FAVORITE POLITICAL RECORDS: MUSICIANS TAKE THEIR PICKS; By Mike Woliansky

JOE MCMAHON - Smoke Or Fire (Fat Wreck Chords), PUBLIC ENEMY – APOCALYPSE 91… THE ENEMY STRIKES BACK (DEF JAM, 1991) When I was 12, a kid in my class made me a tape of this. It was the first album I heard that talked about crime, poverty, drug use, racism, and class struggle. It also discussed the media and their role in how facts are reported and sometimes distorted. Most of these ideas were very new to me, and I was too young to understand all of it at first. Besides the content, it was the passion and the execution that made me fall in love with Public Enemy. Chuck D is a lyrical genius and, to this day, Public Enemy is still one of the biggest reasons I got into punk rock.

JT HABERSAAT - Punk Rock Comedian, SLEATER-KINNEY - CALL THE DOCTOR (CHAINSAW, 1996) The thing I've always loved about Sleater-Kinney is the fact that they never wore their political leanings on their sleeve in an obvious sense. Journalists bugged them about it all the time, too, saying, ‘Don't you think you should be more political in your songs?' I was always thinking, 'Well, you obviously didn't listen to the fucking record pal....' The hipsters like to namedrop Dig Me Out as the definitive Sleater-Kinney album, but Call the Doctor packs a serious punch to the gut in the realm of sexual politics (from the wife-as-property lament of “Taking Me Home” to the teenage virgin/whore paradox of “I'm Not Waiting”), and had more impact on my outlook than a stack of sociology textbooks and the Lifetime channel combined.

TIM MCILRATH - Rise Against (Geffen), MINOR THREAT – SELF-TITLED EP (DISCHORD, 1981) Listening to Minor Threat isn't overtly political. It's more about the politics of the scene, but at the same time about human nature. I took a lot away from that, and it was one of the first things that I could relate to. Punk of the day was very chaotic and nihilistic, and Minor Threat did something different. They didn't want to be a part of the junkie punk scene. That spoke volumes to me.

TOM RHEAULT - No Trigger (Nitro), PROPAGANDHI – HOW TO CLEAN EVERYTHING (FAT WRECK CHORDS, 1993) Some friends and I went camping in New Hampshire one weekend in 1998, and we stopped to get food and there was a record store near the market, so I went in and bought a few CDs. One of them was Propagandhi’s How to Clean Everything. We played that record so fucking loud all weekend that it really pissed off the people in tents nearby, but that CD was the first that made me realize how much I connected with political punk and progressive music in general.

JOEY BURNS - Calexico (Touch & Go), MINUTEMEN - DOUBLE NICKELS ON THE DIME (SST, 1984) D. Boon, Mike Watt, and George Hurley pumped out this fiery album in 1984 during the Reagan era that set the bar high for any and all putting out albums around that time. I was living not far from their hometown of San Pedro, CA when this classic was released. The Minutemen were honest and true, sang from their hearts, and touched on all sorts of themes. To see them live was incredible, their energy and precision were awe-inspiring. Besides writing historical critiques of foreign policy in songs like “Viet Nam," “West Germany,” and “Untitled Song for Latin America,” The Minutemen delved into blue collar introspection and the existential politics of self. Musically this album is all over the map, from free jazz and punk to folk traditions and other experimental sounds. D. Boon passed away in a car accident outside of Tucson, AZ in December 1985. His and the rest of The Minutemen have inspired our songwriting in a huge way and we can only hope to spread the word about this band wherever we tour.

MIKE MCCOLGAN - Street Dogs (Hellcat Records), THE CLASH – LONDON CALLING (CBS/EPIC, 1979) The Clash was a wakeup call to question abuse and question authority. The late, great Joe Strummer once said "there is no inherent wisdom grounded in authority." London Calling was not only a salvo and wake up call to London and the world at large, but it also served notice that the Clash would be the new torchbearers and leaders of punk and rock and roll. They touched on the fear of nuclear proliferation, worker injustice, political apathy, and a growing cocaine drug culture in Europe and throughout the world. They are and always will be the primary influence and inspiration for me as a writer and artist.

MIKE SKI - The AKA’s (Fueled By Ramen), CONSOLIDATED - PLAY MORE MUSIC (NETTWERK, 1992) After having engulfed myself in the underworld of hardcore and punk politics and the easy accessibility of information through shows, ‘zines, and bands, I was so engrossed that I didn't see the big picture of how music and politics played together. At a friend's request, I picked up this album in the early ‘90s. Consolidated is probably most accurately classified as “industrial" and partially hip-hop inspired. This album is a collection of songs with much of the lyrical content derived from inviting show-goers on stage at their shows and giving them the opportunity to speak their mind. It’s both funny and horrifying to hear the drunken rantings of jock-minded moshers, but this album provides a forum for discussion and debate that is missing from political music today. It’s important for people to have a chance to consider issues for themselves and act on them for the right reasons, and that’s something I try to remember when writing lyrics and attacking issues through my own band. Fans of early Public Enemy will love this album.

