1. |
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Hold on!
What the fuck is going on here?
I came here as a refuge from
The slings and arrows of a narrow-minded culture
And a society bent on bending me
Into an image of it's own corruption
So I can't believe what I'm seeing here
Kids subjugating themselves
To the very institutions
That I thought we came here to tear down!
I don't know what I expected
From a scene that loves to eat its own shit
But I guess I never wanted to believe that it could come to this
Where's the skepticism?
Where's the "Question Everything"?
Where's the everlasting demand for an autonomous identity?
You've traded them all for a worn-out theology
Three bent nails, and two thousand years of slavery
Do I have to spell it out?
Fuck Christian hardcore!
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2. |
Plausible Denial
02:05
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It's another Friday night: where do you wanna go?
You're looking at me like you think that I should know
It's just the status quo, it's just the style
Supported by a strong arm and the weakest of denials
You question my decision as you stare through bloodshot eyes
Doesn't it seem funny you ain't gotta justify?
You play the assumption, drunken weekend warrior
You tell me it's your free will, but we'll never know for sure
But it's normal
It's the way
And it's pounded in every day
It's normal
It's the way
And it's pounded in every day
If this is an issue that is drawn in black and white
Why do they spend millions telling us that it's alright?
If it wasn't poison then they wouldn't need the drill
Or the secrets and the lies about the shit that they sell
But it's normal
It's the way
And it's pounded in every day
It's normal
It's the way
And it's pounded in every day
I take it in and I question all the facts
Nation, God, and alcohol are three that got the axe
My sobriety puts me out of place
But I'll take your questions, put it right back in your face,
And ask you why--
Can you tell me why?
Can you show me why?
No.
I'm still waiting for a plausible denial
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3. |
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True 'til death, man!
Fucking dedication!
You pledge allegiance to the logo
Of a fucking corporation
What the fuck do running shoes
Have to do with our scene?
My Adidas don't mean shit to me
A transaction has been made
Can you tell me who bought who?
You buy the image
You sell out yourself
Where the product ends and you begin
I can't even tell
Buried under layers of brand identity
It makes me sick to see this kind of
Hardcore Loyalty!
What's the value of our self-control
After our sense of self's been sold?
Straightedge should be something more
Than a fucking demographic for a sporting goods store
Pull that hooded sweatshirt off from over your eyes
Realize we're so much more than what we buy!
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4. |
SXE and 17
01:09
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She's a young womyn with a "Why?"
And a certain sparkle in her eye
She won't hold a candle for just anyone, no
But she'll hold her boyfriend's jacket at the show
Straightedge and seventeen
Doesn't understand why the girls primp and preen
Straightedge and seventeen
Hates cheerleaders, but she'll be one for the scene
Straightedge and seventeen
A black marker's all she needs
To sum up the sincerest out of all of her beliefs
She hasn't figured out her future yet
But she's ready to deck anyone with a cigarette
Straightedge and seventeen
Doesn't understand why the girls primp and preen
Straightedge and seventeen
She's giving up burgers for rice and beans, yeah!
Straightedge and seventeen
Straightedge and seventeen
Straightedge!
Straightedge!
Straightedge!
And seventeen
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5. |
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Today a nation mourns
Another media figure's passed away
In the same fashion as a thousand others every day
No network news, no motorcade to mark their passing
No one'll eulogize them in Time Magazine
No one'll ever call them a hero
For their pioneering work in flying through a windshield,
Falling off a horse, or being shot down
Like a dog in the street
Maybe I'm just missing something
What's so valiant about fucking dying?
It's not like they bought it with a puppy under one arm
A baby in the other
Leaping through a wall of flames to safety
They were famous
Now they're dead
My adulation is too precious a commodity to waste on them
My heroes have always been princesses!
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6. |
Il Mio Quartiere
01:42
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My immediate thought is rage. Another fucking gun fires shots in my neighborhood. I practice restraint--I don't get a gun and put holes in the shooter's head. Clear thinking is down the drain, obscured by the sidewalk painted red. This moment's opinion: this asshole's better off dead.
Two worlds separated by a forty-foot wide strip of pavement, a concrete line. To disavow community and keep us divided, distrusting and hating one another.
My second thought is fear, as the getaway car drives by on my left. Ten eyes staring back at me; any look of threat could mean my death. Anticipation's cusp in near, but the story this book's based on is true. This moment's opinion: I hope I live to tell my story to you.
Two worlds separated by a forty-foot wide strip of pavement, a concrete line. To disavow community and keep us divided, distrusting and hating one another.
Then I'm left with despair, after ascertaining my life will go on. No bullets were meant for me, but they were meant for someone... It's happened before, it'll happen again; I can't see how it'll ever end. This moment's opinion: I'm suffocated by the impossible repair.
One night while being frisked, I learned that the wrong side of the street has implications of suspicion, and we're forced to surrender our rights to either side. They're taught "black", we're taught "white", and interaction is not just discouraged, it's denied. In the words of Ricardo, a neighbor I broke the walls and and met, "I used to deal drugs, and that I do regret. But I was even able to pay bills for my friends." Security and poverty in exchange for a dangerous means to an end.
