The Interrupters
2013 | Punk
"Whatcha gonna do When they show up in black suits, on your street in army boots, and they're there to silence you. -- Whatcha gonna say, when they strip your rights away, and the taxman makes you pay, for every bead of sweat you bled today."
Trivia
- The band consists of Aimee Allen & the three Bivona brothers.
- The band shared the stage with bands like Rancid, The Transplants, Devil's Brigade, and Left Alone starting out.
- Aimee Allen met the Bivona brothers in 2009 when their band was opening forThe Dirty Heads & Sugar Ray.
- The song was unfortunately used in the closing credits of a Michael Moore film, Where To Invade Next.
THE HOT TAKES
Luke Tatum
A call to action! The Interrupters are beckoning you to be a leader. To grow to meet the occassion, and stand up against tyranny.
Sherry Voluntary
I’m not a huge fan of a lot of punk, but this, I like. Not only is the music above novice level, the message is on point. All of us radicals, and libertarians ARE radicals, not centrists, should ask ourselves important questions about what we will do in the circumstances of state aggression and injustice. Most of the time I am of the opinion that you should do what you can to get through a interaction with The State as unscathed as possible without violence, even when it may be justified, because the deck is so stacked against the individual where The State is concerned.Live to fight another day is a good motto for most situations. That said, there eventually comes a time where a person has to stand against violence and aggression with violence or the threat thereof. I don’t know where that line is for you, I’m not even sure I know exactly where it is for myself, or libertarians as a whole. I do know this though, we must ask ourselves the question asked in the song, what is our plan, will we stand up and lead, and what does leading mean? Does it necessitate violence or are there better peaceful means? Will we have time to make the best choice? These are not easy questions with simple conclusions, but ones we must consider in order to navigate the traps that are set before us, and live in peace. Above all, I desire for all of us to be able to live in peace, and continue to work through peaceful means, to find our way to a free life for us and our progeny.
Nicky P
I spent a few months as the frontman for a pop-punk cover band and we played this song. I got quite familiar with the band, Aimee and in particular this number in that time. When I first heard this song i was taken aback. It stuck out in the world of punk rock as being particularly libertarian in theme and when I found out Aimee was a Ron Paul supporter i'm pretty sure my brain started leaking out of my head. It calls out police abuses of power, taxes and individual responsibility for freeing yourself all in one fell sweep. Even if she wasn't hot them's marryin principles. Plus their other stuff is ska.