“Fuck You”
by Bad Religion
from the album True North
2013
Buy the album on Amazon

I’m cheating a bit with this month’s theme, but give me a break.  I’ve been Hollywood for a week.  Also, June Power Songs were so much fun, and I still have a massive list of tracks I want to slot in there, so since it’s my turn to pick the theme, I’m extending power songs into July.

This post is gonna be quick, like this amazing song from Bad Religion.  I like Bad Religion a lot, but I’m not a disciple by any means.  Their album Stranger The Fiction is definitely in my top 100 albums of all time, but I realize for most Bad Religion fans that’s like saying Wings was Paul’s McCartney’s best band (I should also come clean and say that I don’t really love the Beatles).  But after The Gray Race I kind of lost track of the band.  Until True North.

I stumbled upon this album at the wonderful Waterloo Records in Austin.  They still have listening stations galore so I absolutely adore going there and just tossing on headphones to see what they’re currently recommending.  On a scouting mission to Austin before we moved, I picked up True North based in large part to this track.

Clocking in at two minutes and fourteen seconds, I think it’s the shortest power song we’ve dropped here yet and it’s exactly two minutes and fourteen seconds of power. Bad Religion takes the power of punk and marries it with beautiful harmonies. As far as I’m concerned they are the fathers of pop punk, power pop, whatever.  They’d probably hate that connotation, but fuck it.  It fits.

Everybody needs a slogan in their pocket or two.
It never hurts to have a strategy you can go to.
Sometimes I have no sense at all.
As most flawed men are won’t to do,

Just say fuck you. Pavlovian rude.
A menace too. Pay homage to
Your bad attitude.

You can even get cerebral if you want to.
Make a radical assessment that sticks like glue.
Sometimes it takes no thought at all.
The easiest thing to do

Is say fuck you. Pavlovian rude.
A menace too. Pay homage to
Your bad attitude.

The reaction it brings, just one of those things.
Your friends might not want you around.
If the impulse is right, you might get in a fight,
Even though you can’t hold your ground.

But all rest assured; sometimes just a word
Is the most satisfying sound, yeah.

Sometimes it makes no sense at all.
The easiest thing to do

Is say fuck you. Pavlovian rude.
A menace too. Pay homage to
Your bad attitude.

Just say fuck you. Whatcha gonna do
With that attitude? Just say fuck you.