EP 272: Cop Songs
Hardcore punk songs about the police.
Killer episode this week on the pod. Check it out here, here, or here and check the playlist with our picks here. If you need more, there’s a massive one here.
What makes a person wanna be a cop?
Poison Idea “The Badge”
It’s a good question. Most likely it’s because you’re a sociopath, thief, or bully deep down. Or perhaps you think you want to do some good and as a tradeoff you just decide to cover for the sociopaths, thieves, and bullies. For a good wage and pension you became be a pawn for the state, obeying whatever bullshit you’re ordered to do by the boot. Crack protester skulls? Yes, sir! Back up ICE? Yes, sir! Produce revenue for the state? Yes, sir! Shameful, really.
Punks have had a long and storied history with cops. Here are a couple newscasts from the early ‘80s that briefly touch on it:
The anti-police song has been a staple of punk. Here’s a massive playlist with a ton of them:
Here are our picks for the best cop songs in hardcore/punk:
Let’s get into my list:
Bastard “Dear Cops” Wind of Pain LP (1992)
In an effort to be the gnarliest band, folks down-tune their guitars, hit blast beats, or do cookie monster voices. Some groups do all of the above, yet none touch the intensity of Bastard’s sole full length, Wind of Pain. Their drummer Koba plays so fast and tight, and the drums and riffs are completely in unison. I can’t think of another band who uses cymbal dynamics in their fast parts so effectively.
The most savage song on the album may be the minute-long blazer, “Dear Cops.” Cymbal choke, riff, cymbal choke, riff…then we’re in. Every line in punctuated with purpose.
“Detest, hate, slaughter, fuckin’ cops”
Hell yeah.
Shitlickers “Sprackta Snutskallar” GBG 1982 7” (1982)
In 1982, the Swedish band Skitslickers released the Mona Lisa of hardcore - their GBG 1982 7”. Four songs, 3 1/2 minutes of hardcore perfection. In ‘83, the record got repressed for export with the cover getting an update. They were now The Shit Lickers, the album art was updated, and Cracked Cop Skulls was plastered on the front. If you translate the title of their 2nd track “Spräckta Snutskallar” to English, it means “cracked skulls.” I guess they just wanted to specify whose skulls were getting cracked for the English audience.
The song itself is like the others on the record, a sub-minute blast of hardcore brilliance. It’s the only song sung in Swedish but that doesn’t make the chorus any less catchy or memorable. In fact, I think it’s tied with “Warsystem,” “The Leader (Of The Fuckin’ Assholes),” and “Armed Revolution” as the most unforgettable song on the record. You can google the only other lyric (“Kör upp batongen i analen”) yourself.
America’s Hardcore “Cops Are Criminals” V/A Copulation LP (1984)
America’s Hardcore are the shit. They’re a secret handshake band. If you know, you know.
I’m pretty sure they only have three studio songs and all are spread out across three different Mystic Records comps, making them a hard band to jam on the reg if you like to listen to music on vinyl. It’s a fucking travesty that no one has ever bootlegged these songs onto a 7”. So for now, if you want to hear them on wax you’re stuck dropping the needle on the 2nd song of side B on Party Animal, the 3rd song on side B of Copulation, or the 7th song on side A of Slimey Valley. Not ideal by any means.
So here’s all three for your listening pleasure (“A.H.C.” / “Born Prejudice” / “Cops Are Criminals”):
“Cops Are Criminals” is a quintessential first wave hardcore song. Short mid-tempo intro into a ripping fast, four note 1-2-3-4 style verse riff. Switch it up to a three cord chorus with some 7 Seconds style woahs, repeat, out. They literally don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
AHC was a short lived band. They started in ‘82 and wrapped by the end of ‘83. Guitarist Drew Bernstein went on to play in Crucifix and then started the goth clothing line Lip Service. His body was found in Laurel Canyon in August of 2014, dead of an apparent suicide.
If anyone has a contact for singer Danny Slam or any of the other living members, get in touch. I’d love to have any of them on the podcast.
