Yess, I’ve been trying to explore punk. Give me punk bands with lyrics I can understand, and who are vocally critical of conservatism and fascism please.
For myself -
A lot of RATM has floated to the top for me in the past few years. They are in heavy rotation now, and weren’t really for about fifteen years prior to that. The songs you don’t immediately think of when I say RATM have lyrics that are just as true and just as biting. If you like their sound but aren’t familiar with most of their work, this is a good time.
Brother Ali - particularly songs like Uncle Sam Goddamn
Dropkick Murphys, particularly most of the Album “This Machine Still Kills Fascists”
Anti-Flag. I know they have proven to have done some shady things with regard to harassing some women at their shows, but I only just discovered them recently (and learned this about them afterwards.) Unfortunately I like their songs and lyrics. “Victory or Death” comes to mind immediately.
Public Enemy - By the time I get to arizona, Black steel in the hour of chaos, fight the power (obv), fight the power 2020, really I don’t think they do a song that’s not good for the current state of affairs. Over and over in recent years I have concluded that the hip hop community saw what was and what was coming long before (decades before) the rest of us. I wonder why. 🤔
Last couple Arrested Development albums. Good tracks off the top of my head “And This I know” “The Meek” “Amazing” “Fire” “Moses” Gotta listen to these, most aren’t going to leap out with the expected energy if you don’t pay attention to the lyrics all the way through. There are others. Their last three albums have a high percentage of gems IMO.
Really old one by B. Dolan called “Which side are you on?” (loosely based aoround Guthrie song) which is congruent with a lot of today’s issues, though I think it was written primarily in support of this woman. Gonna link it here because I just listened to it again and damn does it slap.
A lot of what I listed above is unsurprisingly posted by me or others in !music@lemmy.world
UK Subs - Riot,
Social Distortion - Don’t Drag Me Down,
Restraining Order - Fight Back,
The Casualties - 1312,
Pennywise - Fuck Authority,
Against All Authority - We Won’t Submit,
Descendants - 'Merican
(ugh, the formatting on mobile isn’t wonderful)
Further recommendations for your exploration: any band Ian MacKaye has played in. Even if you don’t care for his work, he has had an outsized impact on the development of American punk / hardcore (even if he’s resisted that attribution). Specific recommendations include:
Minor Threat - self titled (straight up hc punk)
Embrace - Building (early emo, when that just meant it was a hardcore song that touched on emotions other than anger)
Fugazi - Waiting Room, or the 13 Songs album as a whole (post-hardcore, or “hardcore, but we’re not afraid to show off that we’ve learned some music theory”)
Okay, with MacKaye given his due, other “classic punk” recommendations include:
Agent Orange - Bloodstains
Bad Brains - I Against I
Black Flag - Fix Me, TV Party, My War
Circle Jerks - Wild in the Streets, Live Fast Die Young, World up My Ass
Dead Kennedys - Nazi Punks Fuck Off, California Über Alles, Holiday in Cambodia
Germs - Lexicon Devil
The Clash - Straight to Hell, White Riot, Lost in the Supermarket, and many more.
Operation Ivy - Sound System
The Descendents - Suburban Home
Social Distortion - Story of My Life, Mommy’s Little Monster
Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)?
Hüsker Dü - Don’t Wanna Know If You Are Lonely, Pink Turns to Blue
The Replacements - Androgynous, Bastards of Young, Here Comes a Regular, Can’t Hardly Wait, Answering Machine, Alex Chilton
Minutemen - History Lesson Part 2, Corona
Some slightly deeper cuts, more in the proto-emo space than political punk, but they share a lot of musical DNA and I think some of these tracks are underrated.
Rites of Spring - For Want Of
The Hated - Words Come Back
Dag Nasty - Circles
Gray Matter - Burn No Bridges
Soulside - Pearl to Stone
IGNITION - Previous
Fire Party - Cake
Samiam - Tired of Waiting
Fuel - Cue to You
Drive Like Jehu - Here Come the Rome Plows
That’s probably enough for now. I hope you find some stuff you like here.
Ah, I’m a bit younger (in fact I don’t believe there’s a song on that list that was released after I was born), but I’m a big history geek, and the evolution of genre is a particular fascination of mine, so I have intentionally sought out the music which influenced bands I liked in high school.