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7. |
Concession
01:42
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OK, so you've won: congratulations
You've got us, we concede
You've showed us how resourceful you can be
Now can we end this stupid game?
You know the system is rotten to the core
There's no denying that
And you've gotta be tired of all the work that goes to covering up your tracks
This game has gone on for far too long, now
Howsabout we make a deal?
We'll try to forgive you for your past mistakes
In exchange for the information you conceal
We could all benefit from the wealth you've stored, and the technology
We can work together to improve our common good
Make that our priority!
But then again...
Of course, this is all based on the assumption
That you're even interested in the common good
An assertion I'm unwilling to concede
There's far too much for you to lose in playing it straight
This game is all about power and control
We know that you're not willing to give up an inch
This game may not be for us to win
But I'll be damned if we go down without a fight
We will continue to tear away at the ground beneath your feet
In order to construct a level field
The advantage could turn so quickly...
We don't know what we're up against, but you'll continue to slip
And we'll be there to pull you down!
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8. |
Keep it Down
02:40
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I'm asked "Why?" as if I got a choice
When I've got eyes, I've got a voice
"But keep it down!"
I've got something stuck inside of me
Gotta give it life, let it sing
"But keep it down!"
Keep it down...
Keep it down...
Keep it down...
Keep it down...
I don't owe you anything
I don't ask for the gifts you bring
The silence that you're asking for is treason
I am not beholden to you
To curtail the things I do
I will not keep it down!
I don't owe you anything
I don't owe you anything
I don't owe you anything
I don't owe you anything
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9. |
Revolutionary Concept
01:38
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The back of your leather jacket's painted "Revolution Now!"
I guess it's supposed to be a threat, but I don't know how
Liquored up, falling down
Where's the insurrection?
Your intoxication is the status quo's protection
Your empty slogans mean -- nothing!
Hollow rebellion means -- nothing!
Swing your fists into the air, it means nothing!
Break the bottle before you smash the state!
You put on your costume and you drink your props
You may scare your parents, you're no threat for the cops
Gutter punk is just another Grateful Dead
So much potential, woefully misdirected!
Your empty slogans mean -- nothing!
Hollow rebellion means -- nothing!
Swing your fists into the air, it means nothing!
Break the bottle before you smash the state!
Your cigarettes are sponsored by Jesse Helms
But you choose to look the other way
When you're falling down drunk in your own puke
You can bet your ideas won't see the light of day
Now, don't get me wrong, I'll give the revolution a try
I wanna see the pigs burn as much as the next guy
But I think throwing firebombs'll take
A steady hand backed by a sober plan!
The back of your leather jacket's painted "Revolution Now!"
I guess it's supposed to be a threat, but I don't know how
Liquored up, falling down
Where's the insurrection?
Your intoxication is the status quo's protection
Your empty slogans mean -- nothing!
Hollow rebellion means -- nothing!
Swing your fists into the air, it means nothing!
Break the bottle before you smash the state!
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10. |
Sanctuary II
01:38
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Kinda given up on giving up the real world
Went to the punk rock show, my old sanctuary
Just can't see things like they were before
And I don't feel like this side is mine, anymore
And I feel alone, but still I stay
After so long, I don't know another way
And I feel alone, but still I stay
After so long
I know that I can't take back what I've seen
And what I've seen is telling me I can never really leave
Feelin' like I got no home
Guess I'll hafta make it out there on my own
And I feel alone, but still I stay
After so long, I don't know another way
And I feel alone, but still I stay
After so long
So this is the underground?
Some things should stay buried...
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11. |
Stay Fucked
01:37
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Talk show nation sits with its mouth wide open
Can't believe reality
You shake your head and look down your nose
The world is a world away and this can't touch you
I wanna take you
I wanna fuck you up so you stay fucked
I can't even see straight
You don't see at all
I'm not thinking straight
Do you think at all?
How fucking naive can you be?
The world is a world away and this can't touch you
I wanna take you
I wanna fuck you so that you stay fucked
I can't even see straight
You don't see at all
I'm not thinking straight
Do you think at all?
How fucking naive can you be?
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12. |
SXEbro
01:59
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I never felt this pressure before
Now it threatens to break me
Never hadda be strong before
Now strength is all I have
Never felt this pressure before
Now it threatens to break me
Never hadda be strong before
Now strength is all I have
23 and eight years down
I was given until 21
Said I'd regret letting it get under my skin
But today, it means more
Than it ever fuckin' has before
Past all the pointed fingers and the pointless slogans
And yes, I still claim SXE
When the others have moved on, it's still moving me
Well, I could deny it; I'd be denying my identity
I didn't make this choice, it made me
Went to a bar, I thought I'd see the light
Something inside just didn't feel right
But which is worse? Living a lie, or living alone? (Todd don't know)
I could go in and be someone else
Insted, I went home by myself
Put on "We'll Make the Difference"
Felt a little bit better
And yes, I still claim SXE
When the others have moved on, you know it's still moving me
Well, I could deny it; I'd be denying my identity
I didn't make this choice, it made me
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Trepan Nation Chicago, Illinois
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