Suicidal Tendencies “Fascist Pig” S/T LP (1983)
The first Suicidal record is mostly known for the three long songs (“I Saw Your Mommy…” / “Subliminal” / “Institutionalized”) but what glues this album together are the short blasters. Songs like “Memories of Tomrorrow,” “Two Sided Politics,” and this one make the album an absolute ripper and kinda ironically give it a depth it wouldn’t have if all the songs were punk opuses.
“Fascist Pig” may be the most aggressive song on the record. Quick 1-2-3-4 riff, then we’re in fast on the verse. Switch it up to a two-note chorus. Repeat. Out. Hardcore rules.
The lyrics on the 2nd verse are great.
Throw a bottle in the air
Put ‘em up to their dare
We′ll just laugh while they stare
Let ′em hit me, see if I care!
Those are lyrics written by a dude who was in the thick of it.
Stalag 13 “Black Stix/Silver Badge” In Control LP (1984)
I plan on going home to Oxnard for Christmas and since I don’t want to get chased off Silver Strand Beach, this song has gotta make my list.
For real though, In Control is one of my favorite albums ever. It’s one of the cleanest sounding 1st wave USHC albums yet somehow it still maintains so much energy. This song is a great example of the recording quality because you can hear those isolated drum hits at the beginning and focus in on how dope they sound. It speeds up and then we bust into a fast verse. Ron’s vocal delivery is so unique and cool, managing to make both the verse and chorus hooky.
I think about this section from the documentary Another State of Mind sometimes. One of the roadies, Marlon Whitfield, talks about what it’s like not only to be black in America, but a black punk. Ron from Stalag 13 was a black dude too, a relative rarity as a front man in the first wave of hardcore. As a person more impacted by oppression, from police or otherwise, his lyrics and perspective carry more weight than some of his peers.
Powerhouse “Power Trip” No Regrets LP (1997)
If you lived in California and liked roots hardcore in the mid 1990s, you were pretty fucked. On the East Coast, the youth crew revival was popping off, giving the scene a needed kick in the ass. But out here, it felt like we had to choose between Earth Crisis-core, Quicksand-core, or the emo/screamo stuff that, frankly, I was too fat to relate to. There were only a handful of bands who played in E-standard and still remembered what a fast part was. Powerhouse was one of them.
Their LP No Regrets is one of my favorites of the ‘90s and is still in heavy rotation almost 30 years after its release. “Power Trip” caps off the album and is super memorable with the way weave in a little skit at the beginning. The verses are fast and furious and the chorus is catchy and biting. That drum break at the end into a final fast part? You’re slamming.
You act so hard
As you’re twisting my arm
Living a lie
Cause you feel justified
You joined the squad
Now you think that you’re God
You ain’t so big
You’re just power trippin’
Hell yeah.
Madball “Smell the Bacon (What’s With You?)” Ball of Destruction (1989)
This was originally an Agnostic Front song that got recorded during the United Blood sessions but didn’t make the cut for the 7”. Why? That remains a great mystery like Stonehenge or The Moai of Easter Island.
Since the beginning, Roger Miret had passed the mic off to his kid brother Freddy if he was around.
By 1988 at 11 years old, Freddy was already showing swagger.
This lead to the creation of Madball. The first 7” was a combination of mostly old songs by Agnostic Front and The Psychos and is a certified classic. It kicks off with “Smells Like Bacon (What’s With You?)” and Freddy crushes it like no other 12 year old could, officially dethroning the kid from Mad Society as best punk child vocalist ever.
The song would get re-recorded for Madball’s debut LP Set It Off, but the 1989 version is the definitive studio version, besting 1983 or 1994.
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I play in a band called SUBVERSIVE INTENT. Jam the demo wherever you stream music or here.
- ZN
All timer of an episode. Nothing like being a 45 year old dude walking in the suburbs moshing to - not even HEARING the songs - REMEMBERING the songs.
I was waiting for I remember by MDC. I guess the song itself isn’t amazing, but that intro is heavy as hell. At least it got an honourable mention.