D.O.A.
Mike Hodsall, Joe Keithley, Paddy Duddy in 2015 Lower East Side Vancouver. By Tome Wiebe. [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons
ABOUT
D.O.A. was formed in Vancouver in 1978 after the demise of its predecessor band, The Skulls, with Joey Keithley, Chuck Biscuits, Randy Rampage, and singer “Harry Homo” who was released after their first show because of a lack of rhythm. One of the bands to truly epitomize hardcore punk, D.O.A.’s first EP was “Disco Sucks,” reminiscent of the anti-disco movement at the time. The band embraced their blue collar background and was unafraid to voice their political opinions in their songs, often discussing topics such as anti-racism, environmentalism, and anti-globalization. Well known among their fans, D.O.A.’s tagline is “Talk Minus Action Equals Zero,” meaning that not only does the band wish to bring up political topics, they hope to make a change as well. Through the years, the band went through many lineup changes, with Keithley being the only consistent member, resulting in a shift from hardcore punk to mainstream hard-rock.
ABOUT
ANTHRAX
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1980s
Discography
ALBUMS
Fistful of Metal (1984)
Spreading the Disease (1985)
Among the Living (1987)
State of Euphoria (1988)
1980s
Discography
ALBUMS
Something Better Change - 1980
Hardcore '81 - 1981
"War on 45" - 1982
Let's Wreck The Party - 1985
True (North) Strong And Free - 1987
1980s
Band Members
MEMBERS
Joey "Shithead" Keithley - guitar, vocals
Dave Greg - guitar
Randy Rampage - bass
Brian Wimpy Roy Goble - bass
Chuck Biscuits - drums
Dimwit - drums
Jon Card - drums
"That's Progress"
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Hover over me!
Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors - 1989
“That’s Progress” is a satirical look at progress in a capitalistic society. The song criticizes a money-motivated society for crossing ethical lines at the expense of others simply for personal wealth. Because of personal greed, people are left without homes, personal privacy is invaded, and the natural landscapes are disturbed. This songs brings up the question, how progressive is progress?
ABOUT
Gimme a M (M), gimme an A (A), gimme an U (U), gimme a L (L)
Gimme your money! (Sure!)
What's that spell? (Maul!)
What's that spell? (Shopping maul!)
'scuse me, pardon my greed,
you're evicted, time to leave.
Don't matter if your family's lived here 30 years.
We're tripling the rent.
Time's up, the sheriff's here.
Too bad for you if you freeze out in the street.
The croissant and cookie palace downstairs will symbolize,
the old neighborhood whose soul has slowly died,
been gentrified.
Ah yeah! That's progress!
Doesn't progress make you feel good inside?
Cameras catch you runnin' red lights
schoolrooms with no windows,
computer picks your carreer at age 15.
Universal price code I.D.'s
with the stripe the laser reads
and records where you've been,
when you're sick and what you eat.
For every spy in government there's 50 private eyes,
who round up dirt on you to keep on file,
then sell the file.
Ah yeah! That's progress!
Doesn't progress make you feel good inside?
A landlord evicts a resident for not paying rent despite the family having lived their for an extended period of time. This situation approaches an ethical gray area.
That's progress! That's progress!
Progress don't make me feel so good inside.
You can't live here, we won't hire you,
we know all the nasty things you do.
Bought a dossier on your whole life
clear back to the pranks you did in school at age 5.
There's millions on file
at the touch of a button.
Your boss or your landlord
will love our choice cuts of gossip
if it's lies, what can you do?
'cos it costs too much to sue
the last person who'll ever see your file is you.
Had enough, I moved back home
to the mountains where I belong
but ski resorts have tamed the wild west.
The hills we used to roam
now they're privately owned
and scarred with cheezy suburbs and cement.
The 'tracts for sale' sign promises 'deer in your back yard'
if the deer somehow get past the fences and guards
and the industrial 'park'.
Oh no! Not again! All this progress makes me feel ill inside!
That's progress! That's progress!
Looks like I'll have to move to yellowknife.
Progress (bleah!) [4x]
Your idea of progress wrecks too many lives.
The problems that come from a money-centered society should be fixed through the law system, but even that process is too expensive.
Gentrification often results in many of the original homeowners in an area being driven out due to increased housing prices. The area may be monetarily improved, but the people who once lived there are uprooted.
LYRICS
Not only is this an accusation of the government keeping track of personal information, but others for monetary profit.
The natural world also suffers the effects of a capitalistic society. Humans change the natural landscapes to best benefit themselves and in turn earn them the most money. An example of D.O.A.’s environmentalism.
VIDEO
Live performance of "That's Progress" with Jello Biafra in 1990 in San Francisco.
"Total Metal Jackoff"
Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors - 1989
An in depth criticism of the Bush-Reagan administration, “Full Metal Jackoff” focuses on the senior White House administration’s involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal in which weapons were sold to Iran and the money gained from the transaction was sent to Contra groups in Nicaragua. While the scandal was revealed to the public, people involved, such as Oliver North, had all charges dropped. Other criticisms of the administration in the song refer to their racism, urgency to go to war, and a push towards a police state. The song ends with the U.S. being refered to as the next Reich.
ABOUT
I give more information on lyrics and song meanings!
Hover over me!
Around our nation's capital
There's a freeway 8 lanes wide
White concrete ringed around the city
For those who want inside
Get on, get off
Ignore everything to the sides
In your midst I drive
While homeboys in the back of the van make drugs
Wanna hide something like a crack lab?
