‘Jersey Boy,’ The Unlovables

by JAY LUSTIG
Hallie Bulleit of The Unlovables.

Hallie Bulleit sings and plays bass for The Unlovables.

“Jersey Girl” is one of the most famous Jersey-themed songs ever. But why hasn’t anyone ever sung about the archetypal Jersey boy?

Well, someone has, though the song is infinitely less well known than the Tom Waits-written, Bruce Springsteen-popularized “Jersey Girl.” “Jersey Boy,” by the New York-based group The Unlovables, is a fast-and-catchy pop-punk song, written from the point of view of a New Yorker who reevaluates her feelings about New Jersey once she finds a Garden State sweetheart.

“I used to think this whole state had a funny smell/But since I got a whiff of you, now I think it’s swell,” sings bassist/frontwoman Hallie Bulleit on the quirky song, which was included on the 2007 compilation, New York vs. New Jersey: Punk Rock Battle Royale!

“You know a ride on the PATH/Ain’t a pain in the ass/As long as you’re at the end of the line,” Bulleit, who is also an actress, sings in another verse.

Check it out below.

New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday last year. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we are marking the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, for almost a year — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. We started in September 2014, and will keep going until late in the summer.

If you would like to suggest any songs to be included, please let me know in the comments section underneath the video. And if you want to see the entire list, either alphabetically or in the order the songs were selected, click here.

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