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68 of 76 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Politics or No Politics, its Just Plain GOOD, June 17, 2004
This review is from: Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)
This is a really really good album. Im saying that to the people who may be turned off by its political leanings. People, this isnt just some Bush-hatefest put to music, not at all. Most of these songs have a message of some kind, some more vauge than others, but for the most part its pretty soft. And above all else the music just plain rocks. There isnt a bad track on this compilation. They all sound great, and with 26 different bands you can listen to it again and again and not get bored with it. Its awesome. Now to breakdown the tracks: 1. None More Black - Nothing To Do When Your Caught in a Vacancy: 8/10 Pay no attnetion to the titles of half of these tracks, most of them have little to do with the lyrics.
2. Sum 41 - Moron: 7/10 Ive always been a little turned off to Sum 41 because they are so mainstream, but they earn points for a good effort here.
3. Alkaline Trio - Warbrain: 9/10 Great song. These guys have great sound and good vocals.
4. Epoxies - Need More Time: 9/10 I really like this song, but its not your run-of-the-mill punk track at all, so some people might not care for it. Its got keyboards and a steady syth line throughout thats kind of 80s/new wave sounding, but its got fast beat and great vocals (female singer) and good lyrics too.
5. Anti-Flag - The School of Assassins: 9/10 This song rocks. Great lyrics, great backup and beat. The clips they play between verses are kind of weird though.
6. Against Me! - Sink, Florida, Sink (Electric): 8/10 Good song.
7. The Offspring - Baghdad: 9/10 I usually dont care for Offspring because they are such sellouts, but they score big points for contributing to this CD, and the song they play is badass so Ive gotta give it to em.
8. The Get Up Kids - Lion and the Lamb: 8/10 Kind of slow but good beat, good vocals, and good piano that make for a great sound.
9. Rise Against - Give It All: 7/10
10. Ministry - No W: 8/10 The vocals are kind of crappy, but the soundbites from Dubya make this song fun to listen to, and the music rocks.
11. Descendents - Sad State of Affairs: 9/10 Love the Descendents. They give a great effort in this song, though the lyrics arent anything to write home about.
12. Authority Zero - Revolution: 8/10 Great song, good lyrics, and rockin sound.
13. The Soviettes: Paranoia! Cha-Cha-Cha: 9/10 Kind of pop sounding, but thats just because the girls that sing sound so much like Save Ferris (only without the horns). Also really catchy and fun.
14. Jello Biafra with DOA - Thats Progress: 10/10 Im a sucker for Jello so the rating is kind of biased, but its great to hear him with a great band like DOA. Great lyrics, which is to be expected and though DOA arent DK they do a good enough job to compliment Jello's vocals and energy.
15. RX Bandits - Overcome (The Recapitulation) 7/10: Is that Sublime? No, but it sure sounds like it. This is the longest song on the album, it starts out slow sounding like reggae but it picks up and gets better. Good lyrics. 16. Strung Out - No Voice of Mine 8/10 Good lyrics.
17. Strike Anywhere - To the World: 9/10 Fast, angry, and hardcore sound with great lyrics.
18. The Ataris - Heaven is Falling: 10/10 This is a cover of a Bad Religion song about the first gulf war. I like this cover which says a lot because I usually hate cover songs. But they play is acoustic and slower than the original which sounds really good. And the lead singer of the Ataris has a lot better voice than Greg Graffin thats for sure. Still not as good as the original but a great effort.
19. Pennywise - God Save the USA: 9/10 Ok we all know Pennywise could have used any of their songs on this CD ok, and they all would have fit right in. But the song is still great. Great lyrics.
20. Denali - Normal Days: 11/10 The best track on the CD. Ironic because its the least political of them all but that doesnt matter. Maura Davis has the finest voice I have ever heard. Best vocals ever! Gwen Stefani can eat her dust. To compliment her amazing vocals you have a keyboard line and guitars that mesh together in a way that I just cant describe. Awesome, simply awesome. I get chills just listening to this song.
21. The World/Inferno Friendship Society - The Expatriate Act: 8/10 Good lyrics, great backup. All around good song.
22. New Found Glory - No News is Good News: 7/10 Another band thats too popular so my taste, but still a good effort here.
23. The Frisk - Basket of Snakes: 9/10 Good hardcore sound, fast and angry. Good catchy chorus.
24. NOFX - Jaw, Knee, Music: 7/10 I find this track confusing. NOFX can be as politcal as anybody and make it work, I mean this whole thing was Fat Mike's baby. But they give us this track thats got nothing to say whatsoever. It would be good if it were on one of their other albums and all but for this I expected more. They should have contributed "Idiot Son of an A$$hole" instead.
