As a writer living in the U.S., it’s difficult as hell when words lose their weight. We could sit here and type all day about our values, but most of the words we’d want to say have already been put together and sung for generations.
From Laura Jane Grace and Chris Hannah to Gil Scott-Heron and Joan Baez, they’ve all amplified the conversations of anti-fascism, feminism, racial equality, and just about everything important to us, and far more effectively than we ever could as a math rock blog.
And sometimes, despite us having math rock and prog out the ass in our emails and inboxes, it leaves us with an empty feeling. Are we so content to noodle away that we can ignore what’s happening in the world? Sadly, yes. It’s not black and white of course, there’s taking risks and then there’s risking others when you have things like a band, family, or even pets that rely on you to be there for them.
But recently we heard a quote about art being ambivalent in times of crisis, and how when art leaves too much room for interpretation, it becomes vulnerable to a broad spectrum of revisionist co-opting. That used to be kind of a distant specter, and now it’s very much here, so for a blog that generally caters to instrumental genres, it’s given us a lot to think about. For now, we’ll spare you a screed of performative rhetoric – the following bands and records probably won’t though, and we hardly think they should:
Propagandhi – “At Peace”
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Codefendants – “Fast Ones (feat. The DOC)”
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The Muslims – “Fuck These Fuckin’ Fascists”
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Stress Positions – “White Leech // No Sympathy (For the Police)”
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(shout out to Justin Pearson for showing us this insane band last year, new album out soon)
SPEED – “The First Test”
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Laura Jane Grace in The Trauma Tropes – “Mine Me Mine”
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Worriers – “Yes All Cops
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Rough Francis – “Not A Nice Guy”
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The Vandals – “Anarchy Burger”
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(shout out to none other than Vin Diesel for his classic reference to this song in XXX)
Lambrini Girls – “Cuntology 101”
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N8NOFACE – “Break”
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Lightning Bolt – “USA Is A Psycho”
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Charger Port – “Black Mask”
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Uniform – “The Killing of America”
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Nausea – “Smash Racism”
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(shout out to Marika Zorzi of Evil Greed fame for showing us this version with Amy on vocals)
Struggle – “Red, White, and You”
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Black Flag – “My War”
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Dead Kennedys – “Nazi Punks Fuck Off”
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Also we’re gonna say it all it one place because sometimes that’s the only way to assuage certain people’s concerns, even if we think that speaks to a carefully controlled resistance within the United States. There is no perfect ally, nor is there a perfect enemy, no matter what you’re being sold. There are just people, the choices that they make, and the choices they don’t. As the editor of this blog for four years now, I can only hope that I’ve been able to imply most of these things without having to hold your hand and tell you directly that yes, I too feel these things and share the same values. Many of us speak often, and I know you know – but in case you don’t, here are some things I do my best to stand against: borders, fascism, genocide, colonialism, racism, homophobia and transphobia, theosophy, technocracy, police states, the prison industrial complex… we probably missed a couple. The last thing I want to see is our friends “be nice” when their rights are infringed upon and they’re escorted into a cell without due process before being sent to private prisons in El Salvador. Fuck all of that and more.
Fecking ain’t here to tell you what to think, mind you – just that you probably should think, and potentially act, before someone does it for you. Good luck out there, and we’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming tomorrow. Assuming we
(Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more music, check out our Bandcamp compilations here. If you like us, or possibly even love us, donations are always appreciated at the Buy Me A Coffee page here, but if you’re in a generous mood you can also donate to folks like Doctors Without Borders, the PCRF, Charity Water, Kindness Ranch, One Tail at A Time, Canopy Cat Rescue, or Best Friends Animal Sanctuary that could probably use it more – click on their names above to check ‘em out if you’re so inclined. Thanks again!)