Let’s Rock
29 April 2006 by SeanAfter a long week of contention and silliness (mostly caused by me?)… We need some good old-fashioned atheist punk rock (or at least I do).
‘Nuff said.
Sorrow
[Bad Religion]
Father, can you hear me?
How have I let you down?
I curse the day that I was born,
And all the sorrow in the world…
Let me take you to the herding ground,
Where all good men are trampled down,
Just to settle a bet that could not be won,
Between a prideful father and his son.
Well you guard me now for I can’t see,
A reason for this suffering and this long misery.
What if every living soul could be upright and strong?
Well, then I do imagine there will be
Sorrow.
Yeah there will be
Sorrow .
And there will be
Sorrow, no more.
When all soldiers lay their weapons down,
Or when all kings and all queens relinquish their crown,
Or when the only true messiah rescues us from ourselves…
It’s easy to imagine there will be
Sorrow.
Yeah there will be
Sorrow .
And there will be
Sorrow, no more.
There will be
Sorrow.
Yeah there will be
Sorrow .
And there will be
Sorrow, no more.
29 April 2006, on 3:21 am
That’s not PUNK!!!!! Why is Americans think this is punk? It’s a watered down, AOR version of the Police. If I’m watching punk, I wanna see Swastikas, people fucked off their head on smack, loud noise with a vague hint of music, the band gobbing on the audience, people throwing objects at the band which have at least a small chance of causing the death of a band member… this is just a bunch of mildly angry, middle-class, white boys.
Rubbish. If you wanna do punk, I wanna see a serious attempt anarchy.
29 April 2006, on 6:54 am
That’s not PUNK!!!!!
Simon… I don’t particularly like swastikas, do you?
Punk has been around so long that there are many sub-genres of it, just like rock-and-roll, jazz and blues.
Bad Religion is one of the most respected punk bands in history and incredibly influential. They have been around for 26 years and have seen their trials and tribulations. To dismiss them as mildly angry middle-class white boys is hardly doing their career justice.
Greg Graffin is one of the most respected lyricists (and intellectuals) in all of rock music. His band is famous for its atheist stance — something that they have bravely taken on from the very beginning.
“Sorrow” emerged out of a more mature version of a band that has more than earned their chops to mess around with the genre and do more than just be stupid and “fucked off their heads on smack.”
At our age, Simon, we should be weary of the old debate as to whether a band has “sold out” or is “watered down” by actually getting a few more people to hear their music or by mixing genres and playing music that pleases themselves. What, since Bad Religion is middle-aged now they should crawl away and die? Or should they seek out violence on stage, even now that they have families? At 39 years old, I certainly wouldn’t. Do we want to limit music like punk to the young, dumb and full of cum?
It’s not far from the No True Scotsman argument. Who is to say what is punk — especially when dealing with a giant of the genre with Bad Religion’s reputation? They have more than been there and done that — been playing punk since you and are were kids, Simon.
Clearly, after 26 years Bad Religion can say that it has been around for most of punk history, had a major influence on the genre, and earned their place. Plus the fact that they have played much harder punk and many variations on the genre in their time. As a matter of fact, any band that has been around 26 years and are still sticking to a range from A to B are not worth my time.
29 April 2006, on 10:42 am
I’m a pansy, Counting Crows loving wuss boy, so I have nothing to contribute to this arugment. Just popping by to say I’ve been enjoying the reading of late and thanks!
29 April 2006, on 11:14 am
I’ve been a Bad Religion fan since ‘90, and they’ve definitely mellowed a bit since their early days. But their lyrics are just as sharp as they ever were.
The Answer, Flat Earth Society, No Direction, Faith Alone, Suffer, Fuck Armageddon This Is Hell… I could go on for a while.
29 April 2006, on 11:15 am
Sean, you should post the Bad Religion logo in this post as it’s appropriate on so many levels for this site.
29 April 2006, on 11:29 am
Anti-estab rock is always good.
