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[TommyGriswold]

"Rock Against Bush" For Sale at Fat Wreck Chords

An Article on the Album and Tour

On April 20th Fat Wreck Chords released "Rock Against Bush Vol. I". The album features anti-Bush songs by such popular punk rock bands as Sum 41, NOFX, The Alkaline Trio, and Anti-Flag. The album has 26 songs, 17 of which have not been released previously. If you have not heard of it before, I will tell you that its release has been highly anticipated. The idea is that ,along with the album and the tour, many young voters will be motivated to vote against Bush.

The Question: Could this album actually help Kerry or Nader? Is it not dangerous to our country (even if you agree with the message) for today's youth to receive political advice from admitted alcoholics and drug addicts. Wouldn't it be a shame if a young man or woman voted against a president just because they were told to by a rock star? Yes, some people are that easily manipulated. To those of you against Bush, is the vote all that matters in the end?

My Answer:
Personally, I think that it is very bad for America to have a bunch of rock stars, who most of which wake up daily with a hang over, become this involved in politics. Yes I know it is their right, but their is something wrong with it. Most of the song's lyrics go no deeper than "Bush is a moron who craves war" or "The economy sucks" (outdated argument ). This is surface politics. While informed citizens laugh at the bands' lack of credibility, young rock/punk rock fans hang on every word. I think before young voters buy this album and become anti-Bush they should listen to John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, or one of the many other outspoken democrat's professional reasons for disliking our president. As a republican, I do not respect most of those opinions but I still think they are more valuable to voters than Good Charlotte's or Sum 41's opinions.

The scary thing is that the album, along with the tour, could actually be beneficial to John Kerry. I know people, who will be eligible to vote next year, that are against Bush solely because of Incubus' song "Megalomaniac". That is ridiculous. The words to the song are "You're no Jesus, yeah you're no Elvis" and so forth. Rock stars have a powerful influence and I'm afraid young people will jump on the "I hate Bush because I don't like war" bandwagon. To me an uninformed vote for something right is something wrong, and in this case I happen to believe the album's message is far from right.

This post has been edited by TommyGriswold: Apr 29 2004, 12:50 AM