25. Social Distortion - Its the Law: 9/10 Love Social D. Great song, catchy too
26. Less Than Jake with Billy Bragg - The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out: 9/10 This should be 10/10 because its LTJ, a great great band playing a great song with good lyrics with their typical ska sound that I know I love, but Billy Bragg's vocals bring it down I think. He's just not that good IMO. Well thats it, hope this was helpful.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
respectable for it's efforts, May 2, 2004
This review is from: Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)
Ok. I'm a community college professor pushing 30 and my punk rock days are long behind me, but I picked this up out of curiosity and it's an interesting listen for 8$ ... Though I wouldn't take all the punk rock piss and vinegar here "religiously", I do think this is a positive and respectable project. Fat Mike used to make some lyrically dumb music in his early career so I never took him super seriously, but now he's bringing together a young sub-culture to positively attempt social change. 4 stars for trying! Good! *somewhere in the US, government agents are likely analyzing NOFX lyrics to determine their threat to world security... what a funny thought.
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Let's focus on the music!, May 31, 2004
This review is from: Rock Against Bush, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)
I am going to refrain from any of the liberal vs. conservative sniping that some other reviewers seem to enjoy. I agree with the CD's message, but I'm going to rate the songs focusing more on musical merit than on the message conveyed therein. I am also going to refrain from the "Sellout! Sellout!" comments that clutter many of the reviews. So, without further ado, the songs: 1. None More Black-Nothing To Do When You're Locked In A Vacancy: 7.5/10. A good song, nice guitars, but it suffers in comparison with some of the other songs on this album.
2. Sum 41-Moron: 7/10. Nice song about being unable to feel what's going on in the world, but the Descendants do the same thing much better.
3. Alkaline Trio-Warbrain: 11/10. My favorite song of all time. Everything is great: vocals, lyrics, guitar, bass, drums...this song is reason enough to buy the album.
4. Epoxies-Need More Time: 8/10. The vocals are nice, but it loses a point for sounding a bit too techno for my taste.
5. Anti-Flag-The School Of Assassins: 10/10. A really cool song that makes you think, if you care about people in other countries.
6. Against Me!-Sink, Florida, Sink!: 8/10. A very funny song with good vocals and guitar.
7. The Offspring-Baghdad: 10/10. A great song about the cost of war, with nice lyrics and Middle-Eastern sounding instrumentation.
8. The Get Up Kids-Lion And The Lamb: 10/10. Another song about war, this one's incredibly harmonious and melodic.
9. Rise Against-Give It All: 9.5/10. A song about the soldiers who fight our wars that doesn't condemn the war but rather honors the soldiers.
10. Ministry-No W: 8.5/10. Great lyrics, but how much you like this one depends on how much you like heavy metal.
11. Descendants-Sad State Of Affairs: 10/10. An incredible song about how some people just don't care about anything but themselves.
12. Autority Zero-Revolution: 10/10. Great song, great message: "If you want to make a difference, get off your duff and do something about it!"
13. The Soviettes-Paranoia! Cha-Cha-Cha!. 10/10: A really cool song about not being decieved by propaganda, with a great chorus.
14. Jello Biafra with D.O.A.-That's Progress: 10/10. Well, what else would you expect from Jello? The lyrics are the best part of this one.
15. RX Bandits-Overcome: 8.5/10. A strange hybrid of reggae and punk, it starts out kind of weak but gets progressively better.
16. Strung Out-No Voice Of Mine: 10/10. A song about how important it is to think for yourself with some really great hooks and amazing vocals.
17. Strike Anywhere-To The World: 10/10. A great song about how our humanity transcends race, religion or nationality. Great contrast betwen the two singers.
18. The Ataris-Heaven Is Falling: 10/10. The Ataris' sound, Kris Roe's voice, plus a Bad Religion song, and how can it not be incredible?
19. Pennywise-God Save The USA: 10/10. Dark, cynical, angry...perfect! The most violently liberal song on here, so I really like it!
20. Denali-Normal Days: 8.5/10. Really melodic, but also very wierd. My taste runs harder, but still good music.
21. The World/Inferno Friendship Society-The Expatriate Act: 10/10. Best described as poetry set to music, the most literate song on this comp.
22. New Found Glory-No News Is Good News: 9.5/10. A song about how the media tries to control the people through fear. Very melodic.
23. The Frisk-Basket Of Snakes: 8/10. I'm not sure what this has to do with protesting against Bush. Good song, but kind of out of place.
24. NOFX-Jaw, Knee, Music: 10/10. This song opens with a truly killer bass solo. I think it's adout a soldier in the Middle East.
25. Social Distortion-It's The Law: 9/10. A song about our prison system. Great chorus.
26. Less Than Jake featuring Billy Bragg-The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out: 8.5/10. Another one that doesn't seem to fit. Good song nonetheless.
And there you have it: a great album for a great cause. Overall: 9.5
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