Category: punk

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Zine Assignment in the Composition Classroom

This semester, I am teaching Kathleen Hanna’s Rebel Girl and Carrie Brownstein’s Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl. Since I am teaching two memoirs by musicians who came of age and still work within the punk and indie scene, I wanted students to make zines for one of their projects. I have always thought about having students make zines in class; however, I have never had the opportunity … Read More Zine Assignment in the Composition Classroom

“This Machine Kills Fascists” An Antifascist Playlist

During the performance of their song “Holiday” at a recent concert in Washington D.C., Green Day’s lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong asked the stage crew to turn out the lights. He stood on stage, with a flashlight pointed out towards the audience, as they held up their cell phone lights, illuminating the entire stadium, and asked, “Do you want democracy?” The crowd responded with a … Read More “This Machine Kills Fascists” An Antifascist Playlist

Christianity and the Manipulation of Power

I don’t remember the first time I heard Regan Youth’s “Jesus Was A Communist” (also titled “Jesus Was A Pacifist”), but I remember the impact it has had on me. On the song, Dave Rubinstein sings, over and over again for four verses, “Jesus was a communist/Jesus was a pacifist/Jesus was a communist/Jesus didn’t like the rich.” Reagan Youth pointed out the intersections between … Read More Christianity and the Manipulation of Power

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The Misappropriation of Anti-Racist Punk Classics

In The High Desert: black. punk. nowhere., James Spooner details growing up as a Black kid in Apple Valley, California, and being into punk rock. He details the liminality he felt, being seen as not Black enough by his Black classmates or as nonwhite by his white punk friends. When Spooner met Ty, a Black punk kid, at school, he fell in love with … Read More The Misappropriation of Anti-Racist Punk Classics