Contributed by Jonny Collins
Another month, another playlist.
The obvious thing would be to do yet another anti-royalist playlist following the masturbatory display of wealth and privilege that was King Charles III’s coronation whilst a significant portion of the country are working themselves to death to afford food with little to no help from a government that seems more concerned with hiding its corruption better than governing with any degree of sincerity, empathy or care for the future survival of the people.
I instead decided to focus on what I think was the most disgusting element of this whole sordid affair – the gross mistreatment of peaceful protestors by the Met Police empowered by the Policing, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act passed last year by whichever flavour of Tory fascist was responsible at the time.
I don’t think anyone who’s attended a protest in the last decade and a half is surprised that police forces abuse their positions of power over protestors for no other reason than suppression of the people and protection of the state. But there is an added fascist undertone here. For these harsh measures to be demonstrated under a ceremony elevating an unelected monarch to officially become the head of state just reeks of dictator behaviour.
We can argue all we like over whether the monarchy has any practical power over its people or is just there as a symbolic relic of the country’s (frankly terrible) history, or some kind of administrative role of accountability for elected officials to keep them from descending too far into overt fascism. But the fact of the matter is the Royal Family are among the wealthiest people in the world, and achieve this through inheritance and taxpayer funding, and nothing more. For the state to treat, arrest and suppress its people’s right to protest in this very specific instance is an incredibly visible indication that the police aren’t here to keep the peace – but to keep the wealthy and privileged in those positions and protect them from us.
The Met in this instance were incredibly corrupt. Despite the additional powers given to them by the government in a completely obvious move to ban the majority of protests, they still managed to overstep their powers and wrongfully arrest so many people for completely arbitrary if not made-up reasons.
Whether you’re the kind of person who already knew that cops only ever protect the rich and powerful and are there to keep the poor in line rather than serve the community – or if you’re the kind of person who things the police are by and large well meaning – I don’t think anyone can deny that this was a gross play by the police in this instance. We need to stop pretending that we can just go on without doing anything and hope they’ll get better.
Maybe you’ve never directly had a run in with the police. Maybe you have certain privileged characteristics that mean you can peacefully get on with your life without police intervention. Maybe the police have even helped you when something has happened to you. But if you can watch the police over the last few decades behave as they do against the wellbeing of the people and, in all too common instances get away with murdering civilians, and not realize that something has to change, then at this point I have to assume you’re being wilfully ignorant.
The topic of cops being bad is well explored in music. So after 3 years since my last ACAB playlist, I thought this was a good time to revisit the topic, although this time with more of an angle of the institution of a police state rather than just individual cops specifically (Although don’t misconstrue me, all cops are still bastards.) With the help of my friends list I have pulled together a playlist of 26 Anti Police State anthems across both the UK and US, from a variety of eras, voices, and genres. If you’d like to listen to them, you can do so by the following links:
1: Always Remember/Never Forget A.C.A.B. – 25 Ta Life
25 TA LIFE / TROMATIZED YOUTH split – 2009 – Hardcore
https://hardcoretrooper.bandcamp.com/album/split
“Middle finger to them
Our way we salute you
Abuse your power
You are the real enemy”
25 Ta Life were the first hardcore band I ever got into because of their appearance on the soundtrack of Tony Hawk’s Underground 2. Eventually I got round to listening to more of their work – and this might just be the ACAB anthem to end all ACAB anthems.
Some songs get a bit more intricate with their lyrical deconstructions, some songs are more emotive, but for this song’s pure chant-along chorus and escalating chord progression and beat, this felt like a perfect introduction to the theme.
2: Sound of da Police – KRS-One
Return of the Boom Bap – 1993 – Hardcore Hip-Hop
“The overseer had the right to get ill
And if you fought back, the overseer had the right to kill
The officer has the right to arrest
And if you fight back they put a hole in your chest”
Somehow, I omitted this from my ACAB playlist last time. I’ve no idea why, it fucking slaps.
One of the most infectious hip-hop choruses ever with ruthless lyrical flow and a sharp takedown of police corruption and racism. This song pulls no punches yet manages to remain accessible to mainstream audiences, admittedly some of whom ignore the message and just see it as a club banger, but hey, at least the message is getting spread about and normalized, that is objectively a good thing.
