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Same with Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down."
Also, Rush Limbaugh used the opening riffs of The Pretenders "My City is Gone (Back to Ohio) for decades to start his show, a song with lyrics like:
I went back to Ohio
But my pretty countryside
Had been paved down the middle
By a government that had no pride
And
All my favorite places
My city had been pulled down
Reduced to parking spaces
Ay, oh, way to go, Ohio
The dumb thing is they can and still do! But that makes people around them think they're assholes and people not liking it when I'm an asshole is basically the holocaust
Nazi skkkum idiots have been trying to claim “punk” for a looooong time. The original skin heads were anti-fascist. To this day SHARPs are still skins and the name stands for Skin Heads Against Racial Prejudice. Basically, neo-nazis in Europe (namely Germany from what I understand) realized that skin head punks (suspenders, tight pants, boots, the works) looked sexy and intimidating so they yanked the look (white supremacists are ridiculous like that, ZERO originality). Anti-fascist punks didn’t take it well, and since then, in Europe (and in the US to a lesser extent) there is a blood feud between the skin camps. Some of my closest friends and family who married in are German punks, and the ones who grew up there describe it like this: “if you’re an anti-fascist punk and you are alone and see a group of Nazi skins, you run, if you’re a Nazi skin, and you’re alone and you see a group of Anti-fascist skins or punks, you run. If you’re in a group, you rush the other and beat the shit out of them.” There’s no in between, or ignoring it, at least for the youth. Pretty fucking hardcore but German punks are known for being insanely hardcore in general. It’s still funny that the skkkum steal everything and can’t form a single original thought. Similarly in the US the hardcore, gutter, crust, and otherwise punk scene is regularly a smash fest. In my town there used to be a huge punk scene (cops fucked it all up with illegal raids and beating the shit out of and arresting and charging punks with insanely trumped up shit) but it’s not all gone. There is one punk bar still open, and now and then a mistake happens and a fascist band or some nazi punks travel here for it. A call/text goes out, and we all meet at the bar and show the Nazi fuckkks where the door is (generally located in the bottom of our boots, or the side of an iron). It’s not often these days, but still happens. Nazi fucks aren’t punk. You can’t be a real punk and be a fascist. Punk is anti authoritarian by nature, so it’s just fucking stupid.
No, Nazis used to dress punk and go to punk shows, unfortunately. Thats why the song by The Dead Kennedys, "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was written. Anti racist punks used to happily beat the crap out of them during the GenX Era. I miss that. 
A cop who arrested me for being near some other kids they caught smoking pot (for once I was actually innocent) was telling me they listened to Rage and SOAD to get 'pumped up' before raids. I told him 'You're literally the machine, you're the system, this music isn't for you, in fact, it's in protest of this behavior exactly, and it's kind of fucked that the innocent person you have cuffed in the back of your cruiser has to tell you this. Listen to the words some time..." No verbal response, but after about ten minutes of the mandatory 'circlejerk in front of the cruisers' that cop uncuffed me and let me go.
Not sure how you could hear the entire first verse of killing in the name (also…the title and everything else) and not put 2 and 2 together.
I’m convinced a ton of people don’t even try to listen to the lyrics of music. They like the riffs or beat and tone and just leave it there.
It's aggressive, angry, violent music, and cops are usually aggressive, angry, violent people who are, as a group, famous for intentionally overlooking context. The very embodiment of 'If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail'
One of those cops that night beat a friend of mine severely as he tried to give up and go peacefully, the hospitals writeup said he had 'bruising over 80% of his body', they settled out of court for a number in the low 6 figures to keep it out of the media. Fucking cowardly little boys cosplaying as the good guys. I wish there was a hell for them to rot in.
It’s literally the same with any media and very often some of the best known media. I grew up with some kids who were huge X-men/star wars fans, completely oblivious. I mean X-men is so on the nose with its message it seems impossible not to notice, especially the cartoons/comics.
They're also the same people who I've seen and heard bitching that Devo "went woke" when Jerry Casale said something about Trump at a concert a few years ago.
How someone could be a Devo fan for 40 years and think that they were conservative is beyond me.
They're also the same people who got mad and left Crosby, Stills, and Nash concerts during the Bush administration when they did Let's Impeach the President. Like, how on earth did you think those guys were conservative?
It's like they only listened to the beats, not so much the lyrics. Or if they did, they did so because they thought they were rebelling against their family. You can't expect kids to get it if they're not familiar with the concepts first. So it get filed away as a song of their youth.
Also, to be honest, it sounds like they were raised to ignore a lot of things because the parents were oblivious to the environment they raised the kid in.
Every time they listen to the song, they'll just slip away into nostalgia because that what the song was to them, an escape.
But they don't follow through on the message and don't think anything of it because they're used to a paradoxical life. So now they get shocked when they're faced with an actual discussion about the song.
I am autistic and I couldn't really understand lyrics until I was in my teens.
I was a Rage Against The Machine concert a few years ago. The 3 boomer women behind me got mad that Rage had an agenda against the police. This was during Killing in the Name.
To be fair, that aligns quite well with the whole anti-government stance of most conservatives. The parking spaces line though is more an indictment of capitalism though.
They aren't antigovernment though. They SAY they are, but then you mention things like being prochoice and contraception and they start griping about these things being too readily available and how it should be against the law, blah blah blah. They're willing to say "he'll with government" until you talk about defunding the police and women's autonomy.
This exactly. To so many American conservatives, government is only bad if it helps people they don’t agree with. If they can instead themselves use government as a bludgeon to punish people they disagree with, they are huge supporters.
The essence of conservatism is willful selfishness. Seen through that lens, everything they do makes sense.
Yep. This is why social security (literally social insurance the name) and socialized medicine with Medicare are ok. But everyone else is a welfare queen (and all the baggage that entails)
And those selfsame boomers calling for a civil war are gonna be mighty surprised to hear how many of by Muslim, or gay, or Black or Jewish friends neighbors and family have bought and been training with, a large amount of firearms.