Just put it in plain sight
Only stop to refuel and unload
More poison to tear more lives apart
Whole neighbourhoods are goin’ psycho
Gang wars like never before
Better lock your doors, buy some guns
And pray for martial law
On the Washington D.C. Beltway
Around and around I go
In a black van with no windows
And a chimney puffing smoke
Bloody headlines in the news each day
Drug "crisis" everywhere
So much comes in so easy
It's as though someone wants it there…
It would be a little obvious
To fence off all the slums
Hand out machine guns
To the poor in the projects
And watch 'em kill each other off
A more subtle genocide’s
When the only hope for the young
Is to join the Army or slowly die
Wall Street or Crack Dealer Avenue
The last roads left of the American Dream
Wall Street or Crack Dealer Avenue
Wall Street or Crack Dealer Avenue
Only one road leads to this neighborhood
Little kids wanna sell drugs when they grow up
The folks just might get a little upset
If they knew where that dope comes from
From Columbia to the Contras
To our Air Force bases, where we trade it for guns
The moral equivalent of a serial killer
And his CIA friends call the shots from the White House
But now that we own the media too
Those stories just aren't run
On the Washington D.C. Beltway
Around and around I go
In a black van with no windows
and a chimney puffing smoke
Some gang that ran smack in Vietnam
LYRICS
The corruption is in plain sight as the White House Administration is accused of being involved in drug trafficking along with the sale of weapons to places like Iran.
The news is being controlled by the political agenda. The drug “crisis” is being perpetuated on purpose to hide the actions of the White House Administration.
Ain't got no reason to fear
Just get a Vice President so dumb
The crook at the top never gets impeached…
That sure was easy wasn't it?
That sure was easy wasn't it?
More crack - more panic - more cops - more jails
You see emergency - total war
You see emergency - total war
You see a black face - you see a crackhead
You see a black face - you see a crackhead
You see a black face - you see Willie Horton with a knife
You see Willie Horton with a knife
You’ve seen one Willie Horton, you've seen them all
They're everywhere, I know
You asked for it, you've got it
Drug suspects have no rights at all
Property seized and sold before trial
Labor camps - on American soil?!?
Neo-Nazi bootboys
That the cops never seem to arrest
Prowl neighborhoods with baseball bats
Why do they get so much press?
Mein Kampf - the mini series
Oliver North - "patriotic" hero
The leader of tomorrow is yours today
Finally gotcha psyched for a police state
On the Washington D.C. Beltway
Around and around I go
In a black van with no windows
And a chimney puffing smoke
My van's a mobile oven now
That burns the bodies you never see
Just like in Chile or Guatemala
People just seem to disappear…
Just like Rome
We fell asleep when we got spoiled
Ignore human rights in the rest of the world
Ya might as well lose your own
As the noose of narco-militarism
Tightens around our necks
We worry about burning flags
And pee in jars at work to keep our jobs
But if someone came for you one night and dragged you away
Do you really think your neighbors would even care?
Do you really think your neighbors would even care?
Embrace the red white and blue Reich [x12]
Ollie for president! He'll get things done! [x11]
Oliver North was a major player in the Iran-Contra scandal, but all charges against him were dropped.
The Bush-Reagan administration
Without the means to go to college and get a job on Wall Street, the only other option for the young is to join the Army or join the drug trade.
Reference to the sale of weaponry to Iran.
An accusation that the administration used the drug crisis as an excuse to create a police state.
Willie Horton was a convicted felon that escaped during a weekend furlough in the 1970s. His case was brought up by Al Gore in the 1988 elections, and from there Bush’s management began to associate Al Gore with Willie Horton every chance they could.
In 1988 and 1989, new laws were passed making enforced disappearances a crime in the Americas. During this time period, cases against Chile and Guatemala were being formed. D.O.A. is accusing the U.S. of breaking these laws as well.
As the drug crisis continues, the country continues to become a state governed by the sale of drugs.
D.O.A. declares the U.S. the next Reich under the Bush-Reagan administration.
VIDEO
Live performance of "Full Metal Jackoff" with Jello Biafra in Barrhead, 1987.
"The Enemy"
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Something Better Change - 1980
“The Enemy” is a call to remember that the enemy is not your neighbor. With references towards police brutality and corruption in the media, this song makes a statement that political agendas are blinding society, keeping them from seeing that the enemy is really the political authorities in true anarchist fashion.
ABOUT
Ya gotta know who your enemy is
The enemy
Ya gotta know who your enemy is
The enemy
The newsmen are lying
Drawing lines in black and white
Makin' you believe it's
Your brother you gotta fight
Ya gotta know who your enemy is
The enemy
Ya gotta know who your enemy is
The enemy
You peer through the darkness,
The billy clubs aim
They smash ya once or twice
Then ya don't look the same
Ya gotta know who your enemy is
The enemy
Ya gotta know who your enemy is
The enemy
They rope ya to a time clock
To keep you on the line
And now you're losin'
The pieces of your mind
LYRICS
Billy clubs are used by police to assist in arrests. This is a to the abuse of power by the police against citizens.
The media is only showing what the political powers allow them to, often creating racial divisions.
To change the focus, the political powers present issues on the media that cause people to put the blame on each other rather than the powers.
VIDEO
"The Enemy" performed live in England 1984.