Sound of Our Revolution | April 2023: Blizzard Comedy’s 4th Birthday

4 years huh? Damn. A whole presidential term of Blizzard Comedy, and we’ve not even fixed all of society’s problems and barely gotten any far right comedians cancelled. We need to step up our game if we want to be re-elected.

In celebration of this momentous occasion, this month’s playlist has no theme, it’s just a collection of my favourite lefty protest songs, queer liberation anthems, and the odd track that doesn’t really have a political edge but will still be acceptable to listen to when the revolution comes on account of it being so based. This playlist is double length, so I’m just going to get right into it.

Four more years, four more years … but no more, 2027 we’ll have to be replaced by hopefully a modern and more relevant comedy club once we become the boomers we tried too hard to eradicate in our youth. Or we’ll be replaced by the most right-wing fascist comedy you can think of, but hopefully that won’t be the case.

Listen to our party playlist here:

And if for some reason you like reading several thousand words about music I like, read on:

1: Desperate Measures – The Human Project

Clarion Call – 2018 – Melodic Hardcore
https://thehumanproject.bandcamp.com/album/clarion-call

“Call me snowflake and expect the avalanche.”

Blizzard Comedy already existed once I first heard this song. But when I did first hear this song mere days after our first ever live show in 2019 at that years’ Manchester Punk Festival, it felt like a sign, and instantly became our spiritual theme tune. And eventually our actual theme tune after their blessing.

The Human Project are calling it quits after this year’s MPF, and I’m absolutely gutted not to be there to see it. For a band I’ve only heard one album of, and only seen live once, I am way more attached to them than I have any right to be. This song has served as the mantra for not only Blizzard Comedy, but pretty much everything creative I do these days.

And on top of that, it’s just a fucking jam. The band will be missed, but their music will live on, and you’re not going to stop hearing this every Blizzard Comedy show anytime soon.

2: Purge The Poison – Marina ft. Pussy Riot

Purge The Poison – 2021 – Indie Pop

“Need to purge the poison, show us our humanity
All the bad and good, racism and misogyny
Nothing’s hidden anymore, capitalism made us poor
God, forgive America for every single war”

And here we have one of the best intersectional feminist anthems of 2021 – Marina’s Purge the Poison (specifically the version ft. Pussy Riot because that’s just who I am as a person fuck you).

Delightfully arty electropop about systemic oppression and the flaws of the capitalist system we live in. Can’t go wrong.

3: Burn It – Fever 333

STRENGTH IN NUMB333RS – 2019 – Trap Metal

“You know sometimes you gotta burn it down
To build it up again
Lights go out in the town we’re living in
Burn it down when no-one’s innocent”

Fever 333 managed to make Rap Metal cool again nearly 20 years after its prime. Imagine Hollywood Undead if they actually had something to say. Tight trap production, heavy ass riffs, and almost Rage style guitar distortion and effects, and hooks for days. Superb stuff.

4: Voice of the Voiceless – Rage Against the Machine

The Battle of Los Angeles – 1999 – Rap Metal

“You’ll never silence tha voice of tha voiceless”

Another Blizzard Comedy mantra. One of the many rejected names on my mood board of aesthetics for this project was the idea of “Voices” – alternative voices, oppressed voices, voices of people who aren’t going to get a Netflix Special by offending a bunch of people on Twitter.

“You’ll never silence the voice of the voiceless” is a rally cry – unfortunately co-opted by the far right at this point, who love telling you all through their megaphone in front of an audience of thousands, sponsored by multimillion corporations and broadcast on most American news outlets that they’re being silenced.

But no, we’re talking about those who have been silenced throughout history and to this day. And the literal worst thing that’s happened to the voices of the far right is that sometimes they have to listen to other people’s lived experiences too. That’s not silencing (although increasingly these days I wish it was).

5: The Guillotine – The Coup

Sorry to Bother You – 2012 – Hip-Hop

“We got hella people, they got helicopters
They got the bombs, and we got the, we got the
We got the guillotine
We got the guillotine, you better run”

One of my favourite silly lyrics of all time in such a smooth anthem to rebellion. If that chorus doesn’t make you want to tie up your nearest billionaire and take them to the top of a hill to decapitate them in front of the proletariat, they’ve spent so much time exploiting, then I don’t know what will.

