Jesus Is Dead is a eulogy for the New York scenes that Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff has witnessed over the past 20 years. In an interview with Shaad D'Souza from The Face magazine the song was described as follows:

‘Antonoff has long said that growing up in New Jersey, separated from the cultural centre of New York by only a river, has made him feel forever like an outsider, even after he moved to NYC in 2012. Jesus Is Dead plays like a potted history of New York subcultures, beginning in the present: ​“A kid I used to babysit drinks himself off a Dimes Square bench.”

Antonoff says he ​“was interested in writing about [Dimes Square], and it made me think about [2000s New York indie band] Longwave and that whole time, and [early-2000s downtown club night] Misshapes, and [the influential dance label] DFA.” Where New York’s culture could once be defined by specific movements – from The Strokes-era downtown crowd to Brooklyn-centred bands such as Grizzly Bear – Antonoff feels that the NYC scene ​“finally just is over”.

“Any [NYC] scenes going on, there’s no real centre to them,” he argues. ​“There’s no great artistic export. Like, say what you want about downtown in the early-2000s, but goddamn, those first few Strokes albums! Say what you want about the Brooklyn moment in Williamsburg, you could roast it to hell and back, but Jesus fucking Christ, some of that music is just absolutely timeless. [Dimes Square] still falls under this thing where it’s like, well, what’s the export? What’s the book, what’s the band? The toxic podcast can’t be the genius cultural export.”'