I’m sure I’ve missed out on some killer acts from the era, so hopefully someone who was both alive at the time AND paying attention to the scene will appear and give us both an education.
A tangentially related suggestion for you, if you share my fascination with the context around the art we make (though you are probably well aware if you’re an old-head haha), there’s an EXCELLENT documentary about the LA hc punk scene that was released during its zenith (arguably) in 1981. Several of the bands I mention in that list appear. It is called The Decline of Western Civilization, and the most convincing argument I can make to get people to watch it is that the LAPD chief wrote an op-ed demanding theaters not screen it.
A tangentially related suggestion for you, if you share my fascination with the context around the art we make (though you are probably well aware if you’re an old-head haha), there’s an EXCELLENT documentary about the LA hc punk scene that was released during its zenith (arguably) in 1981.
Absolutely was NOT aware, but I will check it out!
he most convincing argument I can make to get people to watch it is that the LAPD chief wrote an op-ed demanding theaters not screen it.
Probably a lot of obvious choices on here, but I like to think of it as honoring the classics of the genre, and hopefully there are a few entries which are new to folks.
Crime Mob - Knuck if You Buck (this goes at the start of the playlist, because, in my experience, playing this to a crowd of significant size will result in hands being thrown somewhere, it is a statistical inevitability)
Oh Jesus fucking Christ. Thank you for letting me know, I’ll edit that immediately. The worst part is that I’ve conditioned myself to cope with the news I’ve just received by listening to Pantera.
Yeah, that was an unpleasant surprise to me too. I found out when I was singing along with the song at karaoke and a native American friend of mine got really mad. Ending the song calling someone “boy” has a very different meaning when it’s considered with racial context.
Yes, though this is a scenario where I’d argue such a reading is a touch overzealous, and is exactly the sort of overreaction that leads idiots to think that calling Musk’s Nazi salutes what they are is just pearl clutching. The song is about haters who talk mad shit behind your back, but don’t dare say anything to your face. Therefore, “boy” is being used to imply the narrator doesn’t consider these people to be “men”, as they lack some quality (maturity, courage, whatever) necessary to qualify.
Also, the world changed a lot in the decades between the song’s release and 2016. I’m not going to go digging to try and find out exactly how much of a piece of shit Anselmo has been and for how long. Fucker isn’t worth my mental bandwidth, so I’m okay with operating on the assumption that, like many, many folks, he was radicalized over time by the rise of the “alt-right” and becoming wealthy. In either case, it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve got no intention of ever financially supporting his endeavors in the future, despite enjoying some of his output in the past.
Of that list, I know TMBG. Always a fav of mine, and I appreciate their attempts to educate and promote science. The sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma!
Okay commenting again to tell you I just looked this up and was reading the info for the artist and learned the term “filk” (science fiction folk) so I’m soooo in.
That whole proapgandhi thing about then regretting the lyrics to Halle salasse up you ass for talking shit about Rastafari was dumb. That religion is nuts.
Maybe Im basic but Rise Against still hits. Sudden Urge goes hard. Also turns out they just released a new song within the last 24h that I need to listen to
I need to poke at their newer stuff. I kinda stopped paying attention to their new releases after Black Market and the one single they released a couple years after that, but there’s a few songs that hit that older style like The Eco Terrorist in Me that still go hard. I do respect that even as the sound left my general preferred punk sound, their lyrics remained as complex and literary as always (seriously how often are you looking up words from song lyrics in a dictionary?)
I slept on most of the post-Endgame catalogue except for maybe 5 songs, and this was not one of them. I eased up on the skip button one day in the car recently and got to hear it again, for what felt like the first time. It gave me chills.
Dead Prez been radical and vocal about social and political issues since long before everyone else got there. Music is probably dated by now but their messages have always been consistent and they are very applicable today.
From old timey union fight songs (ex Workers of the world, Awaken) to protest rock. The Swedish band Nationalteatern have a great banger “Staten och Kapitalet” about that the state and the capital sit in the same boat, but it is not those who row and the whip does not lick their fat necks.