6: Rotten Dichotomy – The Best of the Worst

Better Medicine – 2021 – Skacore
https://thebestoftheworst.bandcamp.com/album/better-medicine

“Conditioned to believe the duality is real
It’s time to let the bigots be taken down by the misfits
We will not agree to secede, this is our fucking time
As your generation crumbles, ours will begin to rise”

Heavy ass ska punk about how non-binary millennials and gen z are going to invent a new gender for every single transphobic Boomer and Gen X who dies. Fucking iconic tbh.

7: There Are Dozens Of Us – Animal Byproducts

Attempts at Understanding – 2021 – Pop Punk
https://animalbyproducts.bandcamp.com/album/attempts-at-understanding

“Do I undermine your solid gender roles?
Or are we all just assortments of holes?”

The fact that this track is missing from most other streaming services apart from Spotify is a crime. Upbeat jangly punk deconstructing gender, and one of the best chorus stanzas in modern pop-punk. Stop enforcing rules and perceptions onto me based on the size and position of my bodily holes you fucking weirdos. “Oh, you can’t be in this room, your hole is on a longer hosepipe” fuck you, I’m just here to pee, I’m not threatening anyone – you’re the only ones in here obsessing over my genitals – yet you’re worried about me sexually harassing you? Okay, sure.

8: We’re The Cool Kids – Ryan Cassata

Shine – 2016 – Indie Rock

“Keep it up
We can dance all night
Don’t stop
We’ll be winning this fight
Rise up
Till the sun comes up and the sun comes up”

This song is guaranteed to cheer me up no matter how hopeless the fight for trans liberation looks. We are the cool kids. Some of us are cool kids pushing 30, but we are the cool kids, and we will be winning this fight for our rights.

9: Q.U.E.E.N. – Janelle Monae ft Erykah Badu

The Electric Lady – 2013 – R&B

“Are we a lost generation of our people?
Add us to equations but they’ll never make us equal
She who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel
So why ain’t the stealing of my rights made illegal?
They keep us underground working hard for the greedy
But when it’s time pay they turn around and call us needy”

And here we have one of the best intersectional feminist anthems of 2013. 10 years old and Janelle Monae still hasn’t gotten the love and credit they deserve. Easily one of the best singers of our generation – and this song is essential listening for any queer lefty feminist wanting to murder the rich.

10: Better Decide Which Side You’re On – Tom Robinson Band

Power In The Darkness – 1978 – Punk

“Pretty soon there’ll be no room
For sitting on the fence
You better decide which side you’re on
This ship goes down before too long
If Left is right then Right Wrong
You better decide which side you’re on”

See, I don’t exclusively listen to songs released within the 28 years of me being alive. Tom Robinson Band was a fantastic discovery I made in 2020 – both this and Glad to be Gay are timeless protest classics (which is depressing given how old they are. You’d hope if progress was being made that protest music would date fairly quickly, but sadly no, just as relevant today as it was when it was written).

And this was written before Thatcher formed a government. The writing was on the wall – but we’d yet to experience the horrible irreversible damage a decade of Thatcher rule could do to gay, working-class liberation in this country. Nearly every problem we face in today’s world can be traced directly back to Thatcher and Regan. They may both be dead, but their legacy is alive in all major western, English speaking political parties, both in government and opposition.

If you’ve not already decided what side you’re on, well hurry the fuck up, we don’t have long left.

11: Our Time Is Now – Diamond Head

Diamond Head – 2016 – Heavy Metal
https://nervus.bandcamp.com/album/the-evil-one

“Kill all the fascists
Extinguish their breed
Hang all those bastards
From every tree”

I’m eternally depressed that more and more Heavy Metal is digging itself into a niche for libertarian Gen Xers who think that pronouns are the root of all evil and get angry at cancel culture when their heroes turn out to be nonces – yet want victims of sexual assault who speak up against musicians they like to be lynched.

Be more like Diamond Head. (Unless Diamond Head turn out to also be trash, but given the lyrical content of this song, I would be very surprised. Iron Maiden should’ve learned from them.)

12: The 1% – Knife Club

We Are Knife Club – 2020 – Hardcore
https://knifeclubpunk.bandcamp.com/album/we-are-knife-club

“The 1% are Selfish cunts”

This Northern powerhouse of a punk supergroup absolutely nail their genre – hardcore punk that could’ve come straight out of the 1980s. So hardcore I can’t understand most of the lyrics, nor can I find them published anywhere online. I think the title speaks for itself here though.

