When the 2000s began, there was no indication that there would be a distinct shift in the overall tone of punk rock. The sound and lyrical styles of punk continued to fracture. Punk which grew within the mainstream tended to be referred to as ‘pop punk’ to emphasize the popular sound that was more adherent to catchy choruses and uplifting guitar riffs. Yet politically charged punk groups continued to release their music and generally go unnoticed with next to no recognition from those outside the punk circle. However, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, political punks would begin to shift their focus to the president George W. Bush and how he would respond to it with the Iraq War. This would be the primary point of contention that most punk bands felt with the president.
            Prior to the Iraq War however, Anti-Flag released a song immediately after the events of 9/11 titled “911 For Peace” and put it up for free on their website. The message of the song encapsulated their previously established anti-war stance as they wrote, “There needs to be a new way of thinking in this world which focuses on solving the world’s problems without blowing up or killing each other.”[1] The lyrics of the song continue the basic sentiments laid out in “A New Kind of Army” mentioned in the last section yet instead of refusing to fight for leaders of nations, it calls for the leaders themselves to not fight.[2]
            Justin Sane’s positive lyrics are sung in a more uplifting tone that tries to invoke empathy from the listener while trying to convince them that violence is not the answer to the events of 9/11. Towards the end of the song, a sound clip starts from Mart Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream,” speech which also invokes a sense of unity between peoples. Anti-Flag’s approach here is still within their traditional politics as shown previously as they emphasize the avoidance of war. Yet this was before George W. Bush had decided to respond with the military conflict in Iraq.
            Late in 2002, Mike Burkett of NOFX would launch the political activism site called Punk Voter. This website would be founded with the goal of trying to register punks go vote and to vote against George W. Bush. It would be the backbone for two Rock Against Bush tours and music compilations in 2004. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys would ultimately be members of the website along with a multitude of punk bands who would support the site or contribute to the tours and compilations.[3]
            NOFX had been political in the past but as shown in the last section, they were primarily not known for it. Yet in 2003 this would change as the band would release the album titled War on Errorism, as a direct comment on the Bush administration’s war on terror.  Even the album art would feature George W. Bush with clown make-up as featured below.[4] This imagery is important as it helped connect the band to the 1980s punk politics which focused on using Reagan as representative of the problems in society.
            The lyrical content of the album would comment on a variety of political issues and also include the goofy songs the band became known for. Although the politics did not mention George W. Bush by name, they criticize those who Burkett thinks voted for him. In the track, “Idiots Are Taking Over,” Burkett describes this scenario in which he claims he’s “starting to feel a lot like Charlton Heston / stranded on a primate planet.”[5] The song begins with a fast-paced bass line and maintains this energy throughout the majority of the song with Burkett yelling the lyrics over it. Towards the end it does slow down with a slow-paced ska section featuring clean chords and a funky bass line with the words song more pleasantly before jumping back up to the speed of the song.
            Although they did not comment on the Iraq War within this album, NOFX still voiced their disapproval of the president through what they perceived as his ineptitude. They did release a song that year that did criticize the war called “Glass War,” however it was used on a compilation for the Vans Warped Tour that year instead. Burkett spends the majority of the song mentioning reasons why he disapproves of the war and saying, “it’s a glass war.”[6]
            Anti-Flag would also shift their focus to primarily criticize George W. Bush. In 2003, the band would release an album called The Terror State, that would comment on the war and the politics of Bush in general. The cover sleeve of the album featured young girl in military garb holding a gun with the background of rubble. When the sleeve was removed, the same girl was on the ground with a visible red blood trail in the sand in contrast to the grayscale color of the rest of the art with the line “INNOCENCE IS THE FIRST CASUALTY.”[7]
            However, this cover was not available at chain retail stores and instead featured a blank black cover with the words, “Choices have been made for you by persons other than Anti-Flag and Fat Wreck Chords regarding the artwork of this release. Want to make the choice for yourself?” followed by a link to an article on their website. Despite this, the band’s songs were still filled with a political message that they felt was still important to get out. [8] True to their word, their lyrics would be quite subversive on this album as well as the song titles. The opening track of the album, “Turncoat,” has the band screaming the chorus of “you’re a killer! Liar! Thief!” about George W. Bush.[9] In the liner notes for the album the band explains how Bush fits the description for each of these unflattering nouns.[10]
            The song itself is slightly more poppy than their previous work with upbeat guitar leads and a catchy chorus. Overall this song is more mainstream friendly than their previous work. While the lyrics to this song focus on why they do not like Bush in general, other songs such as “Operation Iraqi Liberation (O.I.L.),” center this on their perceived irony of the war in Iraq. The song starts with a sound clip of George W. Bush playing muffled over the guitars. The song is faster than “Turncoat” and features Justin Sane screaming “to save you we may have to kill you / for freedom you may have to die.”[11]
