Street Dogs, “GOP”/”Not Without a Purpose (Live)”

I’ve heard plenty of political punk tunes over the years, but not many that state their case quite so baldly or defiantly. Of course, nobody’s ever accused Boston punks Street Dogs of being shy when it comes to making their feelings/leanings known, and on this forthcoming 7″, they’re in fine, in-your-face form.

The 7″ will officially be released on November 6th, naturally, but can already be found in flexi-postcard format at various spots, including Houston’s own Cactus Music — the band apparently wants volunteers to deliver copies to people at GOP rallies, but I seriously doubt that’s going to win ’em any converts politically. (I mean, c’mon; is some GOP-voting Grandma somewhere going to listen to this song and say, “y’know what? Those loud, angry boys are right!”)

The song’s a rewrite, actually, of the classic late-’70s Menace song “GLC,” which was a broadside against the Greater London Council, repurposed to blast the modern-day Republican Party. And yeah, it pulls no punches, substituting “GOP” for the original’s “GLC”: “GOP, GOP / GOP, GOP / You’re full of shit / Shit, shit, shit, shit.” The song’s fast and furious, teetering on the edge of chaos without ever falling over the side, and the righteous anger practically drips out of your earphones.

There’s a resemblance to vintage Rancid at points — which is probably more because of that band’s love of ’70s Brit-punk than it is the Dogs’ love of Rancid — with an awesome, fists-flying energy as the Street Dogs deliver an auditory beatdown on the Grand Old Party just in time for Election Day. That energy carries over nicely into the B-side, a live version of “Not Without a Purpose,” off 2006’s stellar Fading American Dream, as performed in front of a hometown Boston crowd. It’s much more of a straight-up Street Dogs song, and there’s not a whole lot added to the original, but hell, it’s still fun.

In short, if you — like, yes, me — aren’t real keen on the modern-day Republican Party and you want to vent, then the Street Dogs have made a record literally just for you. And hey, for fun you can try to force your GOP-voting relatives to listen, but I wouldn’t expect them to have any sudden political epiphanies afterwards, even if you can get Uncle Merle slamdancing around the living room.