13: My Favourite Fact About Maggie – Smoking Gives You Big Tits

My Favourite Fact About Maggie – 2020 – Folk Punk
https://smokinggivesyoubigtits.bandcamp.com/track/my-favourite-fact-about-maggie

“My Favourite Fact About Maggie,
Is that she’s fucking dead”

Another song that’s tragically not available on most streaming services outside of Spotify. This whole song is based around celebrating the fact that Margaret Thatcher is dead – and I figured after some of these heavier themed songs, we could all do with some positivity in our lives. The Kazoo compliments it nicely too.

14: Hangerz – Pussy Riot ft. Junglepussy & VIC MENSA

Hangerz – 2019 – Punk

“Kiss my fist
I’m not to be missed
You will miss a blade in my lips
Seams on my wrist
Went through troubles with my prince
Ever since age of 6, I’m surrounded by sins
My body does not need advice from a priest”

I’m allowed more than one Pussy Riot track because the last one was a feature, shut up.

This came from our Roe V Wade playlist – and while pretty much all of those tracks are difficult to listen to (by design of course) – this one not only dives head first into difficult subject matter, it also fucking slaps. Every single verse and lyrics is on point – from boasting about loving to fuck cute boys, to diving into suffering sexual abuse at the hand of the church, to chastising that same church for trying to control the bodies of AFAB people even further by criminalizing access to safe abortions.

That whole playlist was eye-opening for me, as someone who was already very much pro-choice, but obviously never have to actually deal directly with the subject matter in real life being AMAB. This track I think is the one I’d pick from the whole thing that encapsulates the whole mood, and I love it.

15: Give Us Something Worth Voting For – The Tuts

Update Your Brain – 2016 – Punk
https://thetuts.bandcamp.com/album/update-your-brain

“They say they’re gonna do this and that
They say they’re gonna change the world
They don’t care about ordinary folk
The system is a joke”

I’ve done a lot of Tory bashing and will continue to do so – but this song captures the frustration of not really having an exciting alternative rather than “Tory, but not as much”. Hopefully Starmer is just playing the long game and will be a revolutionary socialist when he takes office, but somehow, I doubt it.

16: Tories Tories Tories (Out Out Out) – Angelic Upstarts

Bullingdon Bastards – 2015 – Oi!
https://bosstuneagerecords.bandcamp.com/album/bullingdon-bastards

“Tories Tories Tories
Out! Out! Out!”

This is a common refrain in lefty Oi Punk – whether it’s Tories, or the name of a specific terrible leader. The sentiment is always shared.

17: New England – Kid Kapichi ft. Bob Vylan

Here’s What You Could Have Won – 2022 – Punk
https://kidkapichiband.bandcamp.com/album/heres-what-you-could-have-won

“Money in my pocket no, I’m not too keen
That’s why I keep voting for the rich and heartless
Bored of all these moaning artists
So, I’ll cast my vote regardless”

Huh, just realized this is the only Bob Vylan feature on this list – what’s wrong with me.

It’s a fucking good one at least. Saw it described as a national anthem for the malcontent leftist and couldn’t agree more. This track as an unrivalled groove to its verses, and its chorus is second to none. Possibly my favourite song of 2022. It’s so fucking good.

18: Kill The Rich – Vindicator

Communal Decay – 2021 – Thrash Metal
https://vindicator.bandcamp.com/album/communal-decay

“The cost of living on the rise
Our nightmares made alive
Pick the pockets of the blind
We struggle to survive
Although one day I think you’ll find
That money cannot buy
Your safety is in jeopardy
Your life we will deny”

Another based fucking metal band. Two in one list? It’s like I’ve gone soft on the genre.

Seriously though, I don’t know much about this band, but this fucking shreds. Onslaught of pure thrashing greatness, and a chorus we can all get behind.

19: Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous – Good Charlotte

The Young and The Hopeless – 2002 – Pop Punk

“If money is such a problem
Well they got mansions
Think we should rob them“

If you told me the band that did the very cis-heteronormative, bland yet inexplicably catchy Girls & Boys on the same album had a surprisingly thorough call-out of rich and successful celebrities in just as inoffensive musical structure and melody – I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are. Good Charlotte actually pretty based it turns out.

It’s hardly the communist manifesto – but it openly advocates for robbing rich people who complain about how bad it is being rich, which is genuinely more than I’d expect from an early 2000s pop punk band. Fair play.