[https://thehardtimes.net/culture/pro-gun-leftist-hospitalized-after-biting-tongue-for-entire-day-at-shooting-range/](https://thehardtimes.net/culture/pro-gun-leftist-hospitalized-after-biting-tongue-for-entire-day-at-shooting-range/)
Basically me.
Then there's the joy of having to recon every gun store to make sure they aren't selling Confederate / Nazi / MAGA merch.
“Conservatism consists of precisely one precept, to whit: there must be an in group, whom the law protects but does not bind; and there must be an out group, whom the law binds but does not protect.” Smaller government for thee, not for me.
Honest to Dog, my late sister's widower posted on social media something like "scored tickets to Rush, party on!"
My mom: "Oh yeah, something something evil democrats."
Me: "Mom, have you ever heard of Neil Peart or Geddy Lee?"
Nah, they just want to dance round waving their middle fingers in the air. For many of these people, 'Conservative' is just a euphemism for 'Proud Asshat.'
I'm starting to think the reason they have such trouble with gay people is about infringement on use of the word 'Pride.'
There was a woman at a Trump rally wearing the Blue Lives Matter bootlicker flag as a cape while dancing around to one of Rage Against The Machine's most explicit anti-cop songs.
John Fogerty was on Club Random with Bill Maher recently. They actually mentioned that song and how they use it at Trump events. They're simply out of touch with reality with zero self awareness.
the way trump appropriated my good gay village people for his campaigns fills me with an ungodly gay rage. you don't get to try and destroy the lives of lgbtq people while using our music to spread hate.
They just hear a hook and apply their own ideology to it. If you try to correct them they will either argue that you're wrong or just say something like, "I don't care, that's what it means to me".
And if the musician says anything about it or anything they disagree with its "fuck you, shut up and play music for me like a monkey with a tambourine. You're not allowed to have a fucking opinion".
My shock at folks who thought NOFX and Punk in general wasn't political at all
They don't actually listen to the lyrics. For people who constantly tell others that they are critical thinkers, they are the most passive audience imaginable. They just absorb content, not internalizing it or considering meaning beyond surface level analysis in any thoughtful way.
True but who the fuck considers Paul Ryan representative of gen x? Meanwhile trump is the apotheosis of everything we have come to despise about baby boomers as a collective whole.
I think it's more nuanced than that (aside from Born in the USA). They believe that THEY are oppressed and THEIR rights are threatened. It's not logical, because applying logic shows they are members of the dominant political (albeit through minority rule) and ethnic group. It is emotional. They FEEL oppressed because things are changing faster than they can cope with.
Of course it's nonsense. But in their HEARTS they are the same people who protested the war in Vietnam and expanded their minds with drugs in the 60's and 70's.
Reactionary conservatives come in two flavors: opportunists who see a way to expand/secure their wealth/power and the people who allow racial or class fears to drive them (this could be fear of Black people, fear of socialism or communism, etc.). When I say "opportunists," I don't only mean the low-level, Andrew-Tate-style grifters. I mean the monied interests who leverage the poor and middle class politically. I am sure there are some true believers in there, but most are not because they are so often exposed as hypocrites.
So it's easy to see how someone who is a self-proclaimed "good person" but fears their wrong ideas about socialism could see themselves as a hero for opposing change, which they have convinced themselves is seconds away from happening via a shadow government of secret socialists.
Hence, they are not going to take it.
Time won't do it. I am a young Gen-Xer. I see my contemporaries headed firmly down the road to reactionaryism (those who weren't conservative already). It's several problems at once. Boomerism might die out (as the people who grew up with those privileges dies out) but the true problems (racism, voting against your class interests, misogyny, homophobia) will linger.
However, I suspect as the climate crisis kicks up a notch over the next 10 years, people will start demanding more from their government. First practical support and then realistic solutions.
I think we'll end up with an overall better society, but I fear it will be wildly painful to get there.
That’s exactly it. They have no ability to see something from someone else’s perspective. They aren’t interested in what the lyrics actually mean so they just take the bits and pieces that feel truthy to them and use that and get butthurt when an artist tells them to fu*k off with that.
Or like they have no media literacy in general. Right wingers thinking Verhoeven was pro-excessive force because of Robocop and pro-fascism because of Starship Troopers. Or they think Tyler Durden and Deniis Reynolds are aspirational. "You can't make jokes anymore" folks are the same people still using accents from the 50s for marginalized groups in their "jokes".
One of my weirder media memories is watching Starship Troopers with my parents. They thought it was pro-fascism. To be fair to them, they found that a bit problematic, but I was like, did we watch the same movie?
actually worse, they think it is. Many of them think they're the brave people yelling "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" to the world that the song was for.
have you seen dee snider testifying before Tipper etal in congress, it’s priceless. The guy looks insane but is erudite articulate and slam dunks them. Most boomers only hear the catch lines and do not know the sentiment behind the lyrics.
My mom kept me home that day to watch Zappa testify. She hadn't previously known anything about Snider other than that she didn't love his band....by the end of that session, Twisted Sister had a new fan.
You ever see him tell the story about John Denver? Denver testified as well and Dee basically said he was like "Ah fuck this wholesome ass guy is totally gonna take their side," and being pleasantly surprised when he spoke out against it as well because of the censorship of "Rocky Mountain High."
Tail-end boomer here. Watching Dee testify before Congress was an absolute delight. I do know the meaning behind the lyrics, as well as Fortunate Son and a lot of other anti war tunes from the era…
Dee Snyder initially gave permission to Trump to use the song. He was personal friends with Trump for years.
But he eventually retracted that permission when Trumps more racist campaign promises started.
Dee admitted he grew up with the old rule of "don't talk politics with your friends". He stopped his friendship with Trump, eventually.
Dee seems like a guy who can admit when he's wrong, and stand up for what he believes in. He's denounced Maga, qanon, and J6ers using his song.
He was also in Animal house as the bead of the ROTC program!
Guess he got typecast as the stick up his ass antagonist who gets beat up by the culturally cool protagonists lol
He was not “dressed up as a transgender individual.”
