Posted on 05/13/2004 11:38:29 PM PDT by weegee
George W Bush: Punk icon?
By Damian Fowler
BBC reporter in New York
It sounds unlikely, but there is a surprising new subculture emerging in the United States: Republican punk rockers.
In his knee-high Dr Martens and with his head shaved, Michale Graves is the Bush-friendly face of punk rock. He is the front man for the band Gotham Road, which has just kicked off its US tour. On stage he belts out angry, obscure lyrics, but offstage he is also known for his conservative rants and raves.
"The leftist radical agenda seems to be resonating loudly from within pop culture and we are at war on many different levels," he wrote in one of his columns at conservativepunk.com - one of several new web sites for Republican punk rockers.
Gotham Road is one a roster of bands who are anti-anti-establishment - though they represent a small percentage of the punk scene. They are not raging against the machine - they are raging for it.
Although Graves does not fit the image of a young Republican, he makes no apologies for his politics.
Core values
"I support this government because of our president's core values," Graves says. "I think he's bringing the country in a right direction. "Is there a better man for the job? There definitely might be, but from the candidates that we have to choose from in America right now, there's no better man than George Bush."
Nick Rizzuto is another self-styled conservative punk, and the founder of conservativepunk.com. The 22-year-old is a fan of the New York City punk band Bouncing Souls, and has the tattoos to prove it. But he identifies himself as capitalist punk, railing against the left.
"I don't find anything punk about promoting higher taxes and more handouts to people," Rizzuto says. "I would see the conservative viewpoint as being more punk than a liberal one, because a conservative viewpoint places a lot of emphasis on personal responsibility."
Anti-establishment
When Punk Rock emerged in the 1970s, it identified with youthful rage and rebellion. It was an anti-establishment subculture whose politics often tended to the left. The Sex Pistols embraced nihilism and anarchy, whilst bands like The Clash espoused leftist views.
It is not surprising that most punk bands in America today continue that legacy. Around 200 liberal and left-leaning bands, including crossover groups like Green Day and Foo Fighters, have teamed up under the banner of punkvoter.com with the goal of ousting President Bush in the November election.
Punkvoter has just released a compilation album of punk bands who are out to attack George W Bush as a liar with their music.
At the heart of this activism is voter registration. "One of the messages we're trying to get to people is please go out and vote against George Bush," says Justin Sane, the lead singer of a group called Anti-Flag. "But also we're trying to say to people, it's important to be involved in politics so you know what's going on, or one day you might wake up and realise that it affects you."
Polarised
Not to be left out, conservative punks also want to inspire their share of the youth vote. Some critics see the emergence of conservative punk as a symptom of just how polarised the US has become in this election year.
"This country is as politically attuned as it has ever been," says Anthony DeCurtis, a rock critic for Rolling Stone Magazine. "Often there's a kind of wilful lack of awareness about political issues in the United States - a sense of 'What difference does it make?' "But that attitude does not really seem to be applying right now and punk rock is reflecting that."
There is little precedent in the US for Republican punk rock, though there are some exceptions.
Ramones
Johnny Ramone, the guitarist for The Ramones, has fiercely supported the Republican Party for years. When the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, Johnny took to the microphone to offer his thanks, saying "God Bless President Bush, and God Bless America."
For many the idea of George W Bush being supported by punk rockers is a contradiction in terms. But for others, there is something about this phenomenon that makes a perverse kind of sense because of the Bush administration's hawkish posture.
"In a lot of ways in the United States, the Republicans have gotten much more punk rock than the Democrats," DeCurtis says. "The right has become more punk than the left : they're much more pugnacious, much more aggressive and much more forceful about putting out their ideas and drawing a line in the sand."
Still, punk rockers like Michale Graves sometimes feel alienated from the rest of punk rock scene, admitting that he receives a tremendous amount of hate mail. "Sometimes I do feel pretty uncool," he says.
D.I.Y. is punk's anthem. DO IT YOURSELF. How does sucking on the national dole/social net teat promote that? Even Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols railed against it.
I remember reading something a few years ago in which the writer was claiming that the Sex Pistols were anti-Thatcher and were formed rise up to sing against what her policies wrought....except for the fact that they were founded at least a year prior to her becoming PM -- and Labour was in charge then. Not that the left ever lets the truth get in the way of their agenda...
Wow! Thanks for waking me up to the new stuff.
