Green Day, Borderline Anarchist

The band Green Day was formed in 1987 and it consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool. Green Day currently has eight albums circulating through the music scene, and although they might not be completely anarchists, a few of their songs definitely show their disapproval of the way our government is being run. Songs such as "American Idiot" and "Holiday" are just two examples from their most recent albums. The song American Idiot is self explanatory, but what many fans do not know is that their song Holiday is supposed to be against Bush's decision to invade Iraq; with that song in particular, Armstrong stated that the song was a means to "to battle your way out of your own ignorance" and that the song is "not anti-American, it's anti-war." When asked his opinion regarding whether all musicians ought to try to add a social or political message to their work, Armstrong replied that "the only people who should sing about social issues or politics are the ones who aren't full of shit." American Idiot provided a voice for those "disillusioned by millennial America"—the fact that it was released two months before President Bush was reelected caused the album to become "protest art."

Clearly, even if the band isn't very anarchist, they still share some of the same values that many anarchists do and they seem to have a very powerful voice as far as protesting and just simply not giving a crap what people think in response. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkmEZs_Kcms (American Idiot)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtp9gNx7nV0&feature=related (Holiday)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5jiwi8kZKk&feature=related (21 Guns)

http://greenday.com/

-Megan Keane

Twisted Sister

Twisted Sister, originally from Long Island, have been producing music from the late 90s to today. Their hit song "We're Not Gonna Take It" does not directly stab at the government, but many of the lyrics suggest fighting for freedom and choosing their own way of life without someone telling them what to do.

"We've got the right to choose and
There ain't no way we're gonna lose it,
This is our life."
These lyrics from the first verse in the song suggest with strong and clear vocals that we as citizens have the right to vote and that is something we cannot give up. These words focus on every voice being heard and not letting anyone get lost in a minority

"We don't want nothing; not a thing from you
Your life is trite and jaded
Boring and confiscated
If that's your best, your best won't do"
These lyrics suggest opinions more associated with anarchism in the idea of separating from a government. They point out that life under a government that has so much power over way of life is "boring" and tedious. This even goes to the extent to say that if this is all government can offer, this simply will not be tolerated and they do not want a government that they get nothing from.

-Julianne Fleck

Last Say Anything Post I Swear

Say Anything – Fed To Death / I Could Be President

I know I’ve been repeatedly posting different Say Anything songs and lyrics and breaking down how they relate to Anarchy but I promise this is the last one. Fed To Death is a song about religion, or Jesus more specifically, and what we have reduced him to as a nation.

There was a man from Nazareth
the fools at war pervert.
They forged and image on his flesh
to brand on mugs and t-shirts.

          

       Similar to what Mr. Pojman told us about tie dye shirts becoming a mere corporate advantage, here Max is talking about how we simply turned Jesus into something we could sell. I’m no bible expert but I don’t think they say really anything about his physical being – description wise – but we still found a way to make him more than metaphysical. “They forged an image of his flesh” is talking about the way we typically see him…a tall white man with a ragged beard, or writhing in pain with a head dripping in blood from a rose stemmed crown. We took this false image of what we perceived him to be and put it on “mugs and t-shirts” to sell. Someone somewhere realized that religion is powerful and that they could use that power to prosper financially. This is in correlation to Anarchist views of a corporate and Capitalist government.

           

         In the song “I could be President” there isn’t much reference to Anarchist ideals except one – the way society has come to be so lazy and ignore the problems of our country with trite second guesses:

Was I born to sink into this couch
and watch my whole world 
bleed its purpose out?
Around the insects follow patterns to their deaths

While I waste my precious breath
on another second guess

        Max fears that he is falling into the same trap as other Americans by “sinking into the couch” and attempting to make no change in the way the world works. He also thinks that with this laziness the world is bleeding its purpose out whatever that purpose may be. Lastly he closes the verse by saying he wastes his precious breath on another second guess as in even if he were to try to do something good for the world he would be mired in second guesses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lciuxEVA36w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxos2l7a5YU

- Randy Depfer

Lupe Fiasco - Underground Anarchist

Lupe Fiasco – Discreet Anarchist

          

       I think we have all heard of rapper Lupe Fiasco especially with his new song, The Show Goes On, being frequented on the radio. His latest album is called Lasers with the “A” being slashed out with the modern Anarchist symbol of an “A” within a circle. Lupe is somewhat an underground Anarchist because he doesn’t flaunt it like some other bands/artists but he does definitely have the same ideals.

         

        His father, Gregory Jaco, was a prominent figure in the Black Panthers, an African American rights movement which is where most believe Lupe established his political views. Other key hints that make Mr. Fiasco an Anarchist are as subtle as him simply never voting because Anarchy isn’t an option to wearing a shirt on stage at a concert that read “Only Anarchists are Pretty”.

