V/A - Rock Against Bush Vol. 1

V/A
Rock Against Bush Vol. 1
Fat Wreck Chords
Grade: A-

Besides from NOFX's recent full-length Franco Un-American, this is Fat Mike's and punkvoter.com's first musical onslaught against Bush. While punkvoter.com started out as a semi-serious site with good intentions, the revised version is straight up professional and the mockery comes mostly second-handed through posted cartoons and the punkvoter merch (e.g, "Not my president" shirts). Along with the twenty-six tracks from some of the best punk bands, and actually an eclectic group, the booklet has some rants. This includes an encompassing forty reasons to hate Bush where they annoyingly keep referring to W as Bush Jr. which isn't correct. While it is true that W was able to fool people with the name to win his first governorship of Texas - that is some people thought they were voting for the elder Bush - the present president is George Walker Bush and the father is George Herbert Walker Bush. It might not matter much to you, but to a political scientist that distinction is important - that is why everyone calls him Dubya and not Junior. While there are no bad songs here, it is probably just worth mentioning the previously unreleased material. This includes Sum 41's "Moron" that sounds suspiciously like Fat Mike on the mic; Alkaline Trio's "Warbrain;" Anti-Flag's "School of Assassins" about the School of the Americas; "Lion and Lamb" by the Get Up Kids; Ministry's "No W" which uses quotes from Bush, not unlike the quotes from their "New World Order;" a reinvigorated The World/Inferno Friendship Society on "The Expatriate Act;" a better than expected New Found Glory song "No News Is Good News;" NOFX's "Jaw, Knee, Music" and Less than Jake featuring Billy Bragg on "The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out." There is a DVD second disc with all sorts of stuff including a documentary previews, videos and anti-bush ads. The videos come from a stunning Anti-Flag, Bad Religion, Strike Anywhere and still amazing "Franco Un-American" by NOFX. The Anti-Flag video for "Turncoat" has hooked me completely and I have watched it like a million times. The smattering of ads are good on the whole with the first two on the deficit and kids running for president as highlights. David Cross provides a comedy stint down in Bush's heartland of Texas in 2002. As you might suspect the documentaries are some fairly serious shit done in strong and professional manner. In regards to whether you should buy this, if you don't then you are a Toby Keith fan - enough said.