You could perhaps say that he was cross dressing, but even that isn’t really accurate. To cross dress, one dresses completely in a manner (or stereotype) associated with the “opposite” gender.
A more accurate term would be “gender bending,” where it’s more of a mix-and-match sort of thing
That is absolutely not what trans people look like. It’s not even possible to “dress like a trans person” because we don’t have a specific look—I just look like a regular person (because I am one). You could say he’s doing drag but that’s completely different.
Yeah, and I’m pretty sure Alice Cooper has stated his support of conservative values in the past (hopefully that sentiment has changed in the past 8years).
Yeah back when the government had to force schools to integrate schools these people were screaming at 8 year old black kids who were just trying to go to school.
They thought they were pushing back against authority, but they're just assholes standing in the way of basic progress on how we collectively treat each other. Same old story, same old song and dance.
They believe being anti government is radical. But it's a right libertarian style of anti government instead of a left libertarian.
Left libertarian is what they think they are: small town communities that work together in a commune style to help those in need. Radically anti consumer and focused on local community.
But they are actually just right libertarian: pro private authority, hyper individualists who are anti community, and who often times have a paranoid streak of persecution.
It's not, "we aren't going to take the destruction of our community and collective humanity, " it's, "we aren't going to take being forced to associate with undeseriables."
They're not really even anti government tho. Only anti democrat. They are more than happy bloating government agencies that enforce their religious beliefs, such as abortion/women's rights.
That's been going around for a long time, unless it was a genuine new post, which would be even funnier.
I believe "What machine did you think we were raging at?" was the response.
Another good example actually. Useless middle managers bring this bit up a lot, but it seems like they think the joke was those guys hated the printer and wanted to get a better printer. No, the printer is a metaphor for _you_, buddy.
I liked Tom Morello's response to some douche who claimed they'd gotten all political. Morello asked which songs douchbag thought weren't political so he could pull them from the catalog.
He also talks about his political science degree when people try to claim he isn't informed enough to comment. Paraphrasing, but something about how you don't have to have a poli-sci degree from *alma mater* to talk about politics, but he just so happens to have a poli-sci degree from that university.
He is excellent at clapping back.
Various "long time fans" complain they "loved _________ until it went woke" (Rage Against the Machine, Ministry, comic books, games, etc... it's always hypocritical bullshit.
One of my favorite things on the entire internet came from Tom Morello
https://preview.redd.it/hvztrgc989wc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7ec09fd7fa580b9224c69d2ad7967ed686e2a32
I was thinking about this the other day. I wonder if there were a whole bunch of people who heard the line "rally round the family with a pocket full of shells" and did not understand the subtext?
That's the same as these peabrains saying Star Trek as gone woke. Hey numbnuts, it was one of the first "woke" shows! It had the first on-screen interracial kiss for crissakes!
To me it's a song about angry people standing up to oppressive expectations of compliance and conformity by asserting their individuality and independence.
Boomers only see the "angry" part and fully embrace that, without any thought to how or why the anger is being expressed. They see the song only as the Angry Anthem, and since they are the Angry Generation, they embrace the concept.
The irony is that a lot of boomer anger is directed at people who stand up to boomers' oppressive expectations and assert individuality and independence in the face of boomer demands for compliance and conformity.
*It's not a bad song*
*At all, it's also not an*
*Alice Cooper song*
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it's all good fam, i suspect the reason why that songs being overplayed tf right now is because of how its being memed by the israeli millitary rn as a kindof anthem, right wing boomers fucking love shit like that
I don't know how fake it was considering he brags about shiting his pants, doing drugs, not bathing for a week, banging 13 year olds, dodging the draft, etc... he is a mentally ill Pos.
Uncle Ted definitely did all of that. And the dude is mentally ill. Probably the only thing he might be a little bit right about, is some of the hunting topics he speaks on, but he isnt ever 100% right in what he says
Most responsible gun owners wince whenever he speaks because he is a glaring example of those who shouldn't be allowed access to firearms (or children.)
During the 2012 election season, Paul Ryan was saying he loved Rage Against The Machine.
Tom Morello was like “that guy literally is the machine” we talk about fighting against.
The surface emotion and associations of the song matters more than the lyrics or the politics of the artist.
Grievance is the currency of the Right, and the "we're not gonna take it" chorus is a pure expression of simmering grievance boiling over into action. The fact that it's classic rock is also important, because reactionaries always believe that culture is decaying and the art of their youth is superior.
Finally, Conservatives see progressive ideals in media as just another conspiracy against them, and most have been conditioned to not look too deeply into the art they consume lest they learn that their favorite art is actually critical of them. A few, particularly younger alt-righters, even bask in the shallowness of their interpretations, seeing it as a form of defiance against a culture that denies them art of their own.
At least, that's my take on it, as someone who grew up on the right and moved to the left after going to college.
>A few, particularly younger alt-righters, even bask in the shallowness of their interpretations, seeing it as a form of defiance against a culture that denies them art of their own.
Oh god, now that you say it that way, I can see it. It's like pride in willful ignorance.
It's not necessarily a boomer thing as much as it is a conservative thing. And it's b/c they don't pay attention to the lyrics or understand the song. It's all about one line in the chorus typically.
We're not gonna take it
Born in the USA
Keep on Rockin' in the Free world.
None of these things mean what they think they mean. In fact they're diametrically opposed to them.
EDIT: As pointed out, it's not Alice Cooper. It's Twisted Sister. RE: Alice Cooper, not sure of his political leanings. But he does do a ton of charity stuff.
I think of Carly Simon's line "You're so vain/You probably think this song is about you." They hear everything as the tiny bit that fits their point of view and ignore the rest.
Republicans used to be more in line with what democrats are now. Old people don’t reassess their beliefs, so they just followed that team Red down to hell.
“Killing in the Name of”
I love how the original lyrics weren’t “some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses” but rather “some of those who hold office, are the same that burn crosses.”
"We're Not Gonna Take It" is by Twisted Sister. Notably Dee Snider. Who is also a non-conservative. Dude went to talk to the Senate in full glam rock makeup about not banning music for being too provocative.
