Sunday Music: “All Outta Angst” by NOFX

The post-midlife fury of otherwise furious artists fascinates me. 

Do they get jaded, or cynical, or bitter?

Or do they get… happy?

OK OK OK. They’re artists. Maybe they don’t find their exact bliss. 

But set happy aside for a moment. 

What if they’re just less full of angst? 

By the time NOFX got around to So Long And Thanks For All The Shoes, my expectations for the band were in decline. Punk in Drublic was the masterpiece in my high school heart, with solid book end albums coming before and after it.  

Looking back, Punk in Drublic may still be my album for memories, but So Long makes way more sense to me in my 40s than it over could have made to me at 16. 

More than anything, because of this song that goes,   

I'm not insane

I'm not bummed out

I got no one to blame

Nothing to change

I got no evil to fight

One thing's for sure

I'm all outta angst

Society don't bother me

And there's something wrong with that

16-year-old me would have really wanted to protest this election. Maybe 42-year-old me is expressing himself in his own ways, BUT. I’m less interested in the fight, and more interested in the, “OK, believe whatever you believe, are we going to enjoy ourselves separately or together because I’m way more interested in having a good night than any candidate right now.” 

Am I all outta angst too? 

No, it’s still in there. Just like it’s still in NOFX on this album too. But there’s a beauty in acceptance. Which is what this whole song is full of - acceptance. Perspectived, punk as f***, and… funny. 

Next step Mongolia

Don't get to golf or f*** or bowl with 'ya

Throw out that handicap

No stepping out, till spring

In fact it's difficult to sing when it's 20 below

And that's during the day

I'm not insane

The band didn’t say so long. They’re still out there. And even if I lost touch with the catalog and still find myself with a strange soft spot for Liberal Animation (thanks for making me that tape Ilene), I’m compelled to say it on the record, “I get it now.”   

(this is an unofficial video, but I really like it)

For good measure, this takes me back and randomly finds its way into my head any time I see a pool table: