Jawbreaker - Ache

This has been one of my favorite songs of all time. It's been a favorite since 24 hour revenge therapy came out back in 1994. There's so much history of a band like this for me and I'm sure many other people around my age. Things like friends leaving a message on my answering machine that said "We're having a party, please come, it won't be the same without you, please come" (Those are Jawbreaker lyrics for you who aren't schooled in the history of Jawbreaker), Or driving to Gainesville to see Jawbreaker on the tour for this record at the covered dish, or making mix tapes with Jawbreaker songs to get across your feelings through Blake's lyrics without being blatantly over the top and exposing yourself.

In a lot of ways mix tapes were like the text message of the mid 90's in that when your message arrives you're not around to deal with the consequences of it. You could put a couple dozen songs on a tape and include all of the things you'd like to say to someone but with the protection of the person not knowing exactly which lyrics were directed at them specifically. It allowed the person to separate themselves from what they wanted to say with an escape hatch of "No, that's just a cool riff!" if they were called out on it. The added bonus was getting to flex your music knowledge muscles and impress with the "cool bands" you know about (when you're 18 these things are important).

But back on topic:
It's the lyrics that really separates Jawbreaker from many of their contemporaries. This one is a particularly well written example. Read the opening lines and tell me it doesn't play into the feelings you have as an 18 year old punk rock, skater, surfer kid who's trying to figure things out:

I believe in desperate acts.
The kind that make me look stupid.
(Look like a fool)

Oh yes, I really liked the sound of that because... well, doesn't that sound like any 18 year old? But more than that this was a great record for so many reasons that I couldn't even begin to cover. It's just a great album worth listening to repeatedly, over and over and over and...

While getting the release date of 24 hour revenge therapy I happened to find a review of bivouac. The review stated that bivouac was a failure, falling short of expectations etc. I couldn't disagree more. Bivouac is still my favorite Jawbreaker record.