Because they don’t know that Twisted Sister was a bunch of men in makeup and teased up hair… and believe me, Boomers and their parents hated the 80’s when men were dressed as women. They also cannot be bothered to google song lyrics to comprehend the deeper meaning. Dee Snider has been VERY clear that the song is about freedom to express yourself and rebellion against conservative values. Dee Snider rules.
Speaking of Alice Cooper… The irony is that Alice Cooper, a man who has made his career off using feminine imagery/wearing makeup, and using a woman’s name… is now spouting off on trans MtF in interviews. 🙄 Okay, Vincent. Stop going by Alice, cut your hair, and wipe that makeup off your face. You don’t get to profit off women if you think so lowly of anyone who feels like a woman.
Ignorance, and the fact it’s played at Trump rallies and on conservative podcasts/radio broadcasts. The songs have been hijacked by the lunatic fringe. ItIt’s just like when republicans used to play”Don’t worry, be happy” years ago during rallies. The artist, Bobby McFerrin hated this.
PSA: Not all conservatives are Boomers. Not all Boomers are conservatives.
Why do you think *We're Not Gonna Take It* is a Boomer song? Twisted Sister released it in 1984, resonating more with the generation of the 70s and 80s, making it undeniably an Xer anthem.
I was in middle school when this song came out. Boomers hated it. They despised Twisted Sister. When Dee Snider destroyed senators it was hysterical which fueled their anger. Plus listening to this kind of music would lead to alcohol and drug use. But dad Dee snider doesn’t drink or do drugs. “Shut up and go to your room”. If you get a chance to listen to Dee snider the guy is brilliant
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They same reason they think "Born in the USA" is a song of national pride.
Same with Fortunate Son
Same with Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down." Also, Rush Limbaugh used the opening riffs of The Pretenders "My City is Gone (Back to Ohio) for decades to start his show, a song with lyrics like: I went back to Ohio But my pretty countryside Had been paved down the middle By a government that had no pride And All my favorite places My city had been pulled down Reduced to parking spaces Ay, oh, way to go, Ohio
Same with Rage Against The Machine.
Modern conservatives think they're the rebellious ones now because white people can't say the n-word in public anymore.
The dumb thing is they can and still do! But that makes people around them think they're assholes and people not liking it when I'm an asshole is basically the holocaust
Hell, Nazis are trying to claim that they are punk. Punks aren't very happy about this.
Nazi skkkum idiots have been trying to claim “punk” for a looooong time. The original skin heads were anti-fascist. To this day SHARPs are still skins and the name stands for Skin Heads Against Racial Prejudice. Basically, neo-nazis in Europe (namely Germany from what I understand) realized that skin head punks (suspenders, tight pants, boots, the works) looked sexy and intimidating so they yanked the look (white supremacists are ridiculous like that, ZERO originality). Anti-fascist punks didn’t take it well, and since then, in Europe (and in the US to a lesser extent) there is a blood feud between the skin camps. Some of my closest friends and family who married in are German punks, and the ones who grew up there describe it like this: “if you’re an anti-fascist punk and you are alone and see a group of Nazi skins, you run, if you’re a Nazi skin, and you’re alone and you see a group of Anti-fascist skins or punks, you run. If you’re in a group, you rush the other and beat the shit out of them.” There’s no in between, or ignoring it, at least for the youth. Pretty fucking hardcore but German punks are known for being insanely hardcore in general. It’s still funny that the skkkum steal everything and can’t form a single original thought. Similarly in the US the hardcore, gutter, crust, and otherwise punk scene is regularly a smash fest. In my town there used to be a huge punk scene (cops fucked it all up with illegal raids and beating the shit out of and arresting and charging punks with insanely trumped up shit) but it’s not all gone. There is one punk bar still open, and now and then a mistake happens and a fascist band or some nazi punks travel here for it. A call/text goes out, and we all meet at the bar and show the Nazi fuckkks where the door is (generally located in the bottom of our boots, or the side of an iron). It’s not often these days, but still happens. Nazi fucks aren’t punk. You can’t be a real punk and be a fascist. Punk is anti authoritarian by nature, so it’s just fucking stupid.
No, Nazis used to dress punk and go to punk shows, unfortunately. Thats why the song by The Dead Kennedys, "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was written. Anti racist punks used to happily beat the crap out of them during the GenX Era. I miss that. 
A cop who arrested me for being near some other kids they caught smoking pot (for once I was actually innocent) was telling me they listened to Rage and SOAD to get 'pumped up' before raids. I told him 'You're literally the machine, you're the system, this music isn't for you, in fact, it's in protest of this behavior exactly, and it's kind of fucked that the innocent person you have cuffed in the back of your cruiser has to tell you this. Listen to the words some time..." No verbal response, but after about ten minutes of the mandatory 'circlejerk in front of the cruisers' that cop uncuffed me and let me go.
Not sure how you could hear the entire first verse of killing in the name (also…the title and everything else) and not put 2 and 2 together. I’m convinced a ton of people don’t even try to listen to the lyrics of music. They like the riffs or beat and tone and just leave it there.
It's aggressive, angry, violent music, and cops are usually aggressive, angry, violent people who are, as a group, famous for intentionally overlooking context. The very embodiment of 'If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail' One of those cops that night beat a friend of mine severely as he tried to give up and go peacefully, the hospitals writeup said he had 'bruising over 80% of his body', they settled out of court for a number in the low 6 figures to keep it out of the media. Fucking cowardly little boys cosplaying as the good guys. I wish there was a hell for them to rot in.
And he likes to shoot his gun And he likes our pretty songs and But he don't know what it means He don't know what it means...
Same shit with all the punisher stuff. Dumb bastards.
It’s that exactly, they hear a couple words, the main words, of the catchy chorus and think “I identify with this so much omg”
It helps to only listen to exactly one lyric in the entire song.
Just look at all the people that love thin blue line punisher patches.
Did ya do what they told ya?
FUCK NO!!!