3: Killing in the Name – Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against The Machine – 1992 – Funk Metal
“You justify those that died
By wearing the badge, they’re the chosen whites”
Getting the obvious choices out of the way here. Rage Against the Machine’s most famous song and yet one which the white right always seem to miss the point of and play at their pro-Trump rallies and use the closing refrain as some kind of pseudo libertarian chant about freedom whilst wearing those thin blue line US flags without any hint of irony.
We won’t let those cunts ruin it for us though. This song is light on lyrical variety, but the lyrics that have been chosen are so expertly crafted that they didn’t need any more.
Throughout the 5-minute run time, the song slowly escalates and builds to a crescendo in the most satisfying way, representing the collective rising up of the 99% against a corrupt police state. I can’t think of many songs that nail that sense of righteous empowerment and rebellion as this one. 10/10, no notes.
4: Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck) – Run The Jewels ft Zack de la Rocha.
Run The Jewels 2 – 2014 – Hip-Hop
https://runthejewels.bandcamp.com/album/run-the-jewels-2
“We killin’ ’em for freedom ’cause they tortured us for boredom
And even if some good ones die, fuck it, the Lord’ll sort ’em”
One of the most difficult things about these playlists is picking only one song per artist. Many of the planet’s best rappers have multiple anti-cop songs, all of them so brilliant and distinct that they deserve a place on this playlist. In the end, for Run The Jewels, I went for this track after being namedropped by That Dang Dad’s video on the album (very much worth watching – an ex-cop’s perspective on this 2014 classic that opened his eyes to police corruption and changed his outlook on the nature of American law enforcement – highly recommend).
The line I’ve quoted above is particularly powerful, repurposing an attitude that cops do seem to have, that any innocent people they kill either accidently in crossfire, or on purpose based on mistaken or unjust premises will be fine because God will know they’re innocent and take care of them. Flipping this back on killing cops is a masterful subversion and is such a powerful provocation that will probably make many of us feel slightly uncomfortable on a first listen.
But examine that feeling, deconstruct it in context, realize this shit is what cops do to impoverished, usually non-white families in the States all the time.
On top of that, this track has such a cool vocal loop as its beat, which isn’t something I’ve heard all too often, and might be somewhat of a headfuck for some people, but on a personal level I love. I’d urge everyone to give it a couple of listens before deciding either way, as the sound of the beat really did grow on me more with each listen.
5: So You Wanna Be A Cop? – Leftöver Crack
Baby Jesus, Sliced up in the Manger – 2001 – Hardcore
“‘Cuz it’s a thin blue line between the love & the hate
And if you so choose to cross it, you’re a Nazi for the state
Your injustice will crush us, the precious the few
So you wanna be a killer for the red, white & blue”
I don’t know much about this band, but I adore the opening soundscape and how it blends into the track. Production wise, this track sounds cheap in a proper old school hardcore way, but the vocal patterns are almost closer to something like early Red Hot Chili Peppers funk (don’t tell them I said that, I tried to think of another less noncey example, but I couldn’t – the similarity is only acoustic).
All this combines to a pretty unique sound that works both as background music and as something to focus in on, at which point you notice the delightfully cutting and unsubtle lyrical content.
Probably not a track for everyone, but I like it, and it’s my list, so fuck off.
6: Pigs Will Pay – Propagandhi
How To Clean Everything – 1993 – Pop Punk
https://propagandhi.bandcamp.com/album/how-to-clean-everything-20th-anniversary-edition
“It’s not just isolated incidents of cop-jocks kicking ass.
It’s a fucking war machine
Protecting the wealth of the employing class!”
Propagandhi have a real NOFX vibe to them, which makes sense as they were at one point at least signed to Fat Wreck Chords. Not much else to say about their sound. If you like that kind of pop punk Propagandhi do that pretty damn well.
Here’s them singing about cops, enjoy.