            The war in Iraq and military response to 9/11 would be a pivotal point in punk discourse as evidenced by their lyrics. Jello Biafra would also voice his concerns over the response to 9/11 in his 2002 spoken word album. Titled Machine Gun in the Clown’s Hand, Biafra talks at length of his disapproval of the Bush administration’s military response to the terrorist attacks. Although prior to the war in Iraq beginning, Biafra discusses the prospect of it in addition to the U.S. troops and bombing in Afghanistan. At one point, he mentions the Bush “Axis of Evil” speech and discusses how it he believed it negatively affected the politics related to Iran, North Korea, and Iraq as argued it would have undone all efforts to seek solutions that did not involve war.[12]
            Yet before 9/11 happened, Biafra discussed the election of 2000 in a previous spoken word album that de-emphasized the threat of George W. Bush in office. Biafra devoted twenty minutes to his album Become the Media to discuss how he did not see the Democratic candidate as any better than Bush due to a host of reasons. At one point, he explains that he was just as terrified of Gore due to the religious fundamentalism of his vice president choice in Joe Lieberman.[13]
            Although these two examples from Biafra are not punk songs, they remain relevant due to his involvement in the Rock Against Bush movement in 2003-2004. His work from when he was in the Dead Kennedys and into Bush’s first term in 2000 primarily targeted those in power and criticized them. In his spoken word, Biafra would go into detail why he disliked their leadership and often mock them. He would also join the punk group The Melvins to release an album just prior to the 2004 election in which he would continue his lyrical tradition of deriding the establishment.
            Half of the songs on the album would comment directly on the War on Terror as the song above does. Here Biafra starts the song by thanking Osama Bin Laden as he sees the American government being able to profit from being able to increase spending on spying on its citizens thus lifting the country out of an economic drought.[14] While not as fast as the Dead Kennedys, the Melvins did have their own unique style of punk rock for this album that was still distinct from the pop punk sound.
            How punks reacted against Bush varied by band as they had different sounds and politics. Although they were listed as members for Punk Voter, the Suicide Machines did not contribute to the Rock Against Bush tours or music compilations but did create multiple songs criticizing Bush and in particular the Iraq War. Their 2003 track, “Your Silence,” comments on how they see the war is being fought for profit and oil. It is also much faster and more sonically similar to punk songs from the 1980s.[15]
            Another band which was featured as a member for Punk Voter that created political music outside of their involvement was Against Me. Although they did contribute to the Rock Against Bush compilations, their work prior emphasized political anarchy which was a staunch difference from Punk Voter which advocated for the political process. As evidenced by the song “Baby, I’m An Anarchist!” Laura Jane Grace sings about what separates her politics from that of liberals. Also noticeable is the audible differences in the song as Against Me was a folk punk band at the time.[16]
            Although they don't mention Bush in the song, it is still worth noting their roots just a year prior to their involvement in Punk Voter. Another anarchist band at the time, Leftöver Crack, would not be involved in Rock Against Bush but would criticize Bush and the Iraq War. Their 2004 album titled Fuck World Trade, features Bush, Dick Cheney, and Rudy Giuliani and a gas pump in the foreground of the twin towers on 9/11. While significantly more offensive than Anti-Flag’s The Terror State, Leftöver Crack made no attempts to censor their album in favor of increasing the spread of their music. While most of the album would focus on other political issues or just punk anthems, the track “Super Tuesday,” sets 9/11 within the context of the world’s struggles against their leaders and sees it as an opportunity to advance their anarchistic ideals. The song starts slow and eventually picks up about a minute in with fast guitar strumming and vocalist Stza’s droning voice sings the lyrics for the most part and speaks them during the middle of the track.[17]
            Even those on the popular side of punk like Green Day would voice their political positions. While they would be involved in Rock Against Bush and Punk Voter, Green Day saw a new form of success with their 2004 album, American Idiot, which won a Grammy for best rock album.[18] The title track from the album criticized the president as the “American Idiot.” Green Day maintained their poppy sound for this song which features a catchy chorus and upbeat guitars.[19]
            What is important to note that within the first half of this decade was how bands started to mention Bush specifically and use him as a representation of what they saw wrong in America. Until the Iraq War however, most punks did not really comment on his presidency outside of Jello Biafra who maintained his political spoken word throughout the 1990s. Even though they did not always mention Bush by name, punks began to either use sound clips of him or mention him in the liner notes of their albums. Mike Burkett’s Punk Voter website would ultimately create the Rock Against Bush tours that would fall in line with music compilations of the same name in 2004.

 

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