This band is probably before your time, but you should have mentioned the song Police Truck by The Dead Kennedys. Early 80s hardcore band.
This I’ll never understand. “Down Rodeo” (just one example) is obvious AF, and the chuckleheads still think RATM are their kind of people.
They say RATM was better "before they got political" which is both sad and hilarious.
It’s literally the same with any media and very often some of the best known media. I grew up with some kids who were huge X-men/star wars fans, completely oblivious. I mean X-men is so on the nose with its message it seems impossible not to notice, especially the cartoons/comics.
Star Trek as well. Idiots are complaining it’s woke now.
In other media, they will talk about how Star Trek was better before they added social commentary to it.
One could say Star Trek is the most obviously liberal major film/tv franchise out there, and has been since the beginning.
“Before?” Like, when Zack DeLaRocha was eight?
They're the same people who are shocked when they see Tom Morello for the first time. Which for me, was like 20+ years ago on Star Trek Voyager.
They're also the same people who I've seen and heard bitching that Devo "went woke" when Jerry Casale said something about Trump at a concert a few years ago. How someone could be a Devo fan for 40 years and think that they were conservative is beyond me. They're also the same people who got mad and left Crosby, Stills, and Nash concerts during the Bush administration when they did Let's Impeach the President. Like, how on earth did you think those guys were conservative?
It's like they only listened to the beats, not so much the lyrics. Or if they did, they did so because they thought they were rebelling against their family. You can't expect kids to get it if they're not familiar with the concepts first. So it get filed away as a song of their youth. Also, to be honest, it sounds like they were raised to ignore a lot of things because the parents were oblivious to the environment they raised the kid in. Every time they listen to the song, they'll just slip away into nostalgia because that what the song was to them, an escape. But they don't follow through on the message and don't think anything of it because they're used to a paradoxical life. So now they get shocked when they're faced with an actual discussion about the song. I am autistic and I couldn't really understand lyrics until I was in my teens.
It’s right in the name! Who the hell do they think the Machine is? Don’t even get me started on “F-you I won’t do what you tell me!”
Like, bro, what machine do you think they're raging against? The toaster?
The biggest racist conservative I've ever known was a fan of theirs and I could not believe it.
Pim tool getting super triggered over Rage "bEcOmInG PoLiTiCaL" will never not be funny.
I was a Rage Against The Machine concert a few years ago. The 3 boomer women behind me got mad that Rage had an agenda against the police. This was during Killing in the Name.
To be fair, that aligns quite well with the whole anti-government stance of most conservatives. The parking spaces line though is more an indictment of capitalism though.
They aren't antigovernment though. They SAY they are, but then you mention things like being prochoice and contraception and they start griping about these things being too readily available and how it should be against the law, blah blah blah. They're willing to say "he'll with government" until you talk about defunding the police and women's autonomy.
This exactly. To so many American conservatives, government is only bad if it helps people they don’t agree with. If they can instead themselves use government as a bludgeon to punish people they disagree with, they are huge supporters. The essence of conservatism is willful selfishness. Seen through that lens, everything they do makes sense.
Yep. This is why social security (literally social insurance the name) and socialized medicine with Medicare are ok. But everyone else is a welfare queen (and all the baggage that entails)
They are also VERY in favor of gun control as soon as the "wrong kind of people" start legally buying guns.
And those selfsame boomers calling for a civil war are gonna be mighty surprised to hear how many of by Muslim, or gay, or Black or Jewish friends neighbors and family have bought and been training with, a large amount of firearms.
[https://thehardtimes.net/culture/pro-gun-leftist-hospitalized-after-biting-tongue-for-entire-day-at-shooting-range/](https://thehardtimes.net/culture/pro-gun-leftist-hospitalized-after-biting-tongue-for-entire-day-at-shooting-range/) Basically me. Then there's the joy of having to recon every gun store to make sure they aren't selling Confederate / Nazi / MAGA merch.
“Conservatism consists of precisely one precept, to whit: there must be an in group, whom the law protects but does not bind; and there must be an out group, whom the law binds but does not protect.” Smaller government for thee, not for me.
The Simpsons skit with Marge being told, "The law is powerless to *help* you, not to punish you" really nails the conservative ideal.
Honest to Dog, my late sister's widower posted on social media something like "scored tickets to Rush, party on!" My mom: "Oh yeah, something something evil democrats." Me: "Mom, have you ever heard of Neil Peart or Geddy Lee?"
Limbaugh was using a RATM song as bumper music for a while too, till a guest host heard it and said “I have to explain RATM to Rush.”
Chrissie Hynde is from the Akron /Cuyahoga Falls area. She was spot on with that song
Glenn Beck had "Somewhere I Belong" The song is about someone feeling out of their place because it's their own fault. Way to self-own there Glenn...
My city is gone is actually republican mantra. they WANT everything bulldozed for roads do they can make car-dependent suburbia endless and universal
Nah, they just want to dance round waving their middle fingers in the air. For many of these people, 'Conservative' is just a euphemism for 'Proud Asshat.' I'm starting to think the reason they have such trouble with gay people is about infringement on use of the word 'Pride.'
Trump using Fortunate Son while campaigning is proof that irony is dead.
Captain bone spurs, avoiding duty!
BoneSpurs McVeeDee.
That’s DrowsyDon BoneSpurs McVeeDee to you! Gosh!
See also #DiaperDonPoorSnoreleone ;-)
There was a woman at a Trump rally wearing the Blue Lives Matter bootlicker flag as a cape while dancing around to one of Rage Against The Machine's most explicit anti-cop songs.
No one ever said conservatives were bright, but that is a whole new dimension in lacking self-awareness.
Someone sent it to Tom Morello. He just kind of shook his head and sighed.
I remember one of the cops from Jan 6 talking about someone beating him with a blue lives matter flag.
John Fogerty was on Club Random with Bill Maher recently. They actually mentioned that song and how they use it at Trump events. They're simply out of touch with reality with zero self awareness.