29 April 2006, on 11:36 am
I do like swastikas. Two fingers presented proudly to the namby pamby pc lot. Because a symbol does not put people in concentration camps (or whatever it is we are under obligation to be disgusted by).
The Punk ethos is two fingers up to a hypocrytical society - be as rude and offensive and you possibly can. To what purpose? Because while society is trained to look horrified when discussing Nazis, they go round behaving like them anyway - the socially accepted version.
That what fucking Punk is about you total fucking twat. (I’m normally polite, but I’m just trying to get you into the picture).
Punk is not, and never has been, about boring, middle-aged men, singing plaintive, boring, rather cleverly crafted ballads. You nob head.
It’s about shocking the suburban net-curtain twitchers out of their comfort zone.
That’s why punks wore swastikas, because it’s too easy to ban a swastika to give people the impression your being ever so nice, meanwhile you’re napalming peasants in some country you don’t belong in.
D’you fucking get it now - twat face?
You are exactly the reason punk was invented in the first place.
“Oooh, I dont’ like swastikas, do you?”
What a dumb, moronic thing to say.
Take a look - there people not all that far away from Nazis running your country.
Don’t get clever, get fucking angry.
What happened to the revolution? I think Microsoft bought it.
29 April 2006, on 2:08 pm
Calm down, Simon. You’re pissing on the legacy of one of the great punk bands of all time. Is it my fault you don’t know who they are? As has been said, they have mellowed musically — they used to totally hardcore — but their message is still very intense and anti-establishment; it just appeals to their more mature minds in a different way. That’s what artists do when they get older. They become more sophisticated. I listen to plenty of loud, screaming, pissed of musicians all the time. That doesn’t mean I need to disrespect Bad Religion to do so. I posted this song because it has a message about the “Bad God” dilemma we discuss so often here.
What, should they stop playing music because they are older now? Should you just go climb under a rock because you are middle-aged? They have a duty as elders of their tribe to keep on keepin’ on, and to educate the young.
Did you invent punk rock? You’re 40 years old. These guys have been rocking since you were 14.
Even if you are being sarcastic, it’s pretty offensive to hear you suggest that I am the establishment that punk was created to piss off in the first place. I’ve been homeless in New York City. Have you? I lived in the Bowery, back when it was a dump, right next door to CBGBs — yes, the CBGBs, in its heyday. How fuckin’ punk do you wanna get? I have seen and experienced street violence, squatted in places illegally, and basically had about as intense an upbringing as anyone who would claim to be punk. Most of whom are usually spoiled white kids from the suburbs rebelling against their parents, which I never had the privilege of being anyway. I know, I see them all the time on the streets of Berkeley and in the Haight-Ashbury. The only thing punk about them is their clothes. They say things like “Spare a dollar so I can get fucked up?” They rush right home to mom and dad in the ‘burbs when they realize that they want braces on their teeth, after all.
And don’t make any claims about my political stance. I was in every damn protest agains this war. I spend hundreds of hours of my time working against this government in every legal way I can. Don’t lump me in with George Bush, you self-righteous British wanker. He’s not my fucking president. I worked my ass off with the skills I could apply to try and stop his election. Would you like it if I associated you with your leaders by default? Take a fuckin’ look, pussbag. Your leaders suck our Nazi leaders’ assholes and you take it up the ass from them for it and then your trains and buses get bombed.
Pretty offensive when I turn it on you, not knowing anything about you, huh? Fuck you, assclown.
And true Punks™ have never been about swastikas. You just betrayed how little you know about the history of punk. I have been at punk parties where the rallying call of the evening was always “Let’s get wasted and go fuck up some skinheads!” Get a clue:
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/03/149238_comment.php
The Daily Bulletin, a local San Bernardino newspaper, published a report that shed some light on the matter. Staff writers Selicia Kennedy-Ross and Gina Tenorio reported that “Several people said fighting broke out after a group of skinheads began shouting ‘White Power’ during the concert.”
