New Single!: Run Of The Mill Punk Rock Song

wredfright · Run Of The Mill Punk Rock Song

I went and saw a friend of mine's band play this summer.  It was a punk show, and some touring bands were on the bill.  You could pick out whom they were because they were all wearing facemasks.  It's pretty obvious the masks don't work to prevent transmission of respiratory viruses at this point, no matter what the "experts" say, by just cross-referencing case rates and mask mandates, but at this point the people wearing them are doing some sort of hygiene theater/religious ritual, so logic need not apply.  The oddest thing of seeing punk rockers believe the government when it was clear the government was full of shit was that the punk rockers all took off the masks to perform.  So apparently, the punk rockers not only believe the government's nonsense, but they believe their own nonsense as well, thinking that maybe the virus will be polite and not infect them when they're playing as opposed to when they're off-stage walking around at the show.  Even if you believed masks worked, why would you take the mask off in the same social setting?  And, if you don't believe masks work, why would you wear one when no one was making you wear one?

It was baffling.  When I was younger, punk rockers, despite the occasional lunkhead among them, tended to be brighter types who critically thought and called authority figures on their jive.  Today's punk rockers appear to be pretty dumb and just parrot the views of authority figures if it's the right sort of authority figure.  If that's the state of the subculture, then maybe it's time for punks to go the way of the zoot-suiters and beatniks.

Musically, it's the usual guitar, bass as keyboard, vocals, and drums, with singing through a harmonica being the odd musical aspect this time.  It was fun making this song, but I miss the old days when punk rock was cool.  Oh, well, there's always the Pistol tv show . . .  

Lyrics are below:

The punk band brought their own muzzles.
That they think they're still rebellious is quite a puzzle.
When the subculture is a half-century old, maybe it's time for a new one of your own.
Instead, today's punks are like yesterday's hippies, and all they do is just bitch and moan.
They're always lecturing me about how I'm going to give them a disease
and questioning those who question authority and anyone who just does as they please.
Roll over G.G. Allin and tell The Ramones the news.
What passes for punk today is a real snooze.

It's a run of the mill punk rock song.
But we're still going to sing along.

Here's your colour by numbers songbook.
Here's some anarchist Mad Libs for lyrics--take a look.
Don't forget the hair dye and Democratic Party talking points.
You'll need something to yap about when you're bored drinking forties and smoking joints.
And make sure you don't miss the reunion tour.
There's only one original member left, but who's keeping score?
And remember to buy the limited edition debut album reissue on colored vinyl.
Maybe you can use it to fill in the space you used to have your spine in.

Trust fund kids impersonate the American working class,
and the oldies radio station now plays The Clash.
Teens wear t-shirts of bands that broke up before their parents were born,
and this hand-me-down pop culture gets ever more torn and worn.
I guess an upper middle-class white person has to look strange to survive in the inner city,
but, you know, underneath the nose ring and tattoos, you're almost pretty.
I think if you were in a real riot, girl, you wouldn't think it was so much fun.
The new wave is old now; it can barely walk, much less run.

Jello Biafra turned down money from Levi's, but he'll shill for Big Pharma for free.
At least Johnny Rotten still pisses the right people off by loving Trump, I see.
Hey, let's support senior citizens who want to act like they're 17.
Try to do something original, and you'll get treated like the punks did in the 1970s.
And even Black Flag couldn't afford the cost of gas today.
So let's not get in the van.  We'll watch a punk documentary on Netflix, at home we stay.
I don't know what the government's done since Vietnam and Watergate to become so trusted,
but punks supporting a shitty status quo just makes me disgusted.

Thanks to The Tinnitist for his support of "Political Party B.Y.O.B."!

For more Wred Fright music, listen to the Yeast? 7"!