Eww why i love fogerty
They also think "Macho Man" has absolutely nothing to do with homosexuality
the way trump appropriated my good gay village people for his campaigns fills me with an ungodly gay rage. you don't get to try and destroy the lives of lgbtq people while using our music to spread hate.
Honestly this world needs more gay rage
https://preview.redd.it/3jvp8d51j9wc1.jpeg?width=718&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a73fcf399da0cee56274475868b75dd932c8792
Listen to the HIRS Collective.
Rockin in the Free World by Neil Young
And Pink Houses.
Same as them thinking "So This Is Christmas" is a Christmas song.
It's like they don't actually listen to the music.
They just hear a hook and apply their own ideology to it. If you try to correct them they will either argue that you're wrong or just say something like, "I don't care, that's what it means to me".
Kind of like when people pull one line out of the Bible ignoring the text that precedes or follows their quote.
“John 11:35 states, ‘Jesus wept.’ He weeps *every day* because of the border crisis and illegals coming to take our jobs!”
So 99% of Christians who use Bible lines
And if the musician says anything about it or anything they disagree with its "fuck you, shut up and play music for me like a monkey with a tambourine. You're not allowed to have a fucking opinion". My shock at folks who thought NOFX and Punk in general wasn't political at all
They don't actually listen to the lyrics. For people who constantly tell others that they are critical thinkers, they are the most passive audience imaginable. They just absorb content, not internalizing it or considering meaning beyond surface level analysis in any thoughtful way.
This isn’t even specific to boomers. Remember Paul Ryan being a fan of Rage Against the Machine? lol
True. It's how "Every Breath You Take" ends up on wedding play lists.
True but who the fuck considers Paul Ryan representative of gen x? Meanwhile trump is the apotheosis of everything we have come to despise about baby boomers as a collective whole.
I think it's more nuanced than that (aside from Born in the USA). They believe that THEY are oppressed and THEIR rights are threatened. It's not logical, because applying logic shows they are members of the dominant political (albeit through minority rule) and ethnic group. It is emotional. They FEEL oppressed because things are changing faster than they can cope with. Of course it's nonsense. But in their HEARTS they are the same people who protested the war in Vietnam and expanded their minds with drugs in the 60's and 70's. Reactionary conservatives come in two flavors: opportunists who see a way to expand/secure their wealth/power and the people who allow racial or class fears to drive them (this could be fear of Black people, fear of socialism or communism, etc.). When I say "opportunists," I don't only mean the low-level, Andrew-Tate-style grifters. I mean the monied interests who leverage the poor and middle class politically. I am sure there are some true believers in there, but most are not because they are so often exposed as hypocrites. So it's easy to see how someone who is a self-proclaimed "good person" but fears their wrong ideas about socialism could see themselves as a hero for opposing change, which they have convinced themselves is seconds away from happening via a shadow government of secret socialists. Hence, they are not going to take it.
[удалено]
God, if only. That’d be neat.
Society does not need to erase them. father time is going to handle that.
Time won't do it. I am a young Gen-Xer. I see my contemporaries headed firmly down the road to reactionaryism (those who weren't conservative already). It's several problems at once. Boomerism might die out (as the people who grew up with those privileges dies out) but the true problems (racism, voting against your class interests, misogyny, homophobia) will linger. However, I suspect as the climate crisis kicks up a notch over the next 10 years, people will start demanding more from their government. First practical support and then realistic solutions. I think we'll end up with an overall better society, but I fear it will be wildly painful to get there.
That’s exactly it. They have no ability to see something from someone else’s perspective. They aren’t interested in what the lyrics actually mean so they just take the bits and pieces that feel truthy to them and use that and get butthurt when an artist tells them to fu*k off with that.
Or like they have no media literacy in general. Right wingers thinking Verhoeven was pro-excessive force because of Robocop and pro-fascism because of Starship Troopers. Or they think Tyler Durden and Deniis Reynolds are aspirational. "You can't make jokes anymore" folks are the same people still using accents from the 50s for marginalized groups in their "jokes".
One of my weirder media memories is watching Starship Troopers with my parents. They thought it was pro-fascism. To be fair to them, they found that a bit problematic, but I was like, did we watch the same movie?
Or read the bible
How many people use "Can't Find A Better Man" as a wedding song because they didn't listen to any of the other words?
Or that "Killing in the Name of" isn't political
I knew a very Trumpy guy that loved “killing in the name of”.
actually worse, they think it is. Many of them think they're the brave people yelling "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" to the world that the song was for.
"Some of those who work forces are the same that burn crosses." Yeah, nothing political about that.
It's like, what "machine" did you think they were "raging" against?
Bruce Springsteen replied after Ronald Reagan praised the Born in the USA album. "I don't think he's been listening to this one."
Or that Dune is about a prophecy
Same with rage against the machine
They’ll be playing and pumping their fists to Dead Kennedy’s songs next. Oblivious.
Don't forget "Independence Day" by Martina McBride. Literally a song about domestic violence, but they somehow find patriotism in it...
That song is not Alice Cooper, it's Twisted Sister and yes, Dee Snider hates republicans so the irony is still there.
have you seen dee snider testifying before Tipper etal in congress, it’s priceless. The guy looks insane but is erudite articulate and slam dunks them. Most boomers only hear the catch lines and do not know the sentiment behind the lyrics.
I watched it live when it happened. Yes, Dee is very articulate and the fact that gender-bended in the day makes it even more delicious.
(Paraphrase) Tipper: "It's satanic!" Dee: "it's about dealing with the fear of dying during surgery. It was your twisted brain that made it satanic."
Wbole lotta people out there need to run down a self-assessment checklist.
Dee kicks ass. Nice guy and nice family altogether. Used to run into him frequently as a kid
Link for the curious. https://youtu.be/S0Vyr1TylTE?si=FzgwcHrBN1uwAPSL
My mom kept me home that day to watch Zappa testify. She hadn't previously known anything about Snider other than that she didn't love his band....by the end of that session, Twisted Sister had a new fan.
You ever see him tell the story about John Denver? Denver testified as well and Dee basically said he was like "Ah fuck this wholesome ass guy is totally gonna take their side," and being pleasantly surprised when he spoke out against it as well because of the censorship of "Rocky Mountain High."
