Indie punk pioneer Jeff Rosenstock is a must-know name in the Long Island p… Read Full Bio ↴Indie punk pioneer Jeff Rosenstock is a must-know name in the Long Island punk scene. Hailing from Baldwin NY, he fronted the iconic ska-punk band The Arrogant Sons of Bitches, he toured the world with his critically acclaimed anti-capitalist punk collective Bomb The Music Industry!, carrying t-shirt stencils and spray paint to all-ages venues and house show basements in lieu of merch. He started the first donation-based record label, Quote Unquote Records, a full 2 years before Radiohead popularized the idea of pay-what-you-want music.

And through decades of solid output, rigorous touring, and unyielding punk ethos, he cemented himself as one of the most influential heroes of the DIY scene.

Rosenstock is a self-made artist who's built a bridge between enraged, angst-ridden political catharsis and hard-hitting depressive emotional introspection. His voice is loud, raspy, and on the cusp of anger, but underneath that lies enough nuance and subtlety to make his music fun and arresting all at once.

In just a couple of years, Jeff Rosenstock has gone from beloved underground punk mainstay to a DIY legend and one of the most acclaimed figures in modern punk.

Staring Out The Window At Your Old Apartment
Jeff Rosenstock Lyrics

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Someone hung a decorative surfboard up
Where your records and movies belong
This light makes it nearly impossible
To see if they fixed all the cracks in the wall

Staring out the window at your old apartment
Imagining the old you stumbling through tacky renovations
That the landlord wanted to cash in on the boom

And you don’t know where to go now
You’ve got nowhere to go now

I wish you’d come down and meet me here
I’m gridlocked
I’m not going anywhere
I’ve had a bad year, oh

Staring out the window at your old apartment
Imagining the old you stumbling through tacky renovations
That the landlord wanted to cash in on the boom
And you don’t know where to go now
You’ve got nowhere to go now
You don’t know where to go now
You’ve got nowhere to go now

The city don’t care if you live or you die
It’s just gonna grow
It doesn’t care why you’re tired of kicking and fighting through life
And left me alone on this cold winter night

Just staring out the window at your old apartment
Imagining the old you stumbling through tacky renovations
That the landlord wanted to cash in on the boom
And you don’t know where to go now
You’ve got nowhere to go now

You’ve got nowhere to go now
You don’t know where to go now

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jeff Rosenstock's "Staring Out the Window at Your Old Apartment" paint a picture of a person who has lost their home and their sense of direction. The opening lines describe the loss of personal space and identity as someone else has moved in and decorated their old apartment with surfboards instead of records and movies. The lighting is also different, as they can't quite see if the cracks in the walls have been fixed or not. The image of the old apartment becomes a metaphor not only for a physical space but for a past version of the self that once lived there.

The singer of the song is staring out the window, reminiscing about the person they used to be and how things have changed. The room is now "tacky" and the renovations are "cashed in on the boom," representing the gentrification and commodification of their old neighborhood. They don't know where to go now that they are displaced, and the feeling of being lost is emphasized with the repetition of the line "You don’t know where to go now/You’ve got nowhere to go now." The singer is trying to come to terms with their new reality in a city that is growing and evolving without regard for their individual struggles.

The second verse continues the theme of displacement and isolation, with the singer wishing someone would join them in their melancholy state. They feel trapped and immobile, "gridlocked" and unable to move on from their situation. The song ends with the repeated refrain of staring out the window, still imagining the old self and old apartment with a sense of nostalgia and longing. The city is portrayed as apathetic and uncaring, growing and expanding without regard for the individual lives it displaces.

Overall, "Staring Out the Window at Your Old Apartment" captures a sense of dislocation and nostalgia for a past self that no longer exists. The lyrics lament the ways in which personal spaces and identities can be erased and commodified in a rapidly changing urban landscape, leaving individuals feeling lost and isolated.

Line by Line Meaning

Someone hung a decorative surfboard up
An unfamiliar object has replaced the space where familiar items should be

Where your records and movies belong
It is a reminder that someone else is now occupying your old space

This light makes it nearly impossible
The lighting is making it difficult to determine if any changes were made to the old place

To see if they fixed all the cracks in the wall
It is unclear if the old apartment has been updated or if the same issues remain

Staring out the window at your old apartment
The artist is looking back on memories of the past

Imagining the old you stumbling through tacky renovations
The singer remembers the struggles that the former version of themselves had to endure in that space

That the landlord wanted to cash in on the boom
The landlord used the demand for housing to their advantage

And you don’t know where to go now
The artist feels lost and unsure of where to turn next

You’ve got nowhere to go now
The artist emphasizes on the feeling of hopelessness

I wish you’d come down and meet me here
The artist longs for someone to share their feelings with

I’m gridlocked
The singer feels stuck and unable to progress

I’m not going anywhere
The artist feels stagnant and unable to move forward

I’ve had a bad year, oh
The singer reflects on a difficult year they have had

The city don’t care if you live or you die
The singer reflects on the indifference of the city they're living in

It’s just gonna grow
The city will continue to expand and develop, regardless of individual experiences

It doesn’t care why you’re tired of kicking and fighting through life
The city is not concerned with individual struggles and challenges

And left me alone on this cold winter night
The artist feels isolated and unsupported

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Jeff Rosenstock

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Someone hung a decorative surfboard
Up where your records and movies belong
This light makes it nearly impossible
To see if they fixed all the cracks in the wall

Staring out the window at your old apartment
Imagining the old you stumbling through
Tacky renovations that the landlord wanted
To cash in on the boom
And you don't know where to go now
You've got nowhere to go now

I wish you'd come down and meet me here
I'm gridlocked, I'm not going anywhere
I've had a bad year

Staring out the window at your old apartment
Imagining the old you stumbling through
Tacky renovations that the landlord wanted
To cash in on the boom

And you don't know where to go now
You've got nowhere to go now
You don't know where to go now
You've got nowhere to go now
You don't know where to go now
You've got nowhere to go now

The city don't care if you live or you die
It's just gonna grow and it doesn't care why
You're tired of kicking and fighting through life
And left me alone on this cold winter night

Just staring out the window at your old apartment
Imagining the old you stumbling through
Tacky renovations that the landlord wanted
To cash in on the boom

And you don't know where to go now
You've got nowhere to go now

You've got nowhere to go now
You don't know where to go now