Did I Just See That?
On the ABC Worlds News this evening, the final story explored the rising popularity of protest songs. The War on Terror has continued to decline into a stagnant quagmire, and the anger that has been building across the nation has been hitting the airwaves with greater frequency (pardon the pun). Bruce Springsteen's new album contains some anti-war material, and the Neil Young album Living With War is one gigantic protest. Green Day's newer material (American Idiot) has been protest-friendly, as have the new albums from Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks. The news story was essentially making the point that Vietnam protest songs were backed by a mass protest movement across the country, while today's songs are not inspiring the same sort of mass hysteria.
One band that has been extremely vocal and extraordinarily critical of everything right-wing since its inception in 1988 is Anti-Flag. I've been an Anti-Flag fan for at least 7 years, perhaps longer. I've seen them on the Warped Tour, and I've acquired most of their music. I also have an Anti-Flag t-shirt, which is perhaps the boldest and most controversial shirt I've ever owned -- so much so that I barely ever wear it in Texas. The shirt depicts a person imprisoned behind the American flag, with the flag's stripes serving as the bars of a jail cell. The back of the shirt is emblazoned with the phrase "No one is free when others are oppressed." I LOVE this shirt. One time during freshman year, I wore the shirt to a doctor's appointment. In the elevator following the appointment, an elderly matron glared at my shirt and exclaimed, "Well that's a horrible shirt!" I kind of smiled and snickered, lacking the guts to tell this bitch off. My point is that this band is the real deal; the ultimate protest band. Well, they're on the Warped Tour again this year, spreading their dissent across America. Toward the end of the ABC News report, I hear anchor Dan Harris utter these words: "Punk rock band Anti-Flag has been especially critical." They then cut to a soundbite from Justin Sane, Anti-Flag's lead singer. Raise your hand if you've ever seen a mohawked punk rocker -- dressed in all black -- have a soundbite on a national news broadcast. Keep your hand raised if you've ever seen the caption line during a soundbite read "Justin Sane, Anti-Flag." The irony of an underground punk band, who turned down major record labels for years, being interviewed on a national broadcast about their politics was shockingly awesome! Furthermore, the fact that such a reputable program as ABC News referred to Justin by his moniker -- rather than by his real name (Justin Geever) -- was puzzlingly cool. Way to go, ABC!
For the record, the members of Anti-Flag are Justin Sane (Justin Geever), Chris #2 (Chris Barker), Chris Head, and Pat Thetic (Pat Robenson). If only I could see the name "Pat Thetic" in a caption... Reminds me of all those jokes about authors and their books: "Twenty Yards to the Outhouse," by Willie Maykit; "The Tiger's Revenge," by Claude Balls; "Sliding Down A Telephone Pole Naked," by Dick Burns; "Under the Bleachers," by Seymour Butts; "The Yellow River," by I.P. Freely; etc.
As a follow-up to yesterday's critique of overzealous Christians, I'd like to mention another lead story from the local Houston news. A star baseball player from the Houston area has been arrested and charged with assault for allegedly pushing his own father down the stairs during an argument this morning. The father was a major league baseball player in his youth, and the son had been drafted by the New York Mets and was scheduled to announce his newly signed contract tomorrow morning. Instead, he'll likely be in jail come tomorrow morning. What does this have to do with overzealous Christians? Allow me to divulge the reason for the father-son argument: the son was late for church. I'm glad they settled their argument the way Jesus would have.
One band that has been extremely vocal and extraordinarily critical of everything right-wing since its inception in 1988 is Anti-Flag. I've been an Anti-Flag fan for at least 7 years, perhaps longer. I've seen them on the Warped Tour, and I've acquired most of their music. I also have an Anti-Flag t-shirt, which is perhaps the boldest and most controversial shirt I've ever owned -- so much so that I barely ever wear it in Texas. The shirt depicts a person imprisoned behind the American flag, with the flag's stripes serving as the bars of a jail cell. The back of the shirt is emblazoned with the phrase "No one is free when others are oppressed." I LOVE this shirt. One time during freshman year, I wore the shirt to a doctor's appointment. In the elevator following the appointment, an elderly matron glared at my shirt and exclaimed, "Well that's a horrible shirt!" I kind of smiled and snickered, lacking the guts to tell this bitch off. My point is that this band is the real deal; the ultimate protest band. Well, they're on the Warped Tour again this year, spreading their dissent across America. Toward the end of the ABC News report, I hear anchor Dan Harris utter these words: "Punk rock band Anti-Flag has been especially critical." They then cut to a soundbite from Justin Sane, Anti-Flag's lead singer. Raise your hand if you've ever seen a mohawked punk rocker -- dressed in all black -- have a soundbite on a national news broadcast. Keep your hand raised if you've ever seen the caption line during a soundbite read "Justin Sane, Anti-Flag." The irony of an underground punk band, who turned down major record labels for years, being interviewed on a national broadcast about their politics was shockingly awesome! Furthermore, the fact that such a reputable program as ABC News referred to Justin by his moniker -- rather than by his real name (Justin Geever) -- was puzzlingly cool. Way to go, ABC!
For the record, the members of Anti-Flag are Justin Sane (Justin Geever), Chris #2 (Chris Barker), Chris Head, and Pat Thetic (Pat Robenson). If only I could see the name "Pat Thetic" in a caption... Reminds me of all those jokes about authors and their books: "Twenty Yards to the Outhouse," by Willie Maykit; "The Tiger's Revenge," by Claude Balls; "Sliding Down A Telephone Pole Naked," by Dick Burns; "Under the Bleachers," by Seymour Butts; "The Yellow River," by I.P. Freely; etc.
As a follow-up to yesterday's critique of overzealous Christians, I'd like to mention another lead story from the local Houston news. A star baseball player from the Houston area has been arrested and charged with assault for allegedly pushing his own father down the stairs during an argument this morning. The father was a major league baseball player in his youth, and the son had been drafted by the New York Mets and was scheduled to announce his newly signed contract tomorrow morning. Instead, he'll likely be in jail come tomorrow morning. What does this have to do with overzealous Christians? Allow me to divulge the reason for the father-son argument: the son was late for church. I'm glad they settled their argument the way Jesus would have.
posted by Yours Truly at 8:20 PM
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