Basically anything off of Idles’ 2020 masterpiece, Ultra Mono. Grounds is probably the most direct fight song. My other favorites are War, Mr. Motivator, and Carcinogenic.
I wanna hear everyone’s fight music! I’ve been leaning on RTJ the last few days.
Yess, I’ve been trying to explore punk. Give me punk bands with lyrics I can understand, and who are vocally critical of conservatism and fascism please.
For myself -
A lot of RATM has floated to the top for me in the past few years. They are in heavy rotation now, and weren’t really for about fifteen years prior to that. The songs you don’t immediately think of when I say RATM have lyrics that are just as true and just as biting. If you like their sound but aren’t familiar with most of their work, this is a good time.
Brother Ali - particularly songs like Uncle Sam Goddamn
Dropkick Murphys, particularly most of the Album “This Machine Still Kills Fascists”
Anti-Flag. I know they have proven to have done some shady things with regard to harassing some women at their shows, but I only just discovered them recently (and learned this about them afterwards.) Unfortunately I like their songs and lyrics. “Victory or Death” comes to mind immediately.
Public Enemy - By the time I get to arizona, Black steel in the hour of chaos, fight the power (obv), fight the power 2020, really I don’t think they do a song that’s not good for the current state of affairs. Over and over in recent years I have concluded that the hip hop community saw what was and what was coming long before (decades before) the rest of us. I wonder why. 🤔
Last couple Arrested Development albums. Good tracks off the top of my head “And This I know” “The Meek” “Amazing” “Fire” “Moses” Gotta listen to these, most aren’t going to leap out with the expected energy if you don’t pay attention to the lyrics all the way through. There are others. Their last three albums have a high percentage of gems IMO.
Really old one by B. Dolan called “Which side are you on?” (loosely based aoround Guthrie song) which is congruent with a lot of today’s issues, though I think it was written primarily in support of this woman. Gonna link it here because I just listened to it again and damn does it slap.
A lot of what I listed above is unsurprisingly posted by me or others in !music@lemmy.world
UK Subs - Riot, Social Distortion - Don’t Drag Me Down, Restraining Order - Fight Back, The Casualties - 1312, Pennywise - Fuck Authority, Against All Authority - We Won’t Submit, Descendants - 'Merican (ugh, the formatting on mobile isn’t wonderful)
Eyyy, +1 for Pennywise. That’s a band I’ve not thought about in some time.
Thank you very much!
All of these groups rule. Good taste in music
Thank you!
Further recommendations for your exploration: any band Ian MacKaye has played in. Even if you don’t care for his work, he has had an outsized impact on the development of American punk / hardcore (even if he’s resisted that attribution). Specific recommendations include:
Okay, with MacKaye given his due, other “classic punk” recommendations include:
Some slightly deeper cuts, more in the proto-emo space than political punk, but they share a lot of musical DNA and I think some of these tracks are underrated.
That’s probably enough for now. I hope you find some stuff you like here.
Thank you very much!
I’m really just about the ideal age to have been an OG Punk fan, but at the time my attention was elsewhere, so I’m excited to crib from this list. 🙂
Ah, I’m a bit younger (in fact I don’t believe there’s a song on that list that was released after I was born), but I’m a big history geek, and the evolution of genre is a particular fascination of mine, so I have intentionally sought out the music which influenced bands I liked in high school.
I’m sure I’ve missed out on some killer acts from the era, so hopefully someone who was both alive at the time AND paying attention to the scene will appear and give us both an education.
A tangentially related suggestion for you, if you share my fascination with the context around the art we make (though you are probably well aware if you’re an old-head haha), there’s an EXCELLENT documentary about the LA hc punk scene that was released during its zenith (arguably) in 1981. Several of the bands I mention in that list appear. It is called The Decline of Western Civilization, and the most convincing argument I can make to get people to watch it is that the LAPD chief wrote an op-ed demanding theaters not screen it.
Absolutely was NOT aware, but I will check it out!
Well shiiiiit bro, that was all you had to say!
Probably a lot of obvious choices on here, but I like to think of it as honoring the classics of the genre, and hopefully there are a few entries which are new to folks.
Pantera - WalkPhil Anselmo is a Nazi shit weasel and I was unaware.Two nautical themed metal/hardcore songs which get me ready to tussle isn’t a lot, but it is weird that it happened twice.
