and in fact kind of expect the opposite, but when I’m into someone, god, I want them to like me so bad. Nice to have a song for that.