20: Wretches and Kings – Linkin Park

A Thousand Suns – 2010 – Nu Metal

“We, the animals, take control
Hear us now, clear and tall
Wretches and kings, we come for you”

People sleep on A Thousand Suns a lot, I feel. Sure, it’s not quite the hard hitters that Hybrid Theory, Meteora, or even Minutes to Midnight Was. And it’s not quite as accessible as Living Things or One More Light.

But Linkin Park’s middle album, based loosely on a conceptual nuclear post-apocalypse, and combining their elements of electro, hip-hop and alternative metal that made them a household name in the 2000s is far from a miss, and Wretches and Kings might be my favourite song of theirs of all time.

It’s powerful, got a satisfying beat, homages to Public Enemy and sampling Mario Savio’s 1964 speech to underline its anti-authoritarian message. It’s also got one of the best choruses of the 2010s, don’t @ me.

21: Talkin’ Bout a Revolution – Tracy Chapman

Tracy Chapman – 1988 – Blues

“Poor people gonna rise up
And get their share
Poor people gonna rise up
And take what’s theirs”

A timeless classic from one of the greatest singer songwriters ever to have lived. What more is there to say? Tracy’s Dulcet tones inspire and comfort in equal measure, evoking a feeling of readiness for change, and the drive to fight for it. One of the best songs of all time to be honest.

22: Which Side Are You On? – Dropkick Murphys

Sing Loud, Sing Proud – 2001 – Celtic Punk

“Don’t scab for the bosses,
Don’t listen to their lies.
Us poor folks haven’t got a chance
Unless we organize”

One of the best Union anthems covered by one of the best punk bands going today, what’s not to like?

While Dropkick Murphys’ original work is also excellent, their takes on classic folk protest songs are second to none, and the fact that they revitalize these basic but essential Union solidarity songs for a modern audience is a very worthwhile endeavour indeed, and I am glad we have so many versions to listen to in many different styles. Spread the message far and wide and have a blast while doing it.

23: Solidarity Forever – Pete Seeger

N/A – 1955 – Folk

“They have taken untold millions that they never toiled to earn
But without our brain and muscle not a single wheel can turn
We can break their haughty power, gain our freedom when we learn
That the union makes us strong”

If you don’t cry when this song and Billy Bragg’s Power in a Union play in Pride (2014) then we can never be friends. An all-time classic.

24: Them Belly Full (But We Hungry) – Bob Marley & The Wailers

Natty Dread – 1974 – Reggae

“Them belly full, but we hungry
A hungry mob is a angry mob”

One of the things for me about growing up is I’ve realized that protest music doesn’t need to just be loud angry punk or aggressive introspective hip-hop – sometimes the more understated and relaxed melodies do a better job of underlining a point than loud distorted guitars and shouting.

Bob Marley’s “Them Belly Full” is a perfect example of this, it’s slow, it’s soft, it’s a little bit dreary, but the message is loud and clear. It’s uplifting, it’s blunt, it’s iconic, what a tune.

25: $timulus Plan – Dead Prez ft. The Evil Genius DJ Green Lantern

Pulse of the People – 2009 – Hip-Hop

“Don’t ever think slavery was just about race
Slavery was about money
They say the USA was founded on freedom
But slavery built this country”

Much more eloquent and directly experienced people than me have written multiple essays on the intersections of class and race, and as a white English person with a middle-class background I’m not going to overstep my lane. But what I will say is: $timulus Plan is a masterclass thesis deconstructing American capitalism as a whole and particularly how it was built off of and exploited poor black people to get to the unstoppable juggernaut it is today. This goes toe to toe with Body Count’s “No Lives Matter” or anything by The Coup. Superb track.

26: We Will Not Forget – Fighting Fiction

We Will not Forget – 2010 – Punk
https://fightingfiction.bandcamp.com/album/we-will-not-forget-2010

“We will not forgive; we will not forget
A system we need to change
A leader we didn’t elect”

This is always a bit of a weird one to return to,. Published just before the 2010 election, it’s all about removing the party of government after breaking their promises and objectively making everything worse. Now of course, no one was thrilled with what replaced that particular government in 2010 – but we’ve gotta remember that the Blair era in particular, whilst demonstrably better than Thatcher, Major, and everyone we’ve had since the 2010 general election, was still the government responsible for our involvement in Iraq – amongst many other questionable decisions that have absolutely screwed over core labour voters.