That seems like enough brainstorming for now. Hope someone finds something they vibe with.
Definitely need to take Pantera off your Nazi fighting list.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/26/pantera-shows-cancelled-after-frontmans-nazi-salute-prompts-fan-backlash
Oh Jesus fucking Christ. Thank you for letting me know, I’ll edit that immediately. The worst part is that I’ve conditioned myself to cope with the news I’ve just received by listening to Pantera.
Yeah, that was an unpleasant surprise to me too. I found out when I was singing along with the song at karaoke and a native American friend of mine got really mad. Ending the song calling someone “boy” has a very different meaning when it’s considered with racial context.
Yes, though this is a scenario where I’d argue such a reading is a touch overzealous, and is exactly the sort of overreaction that leads idiots to think that calling Musk’s Nazi salutes what they are is just pearl clutching. The song is about haters who talk mad shit behind your back, but don’t dare say anything to your face. Therefore, “boy” is being used to imply the narrator doesn’t consider these people to be “men”, as they lack some quality (maturity, courage, whatever) necessary to qualify.
Also, the world changed a lot in the decades between the song’s release and 2016. I’m not going to go digging to try and find out exactly how much of a piece of shit Anselmo has been and for how long. Fucker isn’t worth my mental bandwidth, so I’m okay with operating on the assumption that, like many, many folks, he was radicalized over time by the rise of the “alt-right” and becoming wealthy. In either case, it doesn’t change the fact that I’ve got no intention of ever financially supporting his endeavors in the future, despite enjoying some of his output in the past.
Propaghandi is a big one for me since they’re from my city, but also Dead Kennedys, NoFX, Stray From the Path, Jeff Rosenstock
Edit:
I have more 😈:
Sorry, music and finding it is a special interest.
Don’t be sorry ✊
Of that list, I know TMBG. Always a fav of mine, and I appreciate their attempts to educate and promote science. The sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma!
I love the fact that the song you quoted is a kind of retraction of another, less scientifically accurate song of theirs.
The sun is a mass of incandescent gas…
It is, but they adopted it. It was originally written by Hy Zaret. They give him credit, of course, but it became theirs to steward.
They’ve definitely been one of my faves as well since I was a kid and found them while watching Malcom in the Middle
Add Leslie Fish to the list!
Okay commenting again to tell you I just looked this up and was reading the info for the artist and learned the term “filk” (science fiction folk) so I’m soooo in.
Thanks so much! I’m building a playlist so I’m always happy to take suggestions :)
That whole proapgandhi thing about then regretting the lyrics to Halle salasse up you ass for talking shit about Rastafari was dumb. That religion is nuts.
Ya can’t say I disagree with you there
Maybe Im basic but Rise Against still hits. Sudden Urge goes hard. Also turns out they just released a new song within the last 24h that I need to listen to
I need to poke at their newer stuff. I kinda stopped paying attention to their new releases after Black Market and the one single they released a couple years after that, but there’s a few songs that hit that older style like The Eco Terrorist in Me that still go hard. I do respect that even as the sound left my general preferred punk sound, their lyrics remained as complex and literary as always (seriously how often are you looking up words from song lyrics in a dictionary?)
The dork in me loves when Tim does not end a line with a preposition.
+1 Sudden Urge!
I slept on most of the post-Endgame catalogue except for maybe 5 songs, and this was not one of them. I eased up on the skip button one day in the car recently and got to hear it again, for what felt like the first time. It gave me chills.
Dead Prez been radical and vocal about social and political issues since long before everyone else got there. Music is probably dated by now but their messages have always been consistent and they are very applicable today.
From old timey union fight songs (ex Workers of the world, Awaken) to protest rock. The Swedish band Nationalteatern have a great banger “Staten och Kapitalet” about that the state and the capital sit in the same boat, but it is not those who row and the whip does not lick their fat necks.
I’ve been loving the old Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Phil Ochs, Billy Bragg, and Barbara Dane
This music just hits so hard
Basically anything off of Idles’ 2020 masterpiece, Ultra Mono. Grounds is probably the most direct fight song. My other favorites are War, Mr. Motivator, and Carcinogenic.