Sunday, January 25, 2009

Song Of The Week: "Oilocracy"

I hope you'll humor me once more with this final celebratory send-off post for the Bushocracy. The occasion also gives me an excuse to post an excellent track by one of the best contemporary hardcore bands in the world: To What End?. It's as if this band read my mind about what kind of elements I like in my hardcore before they wrote their songs. Of course that's not the case, but I feel like these are the songs the band I don't have should have written a long time ago. If you like your hardcore simple and crude, you may have some difficulty with the guitar melody that seeps through at times, and the dissonance that sneaks up behind you now and again to tickle the hairs on your neck. But, really, I can't see how anyone could not like this band! Lyrically, these Swedes also put many American bands to shame with some pretty insightful and poignant rants in both Swedish and English. "Oilocracy" is my favorite case in point, exposing the nerves of one the most ghastly paradoxes of warfare (especially the modern strain):

What was that?
What do I know?
Maybe a smartbomb
Missing its target
Killing a tall man
At a wedding

Thicker than blood
Darker than night
The purpose beyond
A reason to kill

To war again
In boots and hats
a crusading clown
Throwing burgers to corpses
Hollywood war
Entertaining death

(repeat chorus)

Bye darling, I'm off
Another day at work
Dropping bombs somewhere
Watch TV have a beer
Kissing wife at night
Killing kids, raising kids
All in one day

To What End? have released two full lengths, a 7", and a split 7" with Witch Hunt. "The Purpose Beyond" is slightly the better of the LPs, but what "Concealed Below The Surface" lacks in songwriting is made up for in heaviness. Great band; support them if you have the means.

"Oilocracy"

4 comments:

Chairmaker said...

I wasn't able to dl the song (bandwidth limit exceeded or something)
, but I like what I heard on their myspace. I like my hardcore with some accents and flourishes.

"I hope you'll humor me once more with this final celebratory send-off post for the Bushocracy"

You should probably milk it. Events in politics which one can feel pure and unalloyed pleasure in are few and far between, but the disappearance of the chimperor & his team of incompetents from the national stage has to be one of them.

Batguano said...

Damn you filepub! The last time this bandwidth thing happened, it resolved itself about a day later. On behalf of filepub, sorry :( Definitely check out TWE's stuff, though.

He, he. Chimperor. I always thought he looked rather simian...

Anonymous said...

Day two still problems with your bandwidth bro, have to take your word for it which I usually do.

Have to agree with Chairmaker about "the disappearance of the chimperor & his team of incompetents". All this talk about war and big business that so many bands have been talking about for so many years, was profoundly exemplified during this administration. The sad thing is that in this country so many people eat that shit up while only just a few are left heaving it all back up. I think if there's one thing I would like to do is literally vomit on a politician. I share your hesitation with the new president, but can't help but be a bit hopeful as it was when Clinton replaced the first Bush.

On a side note Marc, I got the Dearborn SS 7" in the mail today thanx to you turning me onto that in the first place. If it wouldn't bum you out I may post it myself, but I will of course link everyone back to the almighty FE. let me know dude and thanx for doing what you do.

Batguano said...

Okay ya'll, I uploaded the track on another hosting site; I hope this one'll be less flakey...

Hey Justin... Like I said be before (somewhere), I'm trying real hard to be hopeful!

On that side note, I hope you'll post that 7" when you get a chance. As with all under appreciated music, the more people who get to experience the Dearborn goodness the better!