         

        Even some of his lyrics, mix tapes, and albums are in cohorts with the Anarchist views. One mix tape, titled Enemy of the State, is labeled as an “Anarchist mix tape”. As I said before, the artwork for the Lasers album contains the “A” in a circle logo so closely related to Anarchism. Similar to the antecedent in a song called “Go-Go Gadget Flow” Lupe Fiasco says:

“I’m at where I’m at, like an A in a circle”

I think it’s fair to say that Lupe is a solid Anarchist Activist.

http://www.lupefiasco.com/forums/how-long-has-lupe-been-an-anarchist/

-Randy Depfer

Say Anything - Admit It

Say Anything – Admit it

            Admit It, yet another interesting song written by Max Bemis, follows the Anarchist thoughts on a Capitalist society:

It's the same superiority complex
Shared by the high school jocks who made your life a living hell
And makes you a slave to the competitive capitalist dogma
You spend every moment of your waking life bitching about

            

     This is by far the most direct attack on Capitalism in all of the Say Anything songs seeing as he actually blames Capitalism itself for this “superiority complex” of hierarchy. We’ve had numerous conversations in Professor Pojman’s class about the negative aspects of hierarchy and Max relates this same exact concept to the Jock ruling over the Band Geek in high school typically seen in movies…the Breakfast Club being one of those movies. Another interesting lyric is when he calls people out for bitching about this capitalist way of life every day but we never do anything to fix it which is what Anarchists strive for. Once, Mr. P told us the story of how tie-dye shirts came to be a corporate item from people who first wore them to stand out as part of a movement…again the blame is put on Capitalism and Max writes something similar in Admit It:

You adhere to a set of standards and tastes that appear to be determined by an unseen panel of hipster judges-BULLSHIT-giving your thumbs up and thumbs down to incoming and outgoing trends

- Randy Depfer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtPKDHdS5bM

Say Anything - Slumming it with Johnny

Say Anything – Slumming It with Johnny

                As I said before when discussing Anarchism in Music it’s important to shed light on Say Anything and their ideals. While they don’t directly associate themselves with Anarchists they do share the same views – especially the hate towards Capitalism.  In a song entitled Slumming It with Johnny Max, the lead singer and songwriter, really takes a shot at Capitalism and the ideals associated with it. A few lines into the song are the probably most obviously correlated with anarchist views :

But when we got there all we saw were more malls and marble mansions
In emerald parks the singing larks proclaimed the great expansion
There is no beautiful garbage…they cleared it up already
Tears roll out the eyes and though I cry I hold the wheel steady.

           

     Anarchists don’t hate “malls or marble mansions” themselves but the corruption and wrongful business that inevitably comes with it. Anarchists also wouldn’t say that “garbage” in the literal sense is “beautiful” but Max is using garbage as an allegory for the way things used to be. At the end of the song there are more lyrics that go along with the continual Capitalist dogma:

Look at the earth it's just so green
Perhaps it's envious of all the galaxies it's seen
Where forces swirl in symbiotic harmony
Free of the taint, the gas, and paint of parasites like me
Keep using love as the excuse for why we're fat and lazy
Wait to grow old, like we've been told go bald, go west and crazy
This is so pointless it actually holds up out evolution
Sing it to the bastards and free yourself from mental prostitution

          

       Here Max is talking about the lifestyle that Capitalism brings. A lazy lifestyle with no real drive to succeed because of the hierarchical systems we all fall into. He also talks about the harm that people are doing to the planet and even admits that he himself is part of this destruction that derives from capitalism – everyone being able to freely consume gasoline, etc. Max Bemis is a smart, smart man and brilliant lyricist and I will continue to break down his lyrics in other posts.

                     - Randy Depfer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnwYwVjg-HQ

Lupe Fiasco

    Lupe Fiasco has been an upcoming name in the rap game over the past years. His "against the power" style and lyrics raise brows and is an obvious indicater of his anarchist ideas. In his songs "Words I Never Said", Lupe tells his listeners his political beliefs and his complaints of the governement. He is not a supporter of the war overseas and believes in the conspiricies such as 9/11. Lupe also talks about the cuts in school fundings and how he didn't vote for Obama. Lupe Fiasco is one of the most recognized names in music today and holds massive influence over his listeners. His words have gained recognition and have made waves in popular culture in America.

Words I Never Said Lyrics:
Lupe Fiasco (No Chorus)

I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bullshit
Just a poor excuse for you to use up all your bullets
How much money does it take to really make a full clip
9/11 building 7 did they really pull it
Uhh, And a bunch of other cover ups
Your childs future was the first to go with budget cuts
If you think that hurts then, wait here comes the uppercut
The school was garbage in the first place, thats on the up and up
Keep you at the bottom but tease you with the uppercrust
You get it then they move you so you never keeping up enough
If you turn on TV all you see’s a bunch of “what the f-cks”
Dude is dating so and so blabbering bout such and such
And that aint Jersey Shore, homie thats the news
And these the same people that supposed to be telling us the truth
Limbaugh is a racist, Glenn Beck is a racist
Gaza strip was getting bombed, Obama didn’t say shit
Thats why I aint vote for him, next one either
I’ma part of the problem, my problem is I’m peaceful
And I believe in the people.

Now you can say it aint our fault if we never heard it
But if we know better than we probably deserve it
Jihad is not a holy war, wheres that in the worship?
Murdering is not Islam!
And you are not observant
And you are not a muslim
Israel don’t take my side cause look how far you’ve pushed them
Walk with me into the ghetto, this where all the Kush went
Complain about the liquor store but what you drinking liquor for?
Complain about the gloom but when’d you pick a broom up?
Just listening to Pac aint gone make it stop
A rebel in your thoughts, aint gon make it halt
If you don’t become an actor you’ll never be a factor
Pills with million side effects
Take em when the pains felt
Wash them down with Diet soda!
Killin off your brain cells
Crooked banks around the World
Would gladly give a loan today
So if you ever miss payment
They can take your home away!

-Skye