''The Rotten Agenda'' is the third and final

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band

Aus-Rotten Aus-Rotten was an American crust punk band formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Active from 1991 to 2001, its members practiced and promoted a philosophy of anarchist politics. The band included lead vocalist Dave Trenga, vocalist/guitarist Eric Go ...

, released in 2001 on Rotten Propaganda Records. The record label bears the name of lead vocalist/lyricist Dave Trenga's

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

DIY newspaper ''Rotten Propaganda''.

Title

The album's title itself is a

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonet ...

on the

Crass Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk s ...

collective, the

Crass Agenda Last Amendment, formerly known as The Crass Collective and Crass Agenda, is the working title of a series of collaborations by ex-members of the anarcho-punk band Crass and others. Although Crass had formally split up in 1984, Penny Rimbaud, G ...

, as well as the phrase "

Gay Agenda "Gay agenda" or "homosexual agenda" is a term used by sectors of the Christian religious right as a disparaging way to describe the advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual sexual orientations and relationships. Th ...

" often used by many

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

pundits in the United States.

Lyrics and themes

''The Rotten Agenda'' focuses thematically on sexual issues such as

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

and

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

. However, the album does also discuss other

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

topics of previous Aus-Rotten recordings such as

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

, media control and

racism in the United States Racism in the United States comprises negative attitudes and views on race or ethnicity which are related to each other, are held by various people and groups in the United States, and have been reflected in discriminatory laws, practices and ...

. The album calls out the

fundamentalist Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and individuals that is characterized by the application of a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas, or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the importance of distinguishing ...

Christian Right The Christian right, or the religious right, are Christian political factions characterized by their strong support of socially conservative and traditionalist policies. Christian conservatives seek to influence politics and public policy with t ...

in America (namely figureheads

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelism, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, ...

Pat Robertson Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is an American media mogul, religious broadcaster, political commentator, former presidential candidate, and former Southern Baptist minister. Robertson advocates a conservative Christian ...

D. James Kennedy Dennis James Kennedy (November 3, 1930 – September 5, 2007) was an American pastor, evangelist, Christian broadcaster, and author. He was the senior pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from 1960 until hi ...

) as being the orchestrators of perpetual, institutionalized

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

. The opening title track features an imitation of James Kennedy wherein "he" declares—amidst a choir of "

Sieg Heil The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...

"'s in the background—that the Christian Right is a conspiracy to spread misinformation and "to dismantle all gay and lesbian groups." "World Bank," "Tax Shelter" and "Media Blackout" had previously appeared on the band's last studio album.

Spitboy Spitboy was an American anarcho-punk band founded in the San Francisco bay area, in California in 1990. The all-female band aggressively criticized patriarchy and gender roles but did not associate with the contemporaneous riot grrrl movement. ...

vocalist Adrienne Droogas returns again to guest on "The Second Rape" and "Isolation or Solution," after previously making her debut with Aus-Rotten on their 1999 LP ''...And Now Back To Our Programming''. Aus-Rotten broke up shortly after the album's release with Dave Trenga continuing on to the more

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

lic and even more polemic Behind Enemy Lines, and Eric Good going on to front

Caustic Christ Caustic Christ was an American crusty hardcore punk band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. They were on Havoc Records. The band is composed of vocalist GenEric Christ, guitarist Bill Christ, bassist Mistaken Ukla Von Upenstien, and d ...

Track listing

Side A

#The Rotten Agenda - 1:11 #Modern Day Witch Hunt - 4:18 #Right Wing Warfare - 3:43 #World Bank - 2:30 #Factory - 2:32 #The Second Rape - 4:40

Side B

#Plausible Deniability - 1:59 #Who's Calling the Shots? - 2:44 #Capital Punishment - 2:34 #Absent Minded - 2:10 #Isolation or Solution - 3:02 #Tax Shelter - 3:01 #Media Blackout - 2:13

Personnel

*Dave Trenga – lead vocals *Eric Good – lead guitar, vocals *Matt Garabedian - drums *Corey Lyons - bass *Adrienne Droogas - vocals on tracks 6, 11

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotten Agenda 2001 albums Aus-Rotten albums