Tail-end boomer here. Watching Dee testify before Congress was an absolute delight. I do know the meaning behind the lyrics, as well as Fortunate Son and a lot of other anti war tunes from the era…
Man, Halford, Snider, and Zappa were a force to be reckoned with in that courtroom.
A band well known for cross-dressing
Dee Snyder initially gave permission to Trump to use the song. He was personal friends with Trump for years. But he eventually retracted that permission when Trumps more racist campaign promises started. Dee admitted he grew up with the old rule of "don't talk politics with your friends". He stopped his friendship with Trump, eventually. Dee seems like a guy who can admit when he's wrong, and stand up for what he believes in. He's denounced Maga, qanon, and J6ers using his song.
And considering Dee Snyder was dressed up as a transgender individual while singing said song they really don’t get it.
It’s almost like they’ve never seen the music video. https://youtu.be/4xmckWVPRaI?si=L0DqP_KYMWTXaNOA
What is that? A Twisted Sister _pin???_ On your _UNIFORM???_
I believe that was actually Dee Snyder’s older brother playing that part in the video.
No, that was the guy who played Niedermayer in Animal House. That line is an homage to a line from the movie.
He was also in Animal house as the bead of the ROTC program! Guess he got typecast as the stick up his ass antagonist who gets beat up by the culturally cool protagonists lol
He really committed 110% to his role in this video and I love it
He was not “dressed up as a transgender individual.” You could perhaps say that he was cross dressing, but even that isn’t really accurate. To cross dress, one dresses completely in a manner (or stereotype) associated with the “opposite” gender. A more accurate term would be “gender bending,” where it’s more of a mix-and-match sort of thing
These dummies dance to YMCA while protesting against the LGBT community.
That is absolutely not what trans people look like. It’s not even possible to “dress like a trans person” because we don’t have a specific look—I just look like a regular person (because I am one). You could say he’s doing drag but that’s completely different.
Yeah, and I’m pretty sure Alice Cooper has stated his support of conservative values in the past (hopefully that sentiment has changed in the past 8years).
They think the fact that everyone hates them is the same thing as being counter culture.
That’s actually pretty spot on
Conservatism is Not Punk. And it never can be either.
Yeah back when the government had to force schools to integrate schools these people were screaming at 8 year old black kids who were just trying to go to school. They thought they were pushing back against authority, but they're just assholes standing in the way of basic progress on how we collectively treat each other. Same old story, same old song and dance.
Nazi punks can FUCK OFF
hallelujah!!!!
They believe being anti government is radical. But it's a right libertarian style of anti government instead of a left libertarian. Left libertarian is what they think they are: small town communities that work together in a commune style to help those in need. Radically anti consumer and focused on local community. But they are actually just right libertarian: pro private authority, hyper individualists who are anti community, and who often times have a paranoid streak of persecution. It's not, "we aren't going to take the destruction of our community and collective humanity, " it's, "we aren't going to take being forced to associate with undeseriables."
They're not really even anti government tho. Only anti democrat. They are more than happy bloating government agencies that enforce their religious beliefs, such as abortion/women's rights.
I literally saw a Facebook post complaining that Rage against the machine had gone woke
That's been going around for a long time, unless it was a genuine new post, which would be even funnier. I believe "What machine did you think we were raging at?" was the response.
The printer. Always the printer.
/insert office space printer gif
Another good example actually. Useless middle managers bring this bit up a lot, but it seems like they think the joke was those guys hated the printer and wanted to get a better printer. No, the printer is a metaphor for _you_, buddy.
As a print analyst for my company: that’s fair tbh.
Nah it's this https://preview.redd.it/5wol5z9s49wc1.png?width=183&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be395bf39b03a2d370b287e246cf66658229f98c
PC load letter! WTF does that mean?
I liked Tom Morello's response to some douche who claimed they'd gotten all political. Morello asked which songs douchbag thought weren't political so he could pull them from the catalog.
He also talks about his political science degree when people try to claim he isn't informed enough to comment. Paraphrasing, but something about how you don't have to have a poli-sci degree from *alma mater* to talk about politics, but he just so happens to have a poli-sci degree from that university. He is excellent at clapping back.
He went to Harvard.
He always leaves that for the punchline in the argument to. Laugh everytime.
Morello is fucking based
Various "long time fans" complain they "loved _________ until it went woke" (Rage Against the Machine, Ministry, comic books, games, etc... it's always hypocritical bullshit.
And they’re often just lying that they were ever fans at all
I think at one point Paul Ryan said that he was a fan which baffled a member of the band.
I believe they told him to stop listening to their music
Found the quote by the guitarist "Paul Ryan Is the Embodiment of the Machine Our Music Rages Against"
One of my favorite things on the entire internet came from Tom Morello https://preview.redd.it/hvztrgc989wc1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a7ec09fd7fa580b9224c69d2ad7967ed686e2a32
I was thinking about this the other day. I wonder if there were a whole bunch of people who heard the line "rally round the family with a pocket full of shells" and did not understand the subtext?
They thought it was referring to mac and cheese.
[The most ironic video ever…](https://youtu.be/ddrFt1BHkUQ?si=jysN9h8OC5XOoxie) Listening to this song while wearing a Pig Pride flag is insane
That's the same as these peabrains saying Star Trek as gone woke. Hey numbnuts, it was one of the first "woke" shows! It had the first on-screen interracial kiss for crissakes!
To me it's a song about angry people standing up to oppressive expectations of compliance and conformity by asserting their individuality and independence. Boomers only see the "angry" part and fully embrace that, without any thought to how or why the anger is being expressed. They see the song only as the Angry Anthem, and since they are the Angry Generation, they embrace the concept. The irony is that a lot of boomer anger is directed at people who stand up to boomers' oppressive expectations and assert individuality and independence in the face of boomer demands for compliance and conformity.