The frustration felt in this song, that the party supposedly for socialism and working-class people, had let us down to a ridiculous degree. Was it the right thing to let Cameron in in 2010? Absolutely not. But can I blame people for not being sold that Brown was going to bring the party back to a state that would actually help people rather than plaster over the issues whilst contributing to war crimes on the sly? Not at all.

This song is all about the feeling of political change, which we are very much on the cusp of now. Let’s just hope it goes better than the last couple of times.

27: Song of Choice – Crazy Arm

Union City Breath – 2011 – Folk Punk
https://crazyarm.bandcamp.com/album/union-city-breath

“The EDL are standing up for England
But not an England that I want to see
As an atheist I’d stand side by side with Sikhs and Muslims
To deny the racists any victory”

Another punk cover of a classic protest song – and the second appearance of a Seeger on this list.

Originally by Peggy Seeger in the 1960s, this 2011 cover adds an alternate verse all about the BNP (whatever happened to Nick Griffin? Hopefully something horrible.) And is a very faithful yet harder cover of an immaculate protest song for a modern audience. We love to hear it.

28: Guillotine – Stray From The Path

Euthanasia – 2022 – Hardcore
https://strayfromthepath.bandcamp.com/album/euthanasia

“We tried it your way and it’s broken
It’s over, the people have spoken
The desperate won’t stay desperate forever”

One of my favourite songs of 2022, Guillotine by Stray From the Path is an onslaught of brutal distorted hardcore punk, revolutionary guttural lyrics, and an overall package that just makes you want to fuck up the lives of the upper classes.

29: What’s It All About?! – Austerity Dogs

The Void – 2022 – Punk
https://austeritydogs.bandcamp.com/album/the-void

“Meanwhile in the sunny utopia we call the Western World
there is systematic racism, elitist paedophilia
corruption, seeping its way into the very core
And what you’ll tell me is to talk to my MP
And ask them what it’s all about”

One of Blizzard’s favourite acts Jono Murray is in a damn good spoken word punk band – which puts me in mind of “What if Craig Charles fronted Sleaford Mods.”

Jono’s lyrical work is delightfully working-class scouse in the best way, complimented by electronic punk that slaps harder than it has any right to. I don’t say this lightly when I say this is the sound of our revolution, and I wanna hear more stuff like this please – just angry oppressed people spitting truth over beats that make The Prodigy sound like Kraftwerk. Yes please, love it.

30: BOTHERED – JER

BOTHERED/UNBOTHERED – 2022 – Ska Punk
https://jerska.bandcamp.com/album/bothered-unbothered

“This country’s free, but it’s free for who?
Systems fundamentally hurting those who don’t look like you”

Jer is possibly one of the greatest musicians of our generation and had one of the best albums of 2022. Tight political Ska Punk with grooves for days. You might think you’re not a fan of Ska Punk, but you’re wrong, Ska Punk is objectively the best musical genre, and if you can’t see that I hope you see the light soon.

31: THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES – Anti Flag ft. Tim McIlrath, Brian Baker

LIES THEY TELL OUR CHILDREN – 2023 – Punk

“There’s an echo ringing that we’re going to war
It’s the same old story, they’re still killing for sport
And I get so sick of the sight, it keeps me up at night.”

An inter-generational skate-punk collaboration waiting to happen – Anti Flag, Bad Religion and Rise Against at their very best. Melodic, uncompromising, and a pounding beat to soundtrack Millennials and even some of the younger Generation X’s desire for revolutionary change. Perfection.

32: Work – SNAYX

Weaponized Youth: Part 1 – 2023 – Punk

“I’m not workin’ like a dog
For the minimum wage and the satisfaction
When the stress kicks in
I hardly ever sleep
I haven’t felt creative even once this week
I haven’t got the courage and I haven’t got the guts
But I’d rathеr be dead than let the debt pile-up”

I sadly missed seeing these guys when they were supporting Kid Kapichi on tour because of my damn internal organs playing up. But yeah, if you like Kid Kapichi, these guys scratch the same itch. This is their message core, venting about how the capitalist system of exploitation through work murders creativity and doesn’t even give you a reasonable quality of life for the sacrifice. Hardly the first band to point this out, but they do it so fucking well, this rocks.

