Archive for genocide

On Tyranny: Mekons’ Tom Greenhalgh Disses Ed Sheeran, Gives ‘Big Ups’ to Susan Sarandon for Opposing Right Wing

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 10/17/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Celebrating their 50th year as a band in 2026, Leeds-bred post-punk icons The Mekons have maintained a streak of anti-authoritarianism dating back to their first studio full-length, The Quality of Mercy Is Not Strnen, which was released in 1979 – the same year Margaret Thatcher rose to become prime minister. Along with Gang of Four, The Clash and other British bands that formed a united front against the right-wing scourge that dominated the country at the time, The Mekons have never held back in challenging the powers that be and espousing their left-wing beliefs.

The band featuring Jon Langford and Tom Greenhalgh (both vocalists/guitarists) and Sally Timms (also vocals) among many other members are still fighting the good fight today, and have not relented in their sharp criticism of the elite class that is dominating the world like never before, at least not in recent memory. Proof can be found in last year’s Horror, the latest studio album released by the now-Chicago-based group; as well as their dub revisitation of that record released in June: Horrorble (Mekons vs. Tony Maimone in Dub Conference.

The Bad Penny recently had the great privilege to usher Greenhalgh into our On Tyranny series, in which musicians speak out about the threats that fascism and authoritarianism pose to artists, how they can respond and what younger bands can learn from the experiences and wisdom of veteran groups. Below is our email interview with the gracious Greenhalgh.

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Ex-Unsane Bassist Prioritizes Focus on Genocide in Gaza Versus Drama With Past Bandmates on Baratro’s New LP

Posted in Interview Transcripts, Interviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on 10/14/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

The 200-year-old sonnet known as “Ozymandias” returned to the public discourse this year when Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly referenced it to Trump – who was, probably for the best, apparently oblivious to the gist of the story. In essence, “Ozymandias” is an allusion to a once-powerful but increasingly irrelevant superpower unaware that it is being overtaken by a younger rival empire with momentum on its side.

For fear of sounding grandiose, “Ozymandias” could perhaps be applied as well to two interrelated bands, one of which achieved significant popularity in its heyday but now appears to be sputtering; and the other a relatively young upstart group that could very well position itself to eclipse its elder relative.

The bands in question are Unsane and Baratro, which are both cut from the same cloth – noise-rock. For lack of a better term, the connective tissue between the groups is one Dave Curran, who played bass in Unsane from 1994 to 2000; and then again when Unsane reactivated, from 2003 to 2018. For those allergic to math, that’s a lot of mileage for a musician to commit to a band – 22 years – even if Curran wasn’t a founding member of his former outfit.

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On Tyranny: Chasing Abbey Say Irish, Palestinians Have a ‘Shared History’; Blast Support for Colonizing as ‘Anti-Irish’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 09/17/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

In the most brutally honest and thus edifying installment yet of our 100-plus-installment On Tyranny series, brand-new Irish electro-Celtic trio Chasing Abbey hold nothing back in speaking out against authoritarianism, oppression and the Palestinian genocide.

We’re publishing this video today to celebrate the release of the trio’s debut record, Cyber Celt, which comes out today (Friday) courtesy of Remote Control Records.

Get a breath of fresh air as you listen to all three members of Chasing Abbey – multi-instrumentalists/producers/vocalists Ronan Bell, Jonathan Byrne and Ted Conway – bravely speak their mind and exercise free speech fearlessly and proudly … just like the Irish tradition calls for.

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On Tyranny: Convulsing Claims Trump Temporarily Sabotaged Fascist Growth in His Australia Homeland

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 05/27/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Brendan Sloan is a visionary multi-instrumentalist who refers to himself on his Bandcamp page as “once gadigal, then kaurna, now graciously living on unceded wurundjeri land, so-called australia.” The man behind the best one-man death-metal band in The Land Down Under touches base with The Bad Penny in the latest edition of our ongoing series, On Tyranny.

The extremely well-informed Sloan provides a university-grade lesson on the history of his country’s genocide against indigenous farmers, encroaching fascism and antisemitism, and threats posed by growing fascist-right and techno-fascist movements in his homeland.

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On Tyranny: Israeli Punk Band the Crotches Say Netanyahu Epitomizes ‘Lowest Point of Israeli Decay’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny with tags , , , , , , , , , on 01/07/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

“We were brought up in a loving home that encouraged peace and equality. The more we educated ourselves on those values the more we realized that we were being indoