---
title: "Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)"

meaning: "The DMV as accidental block party: richest man lost his license, Musak in the corner, whole city waiting: never seen a party like the DMV."

year: 2023
release: "MÖB"
releaseType: "album"

artist: "Scoobert Doobert"
artistId: "#scoobert"

credits: "Written, performed, produced, and mixed by Luke Francis Walton. Mastered by Riley Knapp. Album art by Gentle Giant Illustrations."

apple: "https://music.apple.com/us/album/department-of-motor-vehicles-dmv/1708670332?i=1708670336"
spotify: "https://open.spotify.com/album/7kAZdCuQ89YJHbJQI0xeOB"

themes: ["DMV", "absurdism", "city", "MÖB", "humor"]

isrc: QZTB22361894
isrcSource: soundexchange
lyrics: |
  The richest guy alive
  Living on an island
  Lost his driver's license
  And next to me he sits
  The world's smelliest child
  Puking in the doorway
  People watching all-day
  Can't look away

  DMV at the DMV
  Yeah, imma be at the DMV
  Got my whole city right here with me
  Never seen a party like the DMV
  The D M V
  Yeah, you never seen a party
  Like the DMV
  The D M V
  Yeah, you never seen a party
  Like the DMV

  Now serving B6
  At window number 9
  The oldest man around
  And a lady brought a newborn
  I'm dancing in the corner
  To the Musak cause the beat's fat
  But the colors of my city
  Be everywhere around me
  Can't look away

  At the DMV
  At the DMV
  Yeah, Imma be at the DMV
  Got the whole city right here with me
  MV at the DMV
  Yeah, imma be at the DMV
  Got my whole city right here with me
  Never seen a party like the DMV
  The D M V
  Yeah, you never seen a party
  Like the DMV
  The D M V
  Yeah, you never seen a party
  Like the DMV

  Attention all DMV patrons
  It is now time to party
  Scoobert Doobert
  DMV
  At the DMV
  Yeah, Imma be at the DMV
  Got my whole city right here with me

  MV at the DMV
  Yeah, imma be at the DMV
  Got my whole city right here with me
  Never seen a party like the DMV
  The D M V
  Yeah, you never seen a party
  Like the DMV
  The D M V
  Yeah, you never seen a party
  Like the DMV

draft: false

---

Track four on [*MÖB*](/albums/mob/), bureaucratic purgatory reframed as the best party in town. The premise is pure people-watching comedy: the richest man alive lost his license and is sitting next to you, the world's smelliest child is puking in the doorway, and you *can't look away*. What sells it is the lack of ironic distance. The chorus fully commits (*never seen a party like the DMV*) and the bit pays off in the PA break delivered completely straight: *Attention all DMV patrons, it is now time to party.*

It's the same instinct as [*Feels So Good*](/songs/feels-so-good/) (*am I in a commercial?*), finding the silly buoyant observation inside a heavy album. Between [*Sunlight*](/songs/sunlight/) and [*Aliens*](/songs/aliens/), it's the record taking a social-satire breath.

---