''The War on Errorism'' is the ninth studio album by the American
punk rock band
NOFX
NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
. It was released on May 6, 2003, through
Fat Wreck Chords
Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) in 1990.
The label has released mater ...
.
The album was recorded in 2003 after they left
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
in 2001, following the release of 2000's ''
Pump Up the Valuum
''Pump Up the Valuum'' is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on June 13, 2000, on Epitaph Records, their last through the company.
Production
The album's title deliberately misspells the trademark "Dia ...
''.
Background
In September 2002, after 13 weeks of continuous touring around the world, the band began writing material for their next album. On November 26, it was reported that NOFX left
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...
, and were expecting to release their next album through
Fat Wreck Chords
Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) in 1990.
The label has released mater ...
, which was tentatively titled ''Our Second Best Album''. On December 9, the album's title was changed to ''The War on Errorism''.
Other songs recorded during this time, but not released on the album, are: "Jaw, Knee, Music", "One Way Ticket to Fuckneckville" (Keyboards version), "Glass War", "Idiot Son of an Asshole", "13 Stitches" (acoustic), "Hardcore 84".
Composition
The album takes aim at U.S. President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, criticizing him and his policies, while the cover features a cartoon version of the president as a clown. The back of the cover booklet and runout groove has a caption stating "Somewhere in Texas there is a village without its idiot".
"Mattersville" was originally released on ''Fat Music Volume 6: Uncontrollable Fatulence''. A few songs from ''The War on Errorism'' were included on the ''
Regaining Unconsciousness'' EP, released earlier.
Release
On March 19, 2003, "Idiots Are Taking Over" was posted on the label's website, followed by the album's artwork two days later. NOFX released the ''Regaining Unconsciousness'' EP on March 25, 2003. ''The War on Errorism'' was released on May 6, 2003, through Fat Wreck Chords. The album was released as an Enhanced CD, and features an introduction from Fat Mike and Eric Melvin, an 8-minute trailer for the movie
Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election, a music video for "Franco Un-American", and a live video of the song "Idiot Son of an Asshole." In May and June, the band toured Europe as part of the
Deconstruction Tour
Deconstruction Tour was a one-day punk music and skate festival that was staged in various countries across Europe. It first took place in 1999 and occurred annually until 2006. The tour was arranged by Destiny Tourbooking. In general, the tour o ...
. On June 5, the band appeared on ''54321''. The band played a few US shows in March 2004, prior to touring the West Coast as part of the Punkvoter Tour.
They then embarked on a tour of Europe in May 2004, with
Swingin' Utters
Swingin' Utters (often typeset as $wingin' Utter$, and originally called Johnny Peebucks and the Swingin' Utters) is a Californian punk rock band that formed in the late 1980s.Bush, JohnSwingin' Utters Biography, Allmusic, retrieved September 30, ...
and
the Epoxies
The Epoxies were an American new wave band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. Heavily influenced by new wave, the band jokingly described themselves as robot garage rock. Members included FM Static on synthesizers, guitarist Viz Spectrum, l ...
. NOFX performed on ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...
'' on August 10, 2004. The band was due to appear on the
Warped Tour
The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...
, until Mike and his wife were expecting a child in August 2004.
The song "Franco Un-American" was the first single, garnering some airplay on major radio stations in the United States. A music video was also made for the song.
Reception
In a review on
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, reviewer Johnny Loftus wrote: "Musically, NOFX fuses its political cynicism with criticism of punk rock itself and suggests that the best thing for all the kids and the bands might be to close ranks and start their own little hardcore community. 'Irrationality of Rationality' and 'Franco Un-American'—two of the album's most melodic, catchy songs—are also two of ''War on Errorism''s most biting commentaries. The first personalizes the trickle-down effect of corporate decision-making over a lockstep hardcore rhythm; the second gets all-new wavy as Fat Mike reasons out his own world view, and somehow rhymes "apathy" with "
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...
.
The album reached the #1 position on ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''s
Independent Albums
The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' maga ...
chart, as well as #44 in the
''Billboard'' Top 200.
Legacy
The track, "The Idiots Are Taking Over" was featured as the song on the
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
menu of ''
The Sasquatch Gang
''The Sasquatch Gang'' (also known as ''The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang'') is a 2006 comedy film written and directed by Tim Skousen, the first assistant director on ''Napoleon Dynamite''.
The six-week shoot was completed in the summer of 2005. The fi ...
''.