7: Cunt Stubble – Hung Like Hanratty
50 Shades of Shit – 2016 – Oi! Punk
“When he’s in his uniform his attitude fucking stinks,
he is above the law or so he fucking thinks,
he is a copper and he’ll try to drag you down,
He needs a big red nose, that copper is a clown”
I have nothing to say about this band, but the “He’s a cunt, he’s a cunt, he’s a cunt, he’s a cunt-stubble” chorus is just too perfect to omit from this list. They’re not the most politically poignant of bands, singing more about cops as an annoyance rather than systemic oppressors, but the song slaps, nonetheless.
8: Police Story – Black Flag
Damaged – 1981 – Hardcore
“Fucking city is run by pigs
They take the rights away from all the kids
Understand that we’re fighting a war we can’t win
They hate us, we hate them”
I’ve never really vibed with the sound of Black Flag all that much on a personal level, but it’s hard to deny that Police Story is one of the all-time greats with regards to anti-cop hardcore. If you like proper old school, raw to the point, hardcore punk then this is a must listen. And if you don’t, well it’s over in less than 2 minutes, so it’ll be over before you can even skip it.
9: Copsucker – ACxDC
Satan Is King – 2020 – Grindcore
https://acxdc.bandcamp.com/album/satan-is-king
“Insecure its why they beat
On the poor on the weak
Macho fuck big and strong
Enforce the law when its wrong”
Easily the heaviest song on this playlist. Not to be confused with AC “/” DC – ACxDC are a Grindcore band who sing about Satanism, straight edge lifestyles and politics. (I say Grindcore – apparently, they’re blacklisted from The Metal Archives due to being more Powerviolence than metal, which is wild, and also extremely funny that the Metal Archives has a blacklist of bands who aren’t allowed to appear on the platform for not being metal enough. Truly the GC’s of the alternative music world.)
This song title speaks for itself, even if you can’t decipher the lyrics I feel, and the fast-blasting guitars and guttural vocals are an appropriate expression of frustration of the police state we live in.
10: Remain Violent – Warbringer
Woe To The Vanquished – 2017 – Thrash metal
https://warbringer.bandcamp.com/album/woe-to-the-vanquished
“The constant threat of a shot to the chest
But defending yourself is resisting arrest”
Sticking with Metal, and this band is actually recognized by the Metal Archives, Warbringer’s Remain Violent is a barrage of thrash metal riffage with a fairly standard verse structure around the theme of police brutality and suppression. It doesn’t have many lyrics, but it makes its point very clear: they want you to remain silent, but we instead have a duty to remain violent and not just lay back and let them abuse us like this.
(Caveat that being directly violent to cops is not something that we’d encourage you to do, purely because we care more about your life than they do – but we do 100% endorse the righteous use of violence and riots in protest against police brutality and corruption, and anyone who says that violence is never the answer is at best naïve and at worst complicit.)
11: The Badge – Poison Idea
Feel The Darkness – 1990 – Hardcore
https://poisonidea.bandcamp.com/album/feel-the-darkness-deluxe-reissue
“Do you think this corruption will ever stop
What makes a person want to be a cop”
Some more hardcore here, this track from Poison Idea’s 1990 album has a really satisfying groove to it, underlining a superb takedown of the personality and immorality of cops. Just a really fucking good song.
12: Kill Your Inner Cop – Ancst
summits of despondency – 2020 – Black Metal
https://angstnoise.bandcamp.com/album/summits-of-despondency
“Representing fear, the arm of the law
Who are you behind that mask?
Just a tool for fascist beliefs?
A sorry excuse for a man”
More Metal, soz. Ancst are a close second for heaviest band on this list. Potentially first actually, it’s close. They’re an extreme metal band with punk sensibilities, and this track’s intro goes fucking hard – mid tempo but heavy as fuck, with some sexy ass distorted tremolo melodies that I’m a right sucker for in my metal.
Then the song breaks into its main thrashing riff and verses, and another S tier takedown of the attitudes of anyone who wilfully becomes a cop to oppress their fellow people on behalf of corporations and corrupt powers. All cops are bastards. If you’re a cop who’s not a bastard, then maybe you should stop being a cop. Just saying.
13: Protect and Serve – Minority Threat
Culture Control – 2015 – Hardcore
https://minoritythreat.bandcamp.com/album/culture-control
“Treating victims worse than murderers
And you say you’re here to protect and serve”
Minority Threat are so damn good. Black punk outfits tend to be overlooked by the more mainstream end of punk, which is a shame given they were and are such a defining and driving force of the genre. So, it’s always nice to platform punk bands who aren’t just made up of white people like me.
