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Rock Against Bush was a project mobilizing punk and alternative musicians against the 2004 U.S. Presidential re-election campaign of George W. Bush. At its core was the idea of using music to create an anti-war, pro-peace sentiment, similar to counterculture music movements of the 1960s and 1970s, such as Woodstock.[ citation needed ] The effort inspired Australian punk bands to start Rock Against Howard.
The effort was initiated by Fat Mike (Michael Burkett) of the band NOFX and punk music label Fat Wreck Chords, inspired by the Rock Against Reagan campaign of the early 1980s. It included live concerts, a series of compilation albums, and is associated with the Punkvoter website. Its goal was to encourage people, especially punk fans, to register to vote and to oppose Bush. The album proceeds were used to support a 2004 concert tour and an associated voter registration drive, emphasizing the swing states. The effort did not achieve its goal, as George W. Bush went on to win the election. The albums have been issued by the Fat Wreck Chords label, which focuses on skate punk and pop punk artists, so most of the songs are by similar themed bands. Both a CD and a DVD were included, the latter containing documentaries critical of Bush, music videos, and comedy.
Green Day drummer Tré Cool has said Rock Against Bush is a "a pretty damn good CD" and that there are "some older bands on there that are still going strong and some younger bands that are real fresh and exciting too.". [1]
Rock Against Bush and Punkvoter were subject to criticism on multiple fronts. A similar (but more obscure) project was started by conservative punks called "Crush Kerry". In addition, more radical punks (especially anarchists) criticized the emphasis on electoral politics, as well as the tacit endorsement of John Kerry, who they believed was not much better than George W. Bush. The band Propagandhi decided not to participate when Fat Mike requested that they change the lyrics of a song critical of George Soros that they wished to contribute. [2]
T-shirts were also printed, depicting Fat Mike with the text "Not My Political Advisor", as a parody of the "Not My President" shirts that depicted Bush, issued by Fat Mike. Fat Mike himself stated he found this to be "pretty funny".[ citation needed ]
Title | Date |
---|---|
Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 | April 20, 2004 [3] |
Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2 | August 10, 2004 [4] |
NOFX is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every release by the band, although Sandin departed briefly in 1985, only to rejoin the following year. El Hefe joined the band in 1991 to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the best-known iteration of the lineup.
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several sister labels also exist, such as ANTI-, Burning Heart Records, Hellcat Records, and Heart & Skull Records that have signed other types of bands.
The Decline is an EP by NOFX. It was released on November 23, 1999. The CD version consisted of only the 18-minute title track, but the vinyl included a different version of "Clams Have Feelings Too" on the B-side. The Decline is largely a satire of American politics and law, with an overwhelming concern for blind behaviors of the masses, such as complacency, indifference, gun violence, drug-use, and conformity, as well as destruction of constitutional rights, and condemnation of the religious right. Although the lyrics are somewhat disjointed, they all refer back to the unifying theme of the "decline" of America. The trombone is played by Lars Nylander of Skankin' Pickle.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are a punk rock supergroup and cover band that formed in San Francisco in 1995. The band's lineup consists of Spike Slawson, CJ Ramone, Joey Cape, Pinch and John Reis. Dave Raun, Chris Shiflett, and Fat Mike are former members.
Fat Wreck Chords is an independent record label based in San Francisco focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett and his wife at the time, Erin Burkett in 1990. As of 2009 Fat Wreck Chords has released over 300 studio albums.
Propagandhi is a Canadian punk rock band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by guitarist Chris Hannah and drummer Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and completed by bassist Todd Kowalski and guitarist Sulynn Hago.
The War on Errorism is the ninth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on May 6, 2003, through Fat Wreck Chords.
The Lawrence Arms are an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. They have released seven full-length albums and toured extensively.
Anthony James Sly was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the front man of the punk rock band No Use for a Name. In his later years he also gained attention for his acoustic solo work, with two acoustic split albums he released with Lagwagon front man Joey Cape and two solo albums.
How to Clean Everything is the debut album by the punk rock band Propagandhi. It was released in 1993 on Fat Wreck Chords.
Randy is a Swedish punk rock band from Hortlax, Sweden, formed in 1992. While never achieving mainstream success, Randy have developed a cult following in the punk community over the years and were particularly successful in their homeland. They were particularly well-known for writing catchy songs with politically conscious messages, often broaching topics like income inequality, socialism, working-class revolutions throughout European history, and Karl Marx and Marxism.
Michael John Burkett, known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the cofounder and bassist of the punk rock supergroup cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Burkett started out with his first band False Alarm in 1982.
Coaster is the eleventh studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on April 28, 2009 through Fat Wreck Chords.
NOFX / The Spits is a split EP between punk bands NOFX and the Spits. It was released on November 23, 2010 on vinyl only but is now available for digital download.
NOFX is an EP by the American punk rock band NOFX, released August 2, 2011, through Fat Wreck Chords and consisting almost entirely of cover versions of hardcore punk songs. The idea for the EP was originally announced in 2009—before the release of the group's eleventh studio album Coaster—and was originally announced to be released exclusively as a 10" vinyl record. The EP was also made available in 7", 12", and picture disc formats, all containing the same track listing.
Self Entitled is the twelfth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on September 11, 2012 through Fat Wreck Chords.
The discography of No Use for a Name, a punk rock band active from 1987 to 2012, consists of eight studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, four EPs, one single, and seven music videos.
The discography of Fat Wreck Chords, an independent record label based in San Francisco, consists of 345 releases: 157 studio albums, 13 live albums, 33 compilation albums, 2 demo albums, 58 EPs, 69 singles, 10 video albums, 1 documentary film, and 2 box sets.
First Ditch Effort is the thirteenth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX, released on October 7, 2016.
Punk Rocksteady is the seventh full-length studio album as well as the first cover album by California ska punk band Mad Caddies, which was released on June 15, 2018 by Fat Wreck Chords. It was released four years after their full-length Dirty Rice (2014). The album consists of twelve originally punk rock songs that were hand-picked by the band alongside Fat Wreck Chords owner and NOFX singer Fat Mike, who also produced the album, and transformed into their trademark reggae sound, while also using influences from other genres, like dancehall, rock music, ska, Americana and more. The entire album was made available for streaming a day before its release.
I think the Rock Against Bush compilation is a pretty damn good CD. There are some older bands on there that are still going strong and some younger bands that are real fresh and exciting too.