Punk rockers have historically opposed fascist groups and their ideology, from the 1977 UK “Rock Against Racism” concerts played by the Clash and other punks, to the present day efforts of a whole new crop of anti-racist/anti-fascist bands like Total Chaos and Naked Aggression (who appeared at the British Invasion 2k6 concert.) Back in the 1980’s the Dead Kennedys wrote “Nazi Punks F**k Off,” a song addressing the problem of fascists attempting to infiltrate the punk movement, and the problem persists today.
And saying that I’m not angry enough at the establishment? Ha! Haven’t read much on this site, have you? That Bugs Bunny line comes to mind: “He don’t know me vewy well, do he?”
“I do like swastikas. Two fingers presented proudly to the namby pamby pc lot. ” Now that’s a fuckin’ moronic thing to say. A swastika does not mean two fingers in the air, you know that, don’t you? Also, I bet your grandparents just adored swastikas, too — that and the Blitzkrieg. Dumbass.
Thank goodness I am not any angrier, and also that I know where to channel the anger I do have. When you get older you tend to want to stay out of jail for the sake of your loved ones.
29 April 2006, on 2:37 pm
duquesne_pdx Says:
April 29th, 2006 at 11:15 am e
Sean, you should post the Bad Religion logo in this post as it’s appropriate on so many levels for this site.
I did in an earlier post:
http://gods4suckers.net/archives/2006/04/16/when-will-it-all-end/
But I think you mean this more obvious classic one:
http://www.barks.jp/image/shop/product/1000000043/product.jpg
29 April 2006, on 2:48 pm
Sean:
Back in the 1980’s the Dead Kennedys wrote “Nazi Punks F**k Off,”
Hey, there’s a band who will never be slated to play at the White House, ey?
29 April 2006, on 10:39 pm
# Mike Says:
April 29th, 2006 at 10:42 am e
I’m a pansy, Counting Crows loving wuss boy, so I have nothing to contribute to this arugment. Just popping by to say I’ve been enjoying the reading of late and thanks!
Thanks, Mike. Counting Crows are cool, too.
30 April 2006, on 2:38 am
fuck it all mothers dont need no fucking swatizkas to be punk shit bad religion is more punk then all this spiked hair and bull shit greenday crap get a punk rock education pick up some siouxsie sue some newyork dolls and shit thats punk and fucking A
bad religion fills that category they will stand up for there atheism and loudly declare it not hide behind some cloak of no comment and no contersvy just like the real punk bands they make there own rules there own music
30 April 2006, on 2:49 am
Preach it udonman!
Who-da thunk we had some passionate punkers here?
Fuck ya, Simon. Ya wanker!
1 May 2006, on 3:46 am
“Don’t lump me in with George Bush, you self-righteous British wanker.”
Now you’re getting into the wing of things! Keep it up, mate. Get angry.
Americans don’t know what punk is. Is that my fault? Just because some bad shit happened to you once doesn’t make you a punk, you fool. Just because you been on a nice rally against Bush doesn’t make you a punk.
Anarchy, mate. Punks know the system is fucked so don’t bother with it. They just try to offend and shock it as much as they can. I love that about them.
I didn’t actually say anything about you at all, apart from to throw a few insults to make my point.
“God save the Queen, and her fascist regime”
Yeah, punk got hijacked by the Nazis, who rather dimwittedly thought people wearing swastikas meant they were Hitler lovers. Not known for their subtlety.
Glad to see you’re all getting angry. That’s the whole point.
You cock suckers.
;
1 May 2006, on 3:47 am
By the way - love the site.
(but don’t let that stop you being angry, now)
1 May 2006, on 7:31 am
Thanks, Simon. You’re still a fuckin’ idiot for wanting people to wear swastikas.
Fuckin’ wanker.