33: Your Feminism Is Not My Feminism – Mykki Blanco ft. Ah-Mer-Ah-Su

Stay Close To Music – 2022 – Alternative Hip-Hop
https://mykkiblanco.bandcamp.com/album/stay-close-to-music

“Your feminism is not my feminism
And may it see include all kind of women”

Another powerful 2022 offering featuring two queer black women bearing their souls on the line, desperately trying to share their message of Transgender INCLUSIVE radical feminism. Feminism without intersectionality is like a toastie maker without removable plates. Seems functional until you try and use it and realize it’s going to take a week of scrubbing to shift the mess leftover when using it for its primary and only purpose.

I’ve written better similes.

This song is so impassioned, so earnest, and so pained. It should be essential listening for any Gender Critical person – this is what trans rights is, it is a companion to women’s rights, not an opponent. But women’s rights that police biology are not women’s rights that ultimately benefit any women, trans or otherwise. Allying with the far right against what you think is a common enemy but is actually an essential ally is setting women’s rights back further and much higher risk. Trans rights are human rights, and losing trans rights is the first step in losing more rights for all other women. Don’t let this happen, don’t be complicit in it. Celebrate all women, celebrate our differences as much as what we have in common.

General rule is, if you’re on the side of Tucker Carlson – maybe re-evaluate your outlook on life.

34: Hope Gets Harder – Martha

Please Don’t Take Me Back – 2022 – Pop Punk
https://marthadiy.bandcamp.com/album/please-dont-take-me-back-2

“Every day, the hope gets harder
Where do you get yours?
Underpaid subscription servants
Of the culture wars”

2022 may have been kind of all over the place with charting music – but the grassroots punk scene had some proper bangers this year. Martha’s “Hope Gets Harder” sums up the current human condition perfectly. Hope is getting increasingly harder every single day, but the song counters that with an upbeat and optimistic soundscape that laments everything wrong with a sense of “This sucks, but we’re not alone, let’s keep fighting back together, what’s the worst that could happen if we try?”

“Underpaid Subscription servants of the culture wars” is such a perfect encapsulation of 2022 as well, I hope someone got a really nice cake for writing that line, it’s immaculate.

35: Somewhere Better – Ad Infinitum

Chapter III – Downfall – 2023 – Symphonic Metal
https://adinfinitummusic.bandcamp.com/album/chapter-iii-downfall

“I’ll dream until my dying day
Create a new Somewhere better”

Ad Infinitium outdo themselves every year or two. Three albums in and still absolutely slaying it, creating original and powerful symphonic metal that speaks from the heart and touches the soul.

Upside Down is I think the better single from this album on a musical level, but Somewhere Better just edges it out on lyrical relevance, as the idea of dreaming and fighting every day for something better is one that resonates very hard with I assume most of you who watch our shows/read our content/follow us for some secret third reason.

The whole album is phenomenal though, give it a listen, seriously you’re missing out.

36: Fuck Everybody Who Voted Tory – Oi Polloi

Fuaim Catha – 1999 – Oi!

“Police – army of the rich, Mary Whitehouse – fuckin’ bitch
Fuck the Queen – the fuckin’ slag, n’ fuckin’ Thatcher, fuckin’ hag
Fuck everybody who voted Tory”

36 tracks in I’m running out of new and innovative ways of saying “This song makes me feel less bad at how bad the world is because it’s shouting about how bad the world is and it’s kind of cathartic”.

This is an older cut, but the simultaneous notions of being let down by a Labour party who aren’t doing enough to liberate the working classes or even give them basic human protections, whilst being fucking furious at anyone who even considered voting Tory, is a mood that hits far too hard right now.

We can say fuck everybody who voted Tory, while also calling Keir Starmer a wet wipe, who maybe will win the next election, but unless we have some kind of miracle, will hardly make things any better than they are for us right now.

I want to be proven wrong.

37: Eat The Rich – Slightly West

Assimilate! – 2020 – Alternative Rock
https://slightlywest.bandcamp.com/album/assimilate

“You could end world hunger
Make healthcare universal
You could end poverty
Give the homeless housing”

This artist only has one monthly listener on Spotify – and I’m 99% sure it’s me. If you’re into stoner grunge riffs with punk rock lyrics and endearingly messy instrumentations – then give them ago, this is so fucking cool, I love it.