This is classic hardcore with production that honours the old school but is more polished and easier for the untrained ear to get into. Aggressive chords and vocals, harsh social commentary, short runtime, and a really memorable groove tying it all together. More people should listen to this band.
14: Pulled Pork – Bob Vylan ft. Jason Aalon Butler
We Live Here – 2020 – Trap Metal
https://bobvylan.bandcamp.com/album/we-live-here-deluxe-2
“Save a life and skin a pig”
Regulars to this blog will know how much I fucking adore Bob Vylan. This track might not be one in my regular rotation, but it has one of the best anti-cop chorus hooks in music. Sludgy distorted chords over a mid-tempo beat, aggressive growled and screamed verses from Bob himself and the feature Jason from Fever 333 – two of the greatest modern political rock acts going in their respective countries today.
It might not be as memorable as some of their more recent singles, but as an ACAB anthem, it’s got everything you need. Sly, empowered lyrics, an anthemic chorus for the ages, and delivered and produced with such perfection.
15: Illegal Search – LL COOL J
Mama Said Knock You Out – 1990 – Hip-Hop
“Get that flashlight out of my face
I’m not a dog, so, damn it, put away the mace”
Going back to the ’90s with this hip-hop classic. There were a few contenders for this spot here, but in the end, I think LL Cool J’s Illegal Search is the best example of rapping about being wanted and harassed by police whilst proudly having done nothing wrong and getting some glee from being able to catch them out.
That isn’t the say the song doesn’t treat police racial harassment with the seriousness it deserves – but it’s almost goading and mocking the cops for having absolutely nothing to pin on him – much like Chamillionaire did with Ridin’ a decade and a half later.
This song comes from the golden age of hip-hop. It has a real timeless funky beat and rapping that’s maybe a bit more camp and cheesier than the gangster rap style that followed getting into the ’90s – although don’t let that take away from content, it’s just as explicit as you’d expect.
There’s no other word for it, LL Cool J is just… cool – and is using this coolness as a way to essentially diss track every single cop that tries to get him for something just because he’s a black man who isn’t poor.
This track is written from a personal point of view, but I never get the impression from the lyrics that it’s boastful against those who don’t have the same status he does with his success and wealth. I don’t know too much about what he’s like as a person. But from the few things I’ve heard him say over the last few years, it’s clear he’s very aware of the position he’s in being much safer than those living in poverty,. This song is still calling out cops for profiling, and that is clearly wrong even if it wasn’t happening to a rich and successful person.
It’s a tune, it’s on point, and the fact that it’s still so relevant decades after the fact is incredibly depressing.
16: Point The Finger – Body Count ft. Riley Gale
Carnivore – 2020 – Crossover
“The fuckin’ badge is the biggest gang
We’ve ever had”
Another band where it’s hard to choose just one track, Body Count have at least one solid anti-cop song per album, and they’re all some of the best of the genre. In the end, I went for the most recent one from their 2020 album Carnivore, featuring guest vocals of the late, great Riley Gale.
If you’re not familiar, Body Count are a Crossover Thrash band fronted by the O.G. himself Ice-T in 1990. Their music is characterized by punk sensibilities, thrashing guitar riffs, and vocals that expertly straddle both a Sabbath-like feeling of terror as well as the more hardcore anger with the expertly delivered diction of hip-hop. In short, everything I like in my metal bands.
While categorically not a rap/nu metal band, Ice-T retains the authentic personal feelings and experiences in his songwriting, making Body Count one of the most lyrically explicit and raw pure social commentary bands going today. Ice really wears his heart on his sleeve in his lyrics, and Body Count is really just another method of delivering his insightful experiences and world view to a whole new audience – and Ernie C’s guitar work rivals the titans of the big 4.
If you’re one of those metalheads who’s given Body Count a wide berth because it’s fronted by a rapper, you are really missing out. Body Count go fucking hard, and Point The Finger is a short blistering onslaught of riffs, hooks, and incredibly real lyrical content that you’re really missing out on if you’re still being narrow minded with your musical tastes in 2023.
