White Dopes On Punk

Next year will see the Rock Against Bush effort, brought to you by the folks at Punkvoter.com. Both an album and tour are planned.

If this indictment by the organizer is any indication, the venues could be awash with mind-altering substances: " (Bush is) wrecking the country and the world. He's starting wars for no reason, our economy is in the toilet, he's ruining the environment, and he does things like cut taxes when we need money."

Comments

[erf]

is that an attack on the organizers or mind-altering substances?
or just a really weak joke....

[Chris Puzak]

Only on MTV could Good Charlotte be considered punk.

[trainwreck]

Yeah I kinda remember back in the '80's a bunch of punk bands formed a "Rock Against Reagan" tour. One of the core punk audiences has always has always the "I Don't Care", nihilstic sort. doesn't seem too compatible with political activism.

[Anonymous]

"he does things like cut taxes when we need money"

HA!

[Matt]

"Rock the Vote" is non-partisan?

[Jough]

"He ruining the emvironment"?

He's only one man. I'd say its the 300 million or so regular folks (that would include conservatives, liberals, and anarchists) who are ruining the environment. Never mind, like the punk rockers, I'm not guilty of anything. Bush IS ruining the environment.

[Brad S]

"he does things like cut taxes when we need money"...this sounds like a Beavis and Butthead quote. "Uh, can I like, have some money or something?" "Yeah! Yeah! That would be cool!"

[Jason Ligon]

Maybe the neo cons will respond by telling these guys how to rock?

I'm all for a principled disagreement with the current administration. The last thing we need is for more people operating at this level of sophistication to vote, though.

[dhex]

why? it's not dumber than the nitwits across the spectrum.

fuck em all. 🙂

[Chriz Puzak]

Trainwreck:

The Rock Against Reagan tour was consisted of MDC, the Dicks, Crucifix, and the Dirty Rotten Imbeciles,all of which were very politically active bands. The "I don't care" contingent has pretty much been marginalized by punk bands with a definite left-wing agenda. However, I'd say the vast majority of their fans are not old enough to vote yet.

Anyway, I seriously doubt this tour will have any effect on anything. I doubt NOFX has many fans over the age of 18. And does anyone even like Green Day anymore? This looks like an attempt by some pseudo-punk bands to get themselves some street cred.

[Abu Hamza]

Hey Chris Puzak. I like Green Day. I think their music stands the test of time pretty well.

[trainwreck]

I know, I went to the show. And I thought "millions of dead cops" was a better name than "multi-death corporation".

NOFX has been around for a while, I wonder if they have many fans *under* the age of 18...I mean, they're like, all old and stuff.

[fyodor]

I'm against it

[zombyboy]

Well, this is nicely balanced by the punks at GOPunk.com. (http://www.gopunk.com/gp/main.php)

Enjoy.

[amr]

Too bad Eazy-E is dead. He could get together a "Rap for Bush" album/tour. Hmm, any other Republican rappers? I know Outkast has had anti-gay-rights lyrics, but I bet they still vote "D" (if at all). I could see Dr. Dre or Snoop or someone saying "now that I got money, I want to keep it."

[j]

Want to keep as opposed to oh I don't know ... sending 87 billion over to Iraq. Yep best to vote GOP.

[Anonymous]

Yeah Snoop has to be an republican by now. Maybe he'll run for governor of California some day.

[David]

"MDC, the Dicks, Crucifix, and the Dirty Rotten Imbeciles"

Yeah, they sure made a difference...(snark)...wonder what sort of causes they're backing now?

[Fat Mike]

We're pushing 40 and doing just fine.

[Spork]

"MDC, the Dicks, Crucifix, and the Dirty Rotten Imbeciles"

Yeah, they sure made a difference...(snark)...wonder what sort of causes they're backing now?

Posted by David at September 22, 2003 11:37 PM

You know, David, actually, MDC was one of the first bands I ever heard with a political message. I spent many nights figuring out the background story to their lyrics (sadly all forgotten by now). In fact, they directly helped interest me in politics. I now vote, am an activist occasionally, and contribute to causes I believe in. So, in response to your snark, I know personally they did in fact make a difference. Punk Rock, since the beginning, has been an overtly political form of music. Just think, almost every one of those little punk/skater kids you see, being indoctrinated into the horrors of Chomskian Anarchism! MDC and company make just as much of a difference to a pretty big sub-set of society as Britny Spears and her "We should, like, just always trust the government" does to others. To mock the influence of protest music on politics is rather ignorant.

[Phil]

Punk Rock, since the beginning, has been an overtly political form of music.

No it hasn't. The NY progenitors of punk like The Ramones, the New York Dolls, the Heartbreakers, et al. were very, very apolitical. To the extent that they displayed any politics whatsoever it was more likely to be hedonistic than anything else. Only when it reached the UK did it start getting political, and as it migrated back to the U.S. West Coast, it became more so.

Legs McNeil's Please Kill Me is a pretty good history of how Californians and Britons took NY punk, which was largely a put-on (and was in many ways conservative and reactionary), and put a political spin on it.

[Spork]

I see your point. I think I erred in using the word "overtly". However, as far as very early punk, I would say Iggy, MC5, Talking Heads, and Devo (at the very least) all had at least some message. To the extent that rebellion against the established order is a form of political expression, I would say the genre is by nature political.

Thanks for the book recommendation, I'll try to check it out.

[Jack Wayne]

Yahoo for Fat Mike! 55 and still loving punk and NOFX. Come to Houston soon!!

[Douglas Fletcher]

First it's Lesbians Against Bush, now it's Rock Against Bush. Girls nowadays are shaving way too much.

[dhex]

shaving too much?

no such thing!

[Mr. Nice Guy]

I find it extremely irritating how modern liberals bash Bush about "the economy", thus exposing their basic ignorance.

News flash: the president can only INFLUENCE the economy, not control it. And he/she is more likely to screw it by tinkering.. so the best thing to do is LEAVE IT ALONE. Ever heard of "free market"? "laissez-faire"? Is it ever possible to tax your way out of a recession? Pick up an Econ 101 text book and stop being a tool.

[Gary Seven]

"Rock Against Bush"? How ironic, as rock was originally created by people who thought they needed bush.

[Omar K. Ravenhurst]

"this sounds like a Beavis and Butthead quote."
Um, do you mean that we have $87 million lying around, or that you don't want the US to spend any more money on the war? Or did you miss the point entirely?

[big top]

Hey Fat one
Time to grow up then, don't you think? Get real. You're forty and you look up to Good Charlotte? Follow some twenty somethings that are revolutionary want to be's that don't have any clue at all. What a loser. Man, even the King of Punk, the jean genie hisself, Mr. Pop has grown up (a little). Even made it to Letterman. Oooooh! Yeah, here's a trivia for you. True of false---Did the Iggster ever appear on the Dinah Shore Show (that little 1/2 black slut - yeah you know the one-where do you think the expresion Dinah won't you blow my horn comes from?) Well, did he? Who was the back up band for him? Soupy who??? Anyway....go make another CD. We need a good laugh!!!!!!!!!!!