Rock Against Bush

Vol. 1 (Fat)
by Ewan Wadharmi

I love when people stir shit up. When The Bodies got nixed from Maximum Rock ‘n’ Roll because of their patriotic message, I got an indignant thrill out of MRR‘s unrepentant hypocrisy. I get a kick out of it when The (International) Noise Conspiracy spouts Communist propaganda. And when G7 bands question the WTO, I’m all for it. Even bumper-sticker slogans from underthinkers Amen and Total Chaos serve a purpose. What I love most about a democratic republic is that I can hear a whole crapload of dissenting views and make up my mind for myself. Republicrats and Democans have to agree that Bush’s “free speech zone” has secreted him in his own spider hole. Thus he’s brought this sort of reaction on himself. Bush baby has succeeded in making a name for himself in the Hall of Presidents by making America the aggressor and may surpass Reagan in lampooned appearances on album covers. It’s certainly a volatile time. The nation is polarized and every opinion has its asshole. Here’s mine.

Long retired cuts from Social Distortion, The Offspring, and Jello Biafra with DOA are called up from the reserves and taken out of context like a CNN soundbyte. While stalwarts like NOFX, Pennywise, and Anti-Flag provide their expected dutiful service, Strike Anywhere land one on target with the incindiary “To the World.” A rare Descendents ska number lightens the load, but the real heros are the new recruits like Soviettes, whose “Paranoia! Cha-Cha-Cha” is Wire meets Bikini Kill. The exciting Against Me! reminds us how we got into this fix with “Sink, Florida, Sink.” The sins of the father haunt the son, as Ministry‘s “No W” reworks “N.W.O.” into a hopeless tale of Big Brother.

The Ataris should be impeached for the awful acoustic version of Bad Religion’s “Heaven Is Falling.” Sum 41, The Get Up Kids, and New Found Glory fall into the acceptable loss range. Rx Bandits‘ weak imitation of Sublime is collateral damage. In addition to videos by Bad Religion and several others, the DVD features documentary propaganda that compliments Fahrenheit 9/11. Listen to all sides, then win your own hearts and minds. Fight the evil empire, whatever you deem that to be.
(www.fatwreck.com)