In an episode of ''
One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to:
* "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak
* ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song
** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...
'', several lines from "Re-Gaining Unconsciousness" were read aloud, and "The Separation of Church and Skate" was a playable track on ''
Tony Hawk's Underground
''Tony Hawk's Underground'' is a skateboarding video game and the fifth entry in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series after ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4''. It was developed by Neversoft and published by Activision in 2003 for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, ...
''.
Pop-punk band
MxPx
MxPx () is an American pop punk band from Bremerton, Washington, founded in 1992 as Magnified Plaid. As of 2016, current members include Mike Herrera on lead vocals and bass guitar, Yuri Ruley on drums and percussion, Tom Wisniewski on lead gui ...
released a cover of "Franco Un-American" on July 2, 2019, with updated lyrics reflecting the contemporary American political climate. The cover artwork mimics that of ''The War on Errorism'', with a caricature of
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Senate Majority Leader
The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...
in place of George W. Bush.
Track listing
All tracks written by
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...
.
* On the vinyl back cover, the track "Decom-poseur" is misspelled as "Decom-posuer".
Personnel
*
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...
– vocals, bass, keyboards, ebow
*
Eric Melvin
Eric Scott Melvin (born July 9, 1966) is an American musician and founding member of the punk rock band NOFX.
Melvin sings backup vocals on most NOFX songs and wrote the guitar riffs for NOFX songs such as the intro for " Leave It Alone". His v ...
– guitar, vocals
*
El Hefe
Aaron Abeyta (born August 8, 1965), better known as El Hefe or simply Hefe, from ''el Jefe'' (Spanish for "the boss"), is an American musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and trumpet player for the California punk band NOFX. ...
– guitar, horns, vocals
*
Erik Sandin
Erik Sandin (born July 29, 1966), is an American musician and the drummer of the punk rock band NOFX, and former member of punk rock band Caustic Cause. He was a founding member of NOFX when they formed in Hollywood, California, in 1983.
...
– drums, percussion
*
Spike Slawson
Spike Slawson is an American punk rock musician, a member of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Swingin' Utters, Filthy Thievin' Bastards, Re-Volts, and Uke-Hunt.
Early life
Having grown up in Pittsburgh, Slawson worked in the mail order departme ...
– additional vocals
* Karina Denike – additional vocals, vibraphone on "Mattersville"
*
Sascha Lazor – additional guitars on "Anarchy Camp"
*
Ronnie King
Ronnie King is an American musician, producer, and co-owner of Blue Label Records with Sean Couevas.
Credits include
* 2Pac, keyboards on '' Still I Rise'', '' Until the End of Time''
* Snoop Dogg, Hammond organ on '' Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$ ...
– additional guitars on "Anarchy Camp"
* Jesse Sutherland (aka FM Static) from the
Epoxies
The Epoxies were an American New wave music, new wave band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. Heavily influenced by new wave, the band jokingly described themselves as robot garage rock. Members included FM Static on synthesizers, guitarist ...
– additional keyboards on "Franco Un-American"
*
Jason Freese
Jason Freese is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist. As a professional studio musician he has performed on over 50 albums, including for artists Green Day, Dr. Dre, Pitbull, Avenged Sevenfold, Goo Goo Dolls, and Jewel. He is the son ...
– saxophone on "Anarchy Camp"
* Eduardo Hernandez from
Mad Caddies
The Mad Caddies (or the Caddies) are a ska punk band from Solvang, California, United States. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. To date, Mad Caddies have sold over 500,000 albums worl ...
– trombone on "Mattersville"
* Recorded at Motor Studios,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, US – except "13 Stitches" which "wasn't actually recorded anywhere", according to the liner notes.
* Produced by
Ryan Greene
Ryan Greene is an American record producer, sound engineer, former owner of Crush Recording Studios in Scottsdale, Arizona and founder of Area 52 Entertainment in Los Angeles, California. In an over 25-year-long career he has worked with many art ...
and
Fat Mike
Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...
* Engineered by Adam Krammer
* Mastered at Oasis by Eddy Schreyer
Charts
References
External links
''The War on Errorism''at
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
(streamed copy where licensed)
War on Errorismadditional information
NOFX official websiteFat Wreck Chords website
{{DEFAULTSORT:War on Errorism
NOFX albums
2003 albums
Fat Wreck Chords albums
Albums produced by Ryan Greene
Cultural depictions of George W. Bush
Songs about George W. Bush