38: Queer As In Fuck You – Dog Park Dissidents

Sexual and Violent – 2018 – Punk
https://dogparkdissidents.bandcamp.com/album/sexual-and-violent-ep

“You want to celebrate a gay man on your cable TV
While trans lesbians of colour dig in garbage just to eat
You’ve paved the road for CEOs to suck on some dick
While all the kids on the street are getting pelted with bricks”

Angry queer hardcore punk all about intersectionality and universal queer rights – not just rich white gay monogamous men. What more is there to say? Great stuff.

39: Anthem – Arrowhead

Anthem – 2020 – Pop Punk
https://whoisarrowhead.bandcamp.com/track/anthem

“We’re angry and we’re proud, I’ll tell you that for free
Right now, I think we’re allowed to be
When the world doesn’t want to let us be seen
Please stay beautiful, stay unique”

As the title suggests, this is an anthem. Specifically, an anthem for LGBTQIA+ people, mourning our losses, celebrating our wins, and creating a community of solidarity and pride that makes me shed a tear to be a part of.

Things are fucking hard, and this song manages to straddle the line between being a protest and a party song – which I fucking love. Pride is a protest first and foremost, but adding celebration to the rioting does not undermine it, far from it. Celebrating wins is equally as important as mourning losses, and this song allows you to do both.

40: Black Tie – Grace Petrie

Queer as Folk – 2018 – Folk
https://gracepetrie.bandcamp.com/album/queer-as-folk

“You will figure out what’s yours
And that it’s got
Nothing to do with fitting neatly in a box
That was constructed to make it seem
Like people come in just two teams
And anything that’s in between ain’t good enough
And you will love
And you’ll be loved”

If you haven’t cried at this song then I don’t trust you, I’m sorry. Grace Petrie is a national treasure, and Black Tie is such a complete package of celebrating gender non-conformity in queer settings, and even if you’re not trans for some reason (not judging, you do you) I’d like to think the notion of finding where you fit and not being constrained into a box is something even you can appreciate.

41: Fuck These Fuckin Fascists – The Muslims

Fuck These Fuckin Fascists – 2021 – Punk
https://themuslims.bandcamp.com/album/fuck-these-fuckin-fascists-2

“Fuck these fuckin fascists
Fuck their family and friends
If they defend a fuckin fascist
They can fuck off till their dead”

Some bands leave their lyrics cloaked in poetic vagueness and misdirection and provoke lots of thoughtful discussions about the deeper meanings and nuances of each word in each verse.

The Muslims don’t fuck with that and make it very clear what they’re saying and where they stand immediately. Fuck These Fuckin Fascists just bulldozes your cathartic antifascist punk rock, and a chorus that will live rent free in your head forever.

42: Gandhi Mate, Gandhi – Enter Shikari

A Flash Flood of Colour – 2012 – Electronicore

“Awhhhh,
Yabba dabba do one son, we don’t want you rules
Who you fooling son, we’ve got all the tools
We need to build a whole new system”

I could talk about how much the drum and bass elements of this song slap. I can talk about the unapologetically anti-capitalist lyrics which likely radicalized a generation of socialists today. But as great as the rest of the song is, there will never be a greater musical moment in any genre or generation than “Yabba Dabba Do One Son”.

We don’t deserve Enter Shikari.

43: Revolution Now – The Press

Skins ‘n’ Punks, Volume 5: The US Connection – 1989 – Punk

“Don’t wait around and see what the future might bring
‘cause we can’t take no chances with those kind of things
And don’t put off ‘til tomorrow what you can do now
Don’t wait for tomorrow, Revolution now”

This is a very clean recording for a Punk record from 1989 – but the message isn’t lost in that. Waiting for things to get better is futile – we need grassroots activism, we need to look after one another, we need to spread our messages, and above all, we need a revolution. Now.

44: There’s Going To Be A Revolution – The Men That Will Not Be Blamed For Nothing

Double Negative – 2018 – Crust Punk
https://blamedfornothing.bandcamp.com/album/double-negative

“Been on my knee so long, I’ve got arthritis
Had to grovel until, I slipped a disk
Take my forelock, ’till my heads gone bald
I’m starving, hungry and I’m freezing cold
If I could learn to write, I’d write the queen a letter
I could tell her I’m at the end of my tether
If things don’t change, we’re coming on mass
Destroy the monarchy and the upper class”

A firm favourite. Double Negative as an album was a slow burner for me. It didn’t quite have the same fun as I had the first time I heard Conventional Weapons – and it wasn’t an instant 10/10 as Not Your Typical Victorians – but the more I listen to it, the more I appreciate it, and if this does end up being the band’s final release, this final track is a heck of one to go out on.