17: State Violence / State Control – Discharge
State Violence / State Control – 1982 – Hardcore
“Kept in line with truncheons
Rifle butts and truncheons
This is state control!”
Not much to say about this one, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t great. You kind of know what you’re getting with Discharge. More early hardcore goodness, power chords, aggro lyrics, and 0 tolerance for fascist bully boys in uniform.
18: Protect / Serve – Comeback Clit
Ättestor / Comeback Clit split – 2022 – Riot Grrrl
https://comebackclit.bandcamp.com/album/ttestor-comeback-clit-split
“Defund the fucking police
Before they rape you
Before they kill me”
Comeback Clit’s Protect / Serve sounds like a response to the Sarah Everard case – from the cop who abused his power to rape and murder her, to the cops violently shutting down the vigil for Sarah, to the police commissioner of the time advising women to flag down a bus if they suspect someone impersonating a copper.
Definitely not the first time the Met have been negligent with the rampant misogyny in their culture, but definitely the point that I’d be willing to bet a majority of the public are fucking done with them.
Defund the cops. Even the ones who aren’t actively abusing their own citizens are useless and do very little to stop those who do. The system is rotten to the core, and it will just keep getting worse.
Strong contender of best hardcore of 2022 – and yet further evidence that women make the best punk, don’t @ me.
19: Stand Up – Tom Morello ft. Shea Diamond, Dan Reynolds & The Bloody Beetroots
Stand Up – 2020 – Funk Metal
“Every day that passes I’m angrier
Every time the cops get a hall pass, build another barrier”
Another one of Tom Morello’s world class colaborations – this time with transgender icon Shea Diamond, the Bloody Beetroots, and for some reason Dan Reynolds from Imagine Dragons
If you like RATM, you know what Morello’s guitar work sounds like, and this is more of that, but with guest verses tearing into the corrupt police forces in the states and championing Black Lives Matter.
Not heard Shea Diamond do rock before, but she really has a voice for it, and this musical project is just incredible all around. Supercharged with anger, and frustration against cops and the systemic racism that permeates every corner of America, delivered in a highly accessible rock anthem that will inspire for generations. Even Dan from Imagine Dragons doesn’t sound out of place here, and if that’s not a testament to Tom Morello’s song writing abilities, I don’t know what is.
20: Yes All Cops – Worriers
Imaginary Life – 2015 – Riot Grrrl
https://worriers.bandcamp.com/album/imaginary-life-2
“I’ve learned not to trust anyone
Least of all men in blue uniform”
More super on point Grrrl punk about the inherent danger of anyone in the police force. Not a lot to say here specifically, but more great stuff. Proper headbanger and moshing punk, it’s just got a really clean groove to it and is generally very good.
21: They Don’t – Nervus
Tough Crowd – 2019 – Indie Rock
https://bsmrocks.bandcamp.com/album/tough-crowd
“You tell me I’m lucky
And I know what that means
The way I speak and colour of my skin
Means you’ll spare me the brutality”
Something a bit softer now – They Don’t is an indie rock track focused around the refrain that the fundamental point of the police has never been to protect. Even if you’re white, your benefit boils down to the cops won’t murder you in cold blood – or will at least face repercussions for doing so without weeks upon weeks of protest forcing a spineless show of consequences to appease without fundamentally altering the system.
Don’t get me wrong – that’s a huge step up – but us white people are deluded if we think the cops actually care about protecting us. It’s just more often than not that our safety doesn’t get directly in the way of their actual goals of protecting the elite and controlling the people.
This song is so musically tame it could almost be performed on prime-time telly – but the lyrics sprinkled in are anything but. I appreciate a song that can sound like a charting rock piece but unashamedly house some brutal social commentary in the process. Fair play Nervus, fair play.
22: Racist Copper – King Prawn
Fried in London – 1998 – Ska Punk
“I don’t wanna pick another apple
so many bad ones in the barrel
look inside you’ll see they rotten
rotten to the core we know the score”
I don’t listen to enough King Prawn – I adore everything they’ve put out, but never actually think to listen to them.
