The Fartz
Because the Fuckin’ World Still Stinks…
Alternative Tentacles
A collection of classic Reagan-era punk rock that needs to be heard by every little twat born, say, within a few years of 1980. This kind of genuine anti-establishment punk rock, which involved three chords, melodic distortion, and no make-up, is where the real, raw punk energy came from. I will admit I’d never heard of the Fartz before this re-release, but so what? I was listening to bands just like them twenty years ago, so I’m still cooler than everyone else.
The hypocrisy of aggressively pacifistic punk rock, though, always had me at odds with bands like the Fartz. Sure, the incredible energy of their music spoke to me, it fed me, it empowered me, but once I got into the lyrics, I started thinking that this was hippie music disguised as something else. The Ramones always held ground with me because, while being peaceful men themselves, they had no problems with righteous violence. I mean it’s, like, Darwinian, right?
Now the Fartz have some great, great songs, even if they are a bit on the Commie side. “Heroes (Cum Home in Boxes)” is a fine anti-jingoist number, from the days when the Selective Service system went into effect. Can you believe guys were actually worried about being (shudder) drafted back in 1980? “The Battle Hymn of Ronald Reagan” says the same thing: all young men are going to be drafted and sent to a foreign land to die for nothing. Which, of course, didn’t happen. It might happen now , though. Strange. Anyway, aside from the distasteful leftist, commie, pinko tripe the Fartz were peddling, they have some great anti-Nazi and anti-Klan songs, as well as a punk cover of Black Sabbath’s (man, why do they keep coming up in everything? Maybe metal’s more important than all those self-congratulating punk chroniclers think) “Children of the Grave.”
Alternative Tentacles, P.O. Box 419092, San Francisco, CA 94141