Back around '90, I was acquainted with Cecil English, Vancouver producer of Jello Biafra and the Dead Kennedys, and many other new groups. I was fronting production costs for some musician pals{palmy days!).
I like hanging out with musicians - they make me feel responsible and sober!
Personally, I'm a rockabilly and blues man. ;^)
FYI - thought you might find this interesting. :)
I still want to talk about records some time, I have just been very busy. Please don't sell any good nuggets before letting me make you an offer!
dudes, thanks for the ping to this thread.
Another article on news.google.com claims that punk rock STARTED in England with the Clash and the Sex Pistols.
As I say, I used this thread to refute claims and clarrify some details in this representative article.
Link Wray F*ng rules.
LMAO....Rocks best live band, dittoheads...whodathunkit....
I went to college in Boston in the mid-late 1980s. I was at the Museum of Art when I overheard a security guard gloating about the Iran Contra scandal the day it broke ("Got something here bigger than Watergate!").
Political Correctness was invasive.
Well hell's bells. Just when I thought I knew all there was to know about Punk Rock up pops the Monks. As I was reading their web site I thought it was a joke/parody, but it appears to be the real deal. A few years before my time, that's prolly how I missed 'em. Thanks for the ping!
Which Monks song did the Fall cover? I don't own any Monks music, but I am aware of them. I do however own quite a few uhhh Fall records/cd's uhhhhh.
Yep, it is.
Xer PING?
3 pings in one day - A new record
Xer Ping
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social aspects that directly effects Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations (i.e. The Baby Boomers) are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details.
http://www.visi.com/fall/discog/covers.html
Black Monk Theme Part I
The Fall version: 1990 Extricate album track.
Black Monk Theme Part II
The Fall version: 1990 single B-side.
I have never (knowingly)heard the Fall but it looks like from some of the songs that they've covered that I should.
As you can tell from my soapbox on this thread, I am resistant to some late 70s/early 80s punk from the outset. I listen to some punk bands from those years but I know that there is a whole lot of anarcho-political hardcore junk that I don't want to touch.
If punk was so liberal in the early days why did so many New York punks use Nazi imagery (wearing iron crosses and even swastikas) without being nazis, antisemites, or fascists?
Cartoonist Peter Bagge has said that Art Spiegelman was disappointed in him when he worked with John Holstrom (on Comical Funnies among other publications). John was the lead cartoonist at Punk and he also illustrated a number of Ramones album covers and liner notes.
Art's take was that John was too quick to use shocking imagery (like swastikas) without comprehending the horror that symbol represented to some people (like Art's parents who were Holocaust survivors).
Our son 'Truth Brigade' is about the strangulation of freedom by PC nazis. You can check out our lyrics at www.thehazmats.net.
im glad my mom pinged this to me. im a 16 year old punk and republican. there are some extreme democrats and bush-bashers in my ap english class. i can't wait til we have our 'end of the year discussion day' monday. i know i can't change em, i've tried w/ others, doesn't work. maybe i'll impact some though. if anyone has some suggestions for me to use in our discussion, i am open to them.
"punk" has become mainstreamed. it has no true meaning in school hallways anymore. close your eyes and point and you can find a "punk." but keep in mind, not everything is what it seems.
Oh yeah. 80's metal was, and still is, the best. Remember Iron Maiden's "Flash of the Blade", about the joy of combat? Or better yet, their song "The Prisoner", about breaking free of bondage and heaping fear and death on the enemy. (With the intro from the British TV show of the same name, "I AM NOT A NUMBER! I AM A FREE MAN!" Still gives me goosebumps thinking about it.)
People who are inclined to metal aren't the types to sit around, holding hands, beating a drum, and singing "Cumbaya". Hell no! We want to get out there and bash the skulls of those who would constrain us.
And how about ol' Sammy Hagar, from the song VOA from the album VOA:
You in the Middle East
Keep on your toes
We're about to strike
Everybody knows
Just tell your friends
The USSR
We're gonna crash that party
'Cause they've gone too far!
Gotta love ol' Sammy. I understand he makes some damned fine tequila, too.
LOL I'd like to hear what ol' Billy Milano from the Stormtroopers of Death has to say about the War on Terror, after hearing his old song, "F**k The Middle East".
Ever heard Slayer's song "Dittohead"? Harsh, man. Re-e-e-eal harsh.
Also, I listen to "War Ensemble" and "Bitter Peace" while raining fire and death on my enemies in my war games. LOL Good times.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.