And once again: “Americans don’t know what punk is.” There you go again with your bullshit after I OWNED you in sheer knowledge of punk history.
Fuck you. We invented blues, jazz and rock. Your lame-ass interpretations of them have always been reclaimed and perfected by US. Just because you’re still stupid enough to still have a fuckin’ Queen doesn’t mean you can blame us for your endless self-emasculation.
There, is that angry enough? Stop with the “Americans this and that” shit. I’m not a nationalist, but I don’t like sweeping prejudice, either. You don’t know shit about us if you’re gonna make statements like that, and yes, “because some bad shit happened to you once doesn’t make you a punk, you fool” — what the fuck makes you a punk, asshole? Because you don’t know what a swastika is? Dumb is also punk?
Come on over to East New York or West Oakland or East L.A. with me sometime from your little country chalet at Stratford-on-Avon, and we will see who is a punk, you Limey motherfucker. I’ve been to your country. You’re not “hard” or “tough”. You’d be shot dead in no time if you didn’t have my street-smart ass to back you up. In fact: I challenge you. I’ll live for a week in the worst fuckin’ neighborhood you have to offer, and you just live for a week where I do in San Franciso’s Mission District, and we’ll see who fares better, tough boy.
I’m also Irish, so you and Oliver Cromwell can suck my cock.
There, is THAT angry enough for you, you arrogant little, semi-literate British piece of shite?
Oh, and I never said I was punk, anyway. I listen to it. I’m a little more sophisticated than someone who would walk around in middle age and call themselves a punk. What I found offensive were your statements suggesting that I am some white boy child of privilege who doesn’t know anything about the corruption of his own government. You don’t know shit about me and that was completely incorrect, uncalled for, and downright nasty. So that you can shove up your well-travelled hole as well.
Glad you enjoy the site, fuckhead. That doesn’t excuse you from repeatedly hurling insults at me because I posted a song by a band you don’t know anything about.
1 May 2006, on 7:56 am
By the way, I have had many close friends who are Brits and do so even now. So sorry for hurling the insults in that regard, but I wanted you to get a taste of your own medicine. Stop bringing up the fact that I am American as if that gives you some one-up, cuz it doesn’t even in regards to punk rock, fool. Argue with me on your knowledge of punk and I will take you down over and over… That’s the only basis of an argument I will respect, not any stupid bigotry.
Still, glad you love the site!
Fuck you, wanker.
Peace.
1 May 2006, on 11:41 am
Um, well that was crappy.
May I suggest another atheist badn for your enjoyment. Tis Eugene Oregon’s The Athiarchists.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=17205105
1 May 2006, on 11:54 am
Another idiot who doesn’t know Bad Religion.
Fuck you all. I have taken enough shit over the past two weeks to argue musical taste with you. Eat me. Bad Religion is the ORIGINAL atheist band, so fuck off.
1 May 2006, on 4:55 pm
true srs interwebz punk, Sean.
2 May 2006, on 5:51 am
Athiarchists. looked at there site pussy ass soft core want to be metal and want to be punk thrown in a blender and hit purried till nothing could be called what it is crap it sounds like they dont know what the hell they want to be but shit at least they arent greenday
shit to tell you the truth man the real punk bands all have said they ddint want to be called punk and if you dont know why well you arent punk ( its the bitch in the shower in prison )
7 May 2006, on 6:41 am
Good angry. But you’re pointing it in the wrong direction.
Irish Twat.
7 May 2006, on 12:12 pm
Fuckin’ Limey piece of shit.
14 November 2006, on 9:07 pm
ok just stop! Oi and punk are two completely differnt things. they may sound similar but have completely differnt meanings or reasons for being. Oi was created by skinhead idiots. The music is about hate and racism and violence. Skinheads once stood for the English working class. Punk is about not working and being different and basically following your own rules. Punk has nothing to do with swasticas or anything dealing with skinheads, thats oi. and if you get the 2 confused you are just an idiot.