DAN YEMIN - Paint It Black (Jade Tree Records), DOWNCAST – 7” (EBULLITION, 1990) My first thought was Youth of Today’s We’re Not in This Alone. It’s not a very political record, per se, but it had a huge impact on me as far as veganism and vegetarianism. And aside for records like The Clash’s London Calling and Propagandhi’s Less Talk, More Rock, both of which had a huge impact on me,I’d have to say Downcast’s first  7” on Ebullition records had a big effect on me. Downcast really kicked off the whole idea of including explanations along with the lyrics in the insert. Before then, political punk and American hardcore in general had been so blunt that the songs didn’t really warrant it. But they were setting a new example for the importance of hardcore to be political, setting a new standard for being accountable for the content of your music, and connecting more directly with their audience. The funny thing is, I don’t remember the exact content on the songs now, but they were pissed and political and the explanations helped to bridge that gap between people producing and consuming culture that existed in rock music up until that point. Since then I’ve struggled with explaining lyrics, especially with Paint It Black. With the first record, I put explanations of the songs on the website. As a lyricist, you’re operating with a narrow set of parameters, and political ideas often warrant a greater depth than song structure can provide. Since the first record, I’ve been hesitant to include explanations as to not narrow the appeal or interpretation of the songs. I respect the intelligence of the average punk and hardcore kid, and I don’t want to spoon-feed them. I want people to be able to project their own meanings and take away their own thing from each song. Recently I’ve been working on a way to post fans interpretations of the songs through the blog, further continuing to bring that gap between people producing and consuming culture. There are also bands like Los Crudos and Propagandhi who both came out in the context of their songs—actually I think Martin from Los Crudos started coming out at live shows—and I thought that was really brave. Fighting to create a space for sexual minorities in punk and hardcore took guts, and I have a lot of admiration for the impact they had by coming out.

LOUIS POSEN - Sub City Records, As far back as I can remember music has played a role in paving the way for the
purposes, passions, and people in my life and at our company. Records like Bad Religion's Suffer, the Ramones S/T and The Clash’s London Calling all inspired me to take action in my life. I could also say records like the Beatles’ Abbey Road, Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ Hard Promises, and The Smiths’ Louder than Bombs did the same thing. These artists and many others continue to inspire me in life to be active and conscious. Hopeless/Sub-City and I have always stood for making a positive impact—one voice and one action at a time—but have avoided taking a side or telling people what is right and wrong. There clearly is a need for social justice, political action, and other what you might call more divisive causes in which one must choose sides. However, we feel our role is to make sure people realize that they can make a difference in whatever cause they are passionate about by being inspired, conscious, and taking action and doing something about the issues they seek to address.

AARON HARRIS - Attica! Attica! (Red Leader Records), MIDNIGHT OIL - RED SAILS IN THE SUNSET (SPRINT MUSIC/WARNER BROS., 1984) Midnight Oil seduced me with their surprising combination of melodic alt-rock and impassioned lyrical advocacy for aboriginal rights and environmental justice. The band also used its global popularity to promote activism, which I found very inspiring. Of the band's many albums, Red Sails in the Sunset hit me the hardest, with its intriguing musical arrangements and the scathing lyrical simplicity of lines like, "Who can stand in the way / When there's a dollar to be made?"

BRIAN DOUGHERTY - Giving Chase (Jump Start Records), THE WEAKERTHANS - LEFT AND LEAVING (G7 WELCOMING COMMITTEE, 2000) John K. Sampson went from Propagandhi, a politically-charged punk rock outfit, to fronting the insightful and imaginative The Weakerthans. “Pamphleteer” is a first-person tale of struggling with the familiar difficulties of trying to spread a message that people just brush off, yet stating that there's "no surrender, no defeat." For me, this song brings an empathetic reassurance—to be politically involved doesn't always require you to scream for attention, no matter how much screaming might help.

SCOTT STURGEON - LeftOver Crack (Fat Wreck Chords) , CRASS – PENIS ENVY (CRASS, 1981) Besides being Crass' best record musically, Penis Envy informed so many people about the politics of sexism that still perpetuates misogyny around the world. It's definitely the record that most Crass fans agree to be their best (along with The Feeding of the 5000) and the record that non-Crass fans sight as their only decent record. This record came into my life when I was about 15 years old, which is a very impressionable time for most youths, especially males that are thinking about sex almost constantly. It completely informed my attitudes and ideas about sex and the sexual relationships between men and women in a way that has never really changed ever since. I think the idea for the men of Crass to step back completely and have the women write and sing all of the vocals was ingenious and generations of males like myself, that spent many of their formative years thinking strictly with their penises, have benefited undoubtedly. To this day, I still view my relationships, interactions, and any songwriting that involves women through the non-comparable filter that is Penis Envy, and it has made me a much better person..

TONY BARKER - The T4 Project/Buzzcocks, TOM ROBINSON BAND – POWER IN THE DARKNESS (HARVEST/CAPITOL, 1978) I find it incredible that Tom Robinson Band are nowhere on this list. He was the best lyricist, politically, of the last 30 years. Even Billy Bragg and Elvis Costello and The Clash would testify to that! Having a hit single with a song called “Glad to Be Gay” at a time when homosexuality was still officially classed as a disease by the World Health Organization is what “sticking your neck out” is all about in popular culture.