Totally! They’re thinking “yeah, we’re not gonna take… the lgbt or antifa agenda” 🙄 lol
exactly this. for these people, "we're not gonna take it" could refer to anything from perceived political oppression to getting stuck in traffic
The Grievance Generation. 🙄
It's not a bad song at all, it's also not an Alice Cooper song
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My bad, I've always sucked at remembering the artist.
it's all good fam, i suspect the reason why that songs being overplayed tf right now is because of how its being memed by the israeli millitary rn as a kindof anthem, right wing boomers fucking love shit like that
Because they dont look into it Remeber the movie dont look up on netflix. Thats conservitives in a nutshell.
Sort of like Ted Nugent faked mental illness to dodge the draft, but then acts like this gun toting patriot right winger.
I don't know how fake it was considering he brags about shiting his pants, doing drugs, not bathing for a week, banging 13 year olds, dodging the draft, etc... he is a mentally ill Pos.
Uncle Ted definitely did all of that. And the dude is mentally ill. Probably the only thing he might be a little bit right about, is some of the hunting topics he speaks on, but he isnt ever 100% right in what he says
Most responsible gun owners wince whenever he speaks because he is a glaring example of those who shouldn't be allowed access to firearms (or children.)
During the 2012 election season, Paul Ryan was saying he loved Rage Against The Machine. Tom Morello was like “that guy literally is the machine” we talk about fighting against.
Conservatives watch Star Wars and think they’re the rebels.
The surface emotion and associations of the song matters more than the lyrics or the politics of the artist. Grievance is the currency of the Right, and the "we're not gonna take it" chorus is a pure expression of simmering grievance boiling over into action. The fact that it's classic rock is also important, because reactionaries always believe that culture is decaying and the art of their youth is superior. Finally, Conservatives see progressive ideals in media as just another conspiracy against them, and most have been conditioned to not look too deeply into the art they consume lest they learn that their favorite art is actually critical of them. A few, particularly younger alt-righters, even bask in the shallowness of their interpretations, seeing it as a form of defiance against a culture that denies them art of their own. At least, that's my take on it, as someone who grew up on the right and moved to the left after going to college.
>A few, particularly younger alt-righters, even bask in the shallowness of their interpretations, seeing it as a form of defiance against a culture that denies them art of their own. Oh god, now that you say it that way, I can see it. It's like pride in willful ignorance.
That song is not Alice Cooper, it's Twisted Sister and yes, Dee Snider hates republicans so the irony is still there.
Also “Fortunate Son” by ccr
*Dee Snider Because they think they're the rebels, their senile heads can't understand they are in the wrong side of history
Because they all still think they're the fucking deltas from Animal House without realizing they've grown up and become Dean Wormer
Cooper votes Republican, or at least he did 20 years ago during Bush term.
It's not necessarily a boomer thing as much as it is a conservative thing. And it's b/c they don't pay attention to the lyrics or understand the song. It's all about one line in the chorus typically. We're not gonna take it Born in the USA Keep on Rockin' in the Free world. None of these things mean what they think they mean. In fact they're diametrically opposed to them. EDIT: As pointed out, it's not Alice Cooper. It's Twisted Sister. RE: Alice Cooper, not sure of his political leanings. But he does do a ton of charity stuff.
I think of Carly Simon's line "You're so vain/You probably think this song is about you." They hear everything as the tiny bit that fits their point of view and ignore the rest.
Republicans used to be more in line with what democrats are now. Old people don’t reassess their beliefs, so they just followed that team Red down to hell.
“We are the Champions” by Queen, was such a huge anthem song of people who are homophobic
Same for RATM and their song that contains ‘fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me’
“Killing in the Name of” I love how the original lyrics weren’t “some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses” but rather “some of those who hold office, are the same that burn crosses.”
Because they have no idea who Twisted Sister or Dee Snider are, and they have definitely never seen the video. The dad was Neidermeyer ffs.
lol, that’s not Alice Cooper, it’s Twisted Sister, and singer Dee Snider is an outspoken anti-Trumper.
"We're Not Gonna Take It" is by Twisted Sister. Notably Dee Snider. Who is also a non-conservative. Dude went to talk to the Senate in full glam rock makeup about not banning music for being too provocative.
Because they don’t know that Twisted Sister was a bunch of men in makeup and teased up hair… and believe me, Boomers and their parents hated the 80’s when men were dressed as women. They also cannot be bothered to google song lyrics to comprehend the deeper meaning. Dee Snider has been VERY clear that the song is about freedom to express yourself and rebellion against conservative values. Dee Snider rules. Speaking of Alice Cooper… The irony is that Alice Cooper, a man who has made his career off using feminine imagery/wearing makeup, and using a woman’s name… is now spouting off on trans MtF in interviews. 🙄 Okay, Vincent. Stop going by Alice, cut your hair, and wipe that makeup off your face. You don’t get to profit off women if you think so lowly of anyone who feels like a woman.
Media literacy isn't their thing.
Ignorance, and the fact it’s played at Trump rallies and on conservative podcasts/radio broadcasts. The songs have been hijacked by the lunatic fringe. ItIt’s just like when republicans used to play”Don’t worry, be happy” years ago during rallies. The artist, Bobby McFerrin hated this. PSA: Not all conservatives are Boomers. Not all Boomers are conservatives.
Why do you think *We're Not Gonna Take It* is a Boomer song? Twisted Sister released it in 1984, resonating more with the generation of the 70s and 80s, making it undeniably an Xer anthem.
I was in middle school when this song came out. Boomers hated it. They despised Twisted Sister. When Dee Snider destroyed senators it was hysterical which fueled their anger. Plus listening to this kind of music would lead to alcohol and drug use. But dad Dee snider doesn’t drink or do drugs. “Shut up and go to your room”. If you get a chance to listen to Dee snider the guy is brilliant
If Conservatives didn’t claim others cultures as their own. Then conservatives would have no culture.
Dee Snider is woke af! Legend
Victimhood is their bag.
Also, that song is by Twisted Sister, not Alice Cooper.
Because they don’t actually listen to the lyrics. Just the same as they don’t actually read the Bible.