It’s no secret that I like punk music. And for as long as I’ve been listening to punk music these guys have been one of my favorite bands. They don’t release albums every year. Usually, there is such a time gap between albums that many people think they have broken up. But no, they are in it for the long haul and are still producing. And after 9 years of producing albums, they still haven’t gone mainstream.
If you check out their discography, you will notice that they released albums on NOFX frontman’s label Fat Wreck Chords up until their ’05 release, Potemkin City Limits. They refused to release any more records with Fat Mike because of his contributions to the Democratic Party which they saw as being against their own best interests.
Frontman Chris Hannah was also voted the 2nd Worst Canadian.
A couple of years ago, during their Supporting Caste tour, Sir Gurr and myself ventured to Las Vegas and were treated to a small show in a strip mall next to a chop shop. There were maybe 75 people there. There really wasn’t much of a pit as most of the concernt attendees were either under 16 or way too old to be moshing. There were a lot of vegans and I overheard a few people note that they hadn’t known who they were until they were invited to the concert by a friend.
There were also a few kids that could sing every single word to every song they played that night and gave me hope for humanity.
As I have made abundantly clear in other arenas, they released a new album a couple of weeks ago. It wasn’t until this morning that I really heard the words to the song above. Ironically, I was driving my car to get coffee when it hit me what the song was about.
Ride fucking free, forty below, it’s the car that kills the punk. Pedal for momentum, feel the fucking vibe, blaze through traffic, burn the red, push my luck. There’s not much I need, I ride a single speed, my torque and mitts protect me from the freeze. Hadron Collision. I’m ripping through a cloud of exhaust. A fucking conniption, in their cages on wheels they fucking rot. And I might be trapped in a world going backwards but nothing’s in vain – right now I’m happy just to clog up your lane.
Yup, he’s screaming about riding his bike. I’ve thought it many times and said it on occasion, but there is nothing more punk than riding your bike.
Whether it is a conscious decision or not, every time you ride your bike instead of driving your car, you are giving a big middle finger to the status quo. DIY ethos and all, there you go pedaling your way toward revolution.
A few days after releasing their new album, Failed States, they posted this on their Facebook page,
Well, Propagandhi drummer, Jordy-boy, got hit by a car while riding his bike two days ago. His bike is now crooked but he’s ready to rock in Halifax N.S. this weekend!! HADRON COLLISION!!!!!!!!
Apparently they use the same keyboard as Prattipus.
Now I’m off to celebrate the freedom and independence of the bicycle by attending the trade show, Interbike and have the very soul sucked out of my life. If I see anything interesting I promise to take photos and post them somewhere that you can all see. Mostly, I promise to not be able to remember most of it.
I would also like to remind all of the three of you that read this, that we will be enjoying some autumnal goodness next month by pedaling the Virgin River Rim Trail. The trail isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination but it is well worth the trip. Even if the leaves have already fallen off, there is nothing better than riding your bike in crisp fall weather.
Now, I think I will go clog up some lanes…
P. L. and R.