In the near decade since I made this blog, I don’t think on any review I ever listened to something that was full-blown Punk. I’ll fully confess that I’ve never been the biggest fan of the genre, save for a few songs from The Ramones & a couple other tunes I can’t think of at the moment. If there was one think I’ll give the music style credit is that it always ticked off people in power. Didn’t matter who you were, Punk always made sure to bring those that were higher up the food chain a little more down to our level. So, with my look back at January 6th from earlier this month, it seemed only right to finally give Punk an examination, and one of the weirdest releases I ever heard of was a natural choice. So, let’s take a trip back through time to 20-something years ago, and look at my review of Rock Against Bush: Vol 1. Let’s begin!
Background
Before we get into the specifics of Rock Against Bush, we first gotta look at the company that released it in the first place. As stated by Wikipedia:
“Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike), and his wife at the time, Erin Burkett in 1990.
Fat Wreck Chords has released over 300 studio albums to date.
Fat Mike started his record label Wassail records in 1987. He put out two NOFX records, The PMRC 7” and Liberal Animation in 1988. In 1990, he and his wife Erin Burkett co-founded Fat Wreck Chords, and rereleased NOFX's 1987 EP, The P.M.R.C Can Suck on This. In 1992, Fat Mike went on to produce Lagwagon, Propagandhi, and No Use for a Name. In 1993, the label released records by Rancid, Face to Face, and Strung Out. Fat Mike & Erin continue to run the label together and remain 100% independent.
The label grew during the 1990s selling over a million records per year. It had eighteen employees and four offices.
A documentary about Fat Wreck Chords called 'A Fat Wreck' was released on October 25, 2016.
The label has had two subsidiaries over the years, Honest Don's and Pink and Black. Honest Don's released records from Chixdiggit and Teen Idols amongst others, while Pink & Black released albums from female-fronted bands like Fabulous Disaster and Dance Hall Crashers.
Fat Mike also advanced $50,000 to Chris Hannah and Jord Samolesky of Propagandhi which he recouped within months from sales of Propagandhi records to help them start up their own label, G7 Welcoming Committee, though G7WC is independent from Fat Wreck.”
As for the compilation itself, it’s essentially a collection of released & unreleased songs by various Punk Rock artists. It also happens to include a bonus DVD with political facts, commentary regarding the U.S. presidential election in 2004, footage from a David Cross stand-up comedy performance, as well as some music videos. Rock Against Bush was released on the 20th of April, 2004.
Basic Description
Early 2000s Punk Rock time capsule.
The fact that this is almost 20 years old makes my bones hurt. Old feelings aside, it’s actually a really good collection of Punk Rock! Not only are there popular/legendary bands from the genre on here, but some more lesser-known groups as well (And 1 metal artist weirdly enough, but I’ll get to that in a moment). Regardless of popularity, the one thing that unites all these Punks together is the criticisms they have for the first Bush administration, as well as the Republican politics of the time. Where as I think 90% of anti-Trump media has aged poorly, fundamentally every piece of anti-Bush media has aged surprisingly well, and Rock Against Bush definitely stands out.
Best Track
In a bizarre choice, I gotta give it to Ministry’s track No W off of their Houses of the Molé record. Though it definitely has that Punk attitude that’s all over this CD, it’s far more within the Industrial Metal zone the band was known for, but it does mark the beginning of Uncle Al & the gang experimenting with Thrash Metal as well (And embracing it for future records). All 3 styles actually come together really well on this song, with none of them ever overpowering the other. Definitely the highlight of this release.
No W
Worst Track
While I don’t think there’s a bad song on here, my only gripe is that I’m just not a Punk person. Like I said at the start of this review, I’m not a fan of the style outside of some Ramones tunes & a few other songs who’s names I can’t think of as I’m typing this. That’s it!
Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below (1 song is missing):
Rock Against Bush: Vol 1
Overall Impression & Rating
Rock Against Bush: Vol 1 is a product of it’s time. My feelings put aside, it manages to capture what the first Bush Jr. presidency was like surprisingly well, and also shows off what the Punk scene was like back then. I’m not sure if I’ll ever listen to it again, but I’m glad I was able to rock out against little Bush.
Rock Against Bush: Vol 1 gets a 8 out of 10.
And that was my review of the first Rock Against Bush compilation. The genre may not be my taste, but I can respect it quite a bit, and recognize it’s place in music history. Not only that, but it’s ability to reflect the time it’s in surprises me, so there’s that! With that said, come back in a week or two, when I’ll take a look at the 2nd Rock Against Bush release. Until then, take care!
***
If you’d like to take a look at the history of this release (As well as Vol. 2), click on the link below:
Punk Rock Vs. The President | Rock Against Bush Retrospective
No comments:
Post a Comment