This song speaks for itself mostly. I particularly like how the track closes on the bad apple metaphor, explaining that even if some of the apples aren’t bad, the rot spreads regardless and piling good apples on top of it will just ruin those apples, not stop the rot.
23: Boys In Blue – The Exploited
The Massacre – 1990 – Oi! Punk
“What can you do
Dragged away into their van
So they can bully you
They’re after you”
I love British Streetpunk. It’s my absolute favourite sound of all time and lends itself really well to anti cop songs – as the Cockney punk accent sounds like they should be shitting on cops even when they’re not directly doing that. Luckily, the Exploited are doing just that here. More good stuff.
24: Riot Squad – Dr. Strongarm’s Misharmonious Orchestra
Beware of the Ghost – 2022 – Heavy Metal
“So tell me is this justice
Cause I think that it’s not
When you lift the lid on this abuse
Then all I see is rot”
This song is an earworm that hasn’t left my head since I first heard it last winter. Best described as a bluesy metal outfit, Dr. Strongarm’s Misharmonious Orchestra are quite unlike anything I’ve heard before. It’s Metal, but stripped back, almost grungy at times but packing much more of a punch.
Punchy is the word – the riffs and percussion ironically working together harmoniously to create the sound of marching boots, setting up a haunting and brutal lyrical conceit once again reminding us all that cop = bad.
Look there’s only so many ways to say ACAB, and all these songs manage to do it in delightfully distinct ways, but talking about it I am not a good enough writer to have 26 synonyms for this, which is why I write these blogs instead of actual music.
Anyway, this song slaps, deal with it.
25: All Cats Are Beautiful – Fit To Work
Voluntary Severance – 2018 – Anarcho-Punk
https://fittowork.bandcamp.com/album/voluntary-severance
“Cops are fucking racist
Rapist motherfuckers
Cops are fucking murdering
Pig-fucking scum
Cops are scab snitch
Spycop shitbrains
Cops are pathetic
Sadistic wanks
But All Cats Are Beautiful
All Cats Are Beautiful”
It’s been well over a month since I first heard this track and I still chuckle at the title and premise of this track. A true ACAB anthem, meaning both All Cops are Bastards and All Cats are Beautiful. It’s just utterly silly fun delivery of a very sincere point, and that is another trope I adore in music, hence my long-standing love of System of a Down. Oh yeah, probably should’ve included Deer Dance, oh well. I’m sure it’ll come up again in future.
26: Police State – Dead Prez Ft. Chairman Omali Yeshitela
Let’s Get Free – 2000 – Hip-Hop
“‘Cause the world is controlled by the white male
And the people don’t never get justice
And the women don’t never get respected
And the problems don’t never get solved
And the jobs don’t never pay enough
So the rent always be late, can you relate?
We livin’ in a police state”
There’s been a lot of Punk and Hardcore, and a surprising amount of metal on this playlist – but Hip-Hop really is king when it comes to exposing matters of police suppression and violence.
Dead Prez don’t fuck about here. As much as I love clever metaphor and poetic imagery in music – sometimes the more explicit approach delivers messages in a much more concise and easier to understand way. Beat goes hard, bars pull no punches, and a nice track to round up everything that all these artists of various backgrounds and genres have been saying all along. The Police are enforcers of fascist rule, racist, misogynistic murderers, and are at best not fit for supposed purpose, if not actively undermining the very valuable work many of us do in our communities.
The Police 9 times out of 10 don’t solve anything, and create more problems, fill up more prisons, and breed a culture of hate and suppression that regresses our society backwards to the benefit of the 1%. Unless you’ve had your eyes closed for the past 3 years, I don’t see how you can possibly disagree with that statement.
There we have it, 26 songs to punch cops and engage in civil disobedience to. I’ve inevitably missed loads, I had to cut so many to keep this playlist a reasonable length, but the sad truth is this issue will still persist for the foreseeable future, so I’ll doubtless be given a reason to talk about this again before too long and pick some of the tracks I missed the first two times.
On a lighter note, we have some excellent shows coming up – why not book your free tickets to our next upcoming live shows here: https://www.outsavvy.com/organiser/blizzard-comedy
And follow Twitch.tv/blizzardcomedy and @BlizzardComedyChannel on YouTube to see our past, present and future livestreams.
