THE SUBHUMANS – Incorrect Thoughts

I'm not the hugest fan of the THE SUBHUMANS' discography. Overall, they are bit too garage-y for me, the rock solos rub me the wrong way, and their style of satire doesn't grab my attention most of the time. People talk about the songwriting and favour one member's songs over the other, but aside from the real rippers none of them really grab me. The subject matter is great, but their sound just isn't my thing, this record in particular. So why am I writing a review of a classic that I don't really even like? It's because one of the songs on this record is called "Urban Guerillas," the chorus has the lines:

Guerrillas, urban guerrillas
Point the way for me and you

One of the band members lived up to that song. Near the end of the band, probably while this record was being written, the band's bassist Gerry Hannah was a member of a group called "Direct Action" which later became known as the "Squamish Five." They vandalized government offices, stole weapons and dynamite, bombed a generating station and a weapons manufacturer. Vancouver punks at this time were known for being politically active beyond their bands, even Jello Biafra noted it as an important distinction to the Vancouver scene at the time. The Squamish Five got caught and Gerry got a 10 year sentence, of which he served 5. He says he doesn't regret his actions.

I think the most well known THE SUBHUMANS song is "Fuck You," and it's not even on this record, but the point of this review is that punk isn't just saying "We don't care what you say, Fuck You!" Punk is so much more "So cause a commotion and love the reaction."