The slow building beat, heavy distorted guitars, the raw pain and exhaustion in the vocals and reflected in the lyrics. This is a revolution anthem to end all revolution anthems and transcends its steampunk aesthetic to strike a very real chord with the struggles of the modern working classes.

Probably my favourite song of theirs now, and a song that will get me as angry as it does pumped. Andy’s gravelly, despaired yet determined vocals really sell the reality in the plight, and the way the track just keeps getting louder and louder for nearly 5 minutes as it builds to a crescendo – a true masterclass in song writing.

45: Fuck The Tories – The Kunts ft. Terry Edwards

Fuck The Tories – 2022 – Punk
https://kuntandthegang.bandcamp.com/track/fuck-the-tories-single-mix

“You might say you don’t vote Labour
Or you wouldn’t vote Lib Dem
But the time has come for anyone
That isn’t fucking them”

The Kunt’s best Christmas song to date – and the fact it only hit number 7 while the sausage roll charity grifting cunts got yet another number one with a hack, soulless, creatively bereft parody of Feed the World (a fitting target as we’re talking about charity grifters).

But one thing to keep your spirits up is this song had infinitely more staying power – where LadBaby dropped off the charts immediately after that week (and definitely not pocketing an unspecified of money by claiming it back as expenses).

Fuck The Tories by the Kunts isn’t a new message, but it’s delivered in that trademarked Kunt way, of sounding really pleasant and upbeat despite the vulgarity of the lyrics. The jingle of the bells over the main song gives it an unmistakably Christmassy feel and gives a sense of solidarity and catharsis – reminding you that you’re not alone, not even close. Everyone hates the Tories, even these kunts. We’ve had enough, and it actually seems like that might be the case now… 14 years too late mind, but what are you gonna do?

46: Mutual Aid – Faintest Idea

The Voice Of Treason – 2012 – Ska Punk
https://faintestidea.bandcamp.com/album/the-voice-of-treason

“We are the Many and They are the few”

And coming full circle we’re ending with another of my favourite bands, and along with The Human Project – a band who became a driving force in my own ideology for Blizzard, who I also discovered at Manchester Punk Festival 2019.

When I first heard this song, Jeremy Corbyn was still leader of the Labour party – and I can’t tell you how painful it is to hear something reminiscent of his slogan sung with such power, unity and solidarity as the closure to this song. This song actually pre-dated that manifesto by many years, but the association is there, and it makes me mourn for a Labour party lost, and a flawed but caring, empathetic and capable leader who we continue to kick to the curb for to this day.

Labour from 2015-2019 may not have won any elections – but it mobilized and radicalized a generation of young voters who never would have been engaged before and turned hard left socialist politics into something to be proud of, and the message spread well. Sadly not well enough, and now Labour has fallen back into its neoliberal centrist ways. Every time I want to give Starmer some Kudos for doing something right, he ruins it by opening his mouth and going back on another line, or making yet another ill-advised comment that achieves nothing but attention from people who aren’t going to vote for Labour anyway.

But I digress – this song predates Corbyn’s leadership, and is very much its own beast, and the message of uniting the Many against the oppression by the few, is unfortunately timeless, and is delivered perfectly in this short and sweet bouncy ska track.

A hopeful and warming note to leave on, and a song that will be on my leftist celebration playlists probably forever. 11 years old and this track is still essential listening.

Fucking hell that was a lot. 46 songs to rock out, jump around, bang your head, or just nod and wiggle awkwardly to as we celebrate 4 years as a comedy club! Where the fuck has the time gone? If you’ve read this far, you must be a die-hard fan already, but on the off chance you’re not – we have a bunch of shows coming up, which you can book tickets for on our Outsavvy page: https://www.outsavvy.com/organiser/blizzard-comedy

And while you’re doing that, why not follow us on Twitch.tv/blizzardcomedy to watch our self-acclaimed livestream shows (they’re really very good – Blizzard Comedy). And catch up with any live show you missed within the last 14 days.

Thank you so much for sticking with us so long, and looking forward to celebrating our 4th birthday with you soon ❤

One thought on “Sound of Our Revolution | April 2023: Blizzard Comedy’s 4th Birthday”

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