Not Like The Other Girls: Jukebox The Ghost

Not+Like+The+Other+Girls%3A+Jukebox+The+Ghost

Amanda Jagus

It‰’s a cold November morning, the time of year when it would still be dark on the bus ride to school. My normal group of neighborhood friends have either missed their buses or have been lovingly driven to school by their mothers; thus leaving me alone to ponder thoughts such as my newfound B cups, David from 4th period, and whether or not I should get those feather extensions that everyone seemed to have. My head is pressed against a foggy bus window, as I look forlornly at the suburban houses passing by me. My purple iPod Nano rests gingerly in my hand, with its pink Skullcandy headphones pumping melancholy indie pop through my ears. The flavor of the month is “Victoria‰” by Jukebox the Ghost, a song I played over and over until it‰’s punchy lyrics were involuntarily etched onto my brain.

“Victoria‰” is what I envisioned my secret admirer writing about me even though my name was not Victoria and I most certainly did not have a secret amdierer. Regardless, I (wrongly) fantaisized about my role as a manic pixie dream girl who as enamored a sad, sad boy, a shy type with floppy hair and a beat up car, regardless of the fact we were 14 and in the 10thgrade. Although I can digress further about my adolescent fantasies, Jukebox the Ghost was definitively one of the first indie, and therefore “cool‰” bands I listened to.

hi it’s me jukebox the ghost

im three people but prefer to use singular first person

anyways im playing in durham tomorrow, u turkeys

— Jukebox the Ghost (@JukeboxtheGhost) September 28, 2017

One of my cool friends first showed me Jukebox the Ghost, the type of friend whose parents signed release waivers for extra ear piercings and didn‰’t ask if boys were going to be at parties. I cherished this little nugget of musical superiority. I was sure not many other people have heard of them, and felt rather smug about it all as I played their music through MySpace. There is something to say about this feeling of exclusivity, something that greatly contributes to feeling “not like the other girls.‰” Everyone has their different band that gave them this feeling of adolescent bliss. For some of my friends it was All Time Low or May Day Parade, while others, including myself found solace in classic rock.

I always try to listen to the given artist when writing these articles, to see if they would evoke any different feelings 6 years later. Maybe it‰’s because I‰’m a sentimental senior but listening to Jukebox The Ghost after the passing of my teenage phases still made me feel pretty mushy in the library basement (and not just because I was in the library basement.)

Their most recent full-length release was a live album Long Way Home back in 2016 featuring some personal favorites including the aforementioned “Victoria,‰” in addition to “Schizophrenia,‰” “Girl,‰” and “Hollywood.‰” Their punchy Ben Folds-meets-pop-punk-monster sound is undeniably infectious, and they‰’ve maintained this freshness over the years. Their music is something that I‰’ll be sure to listen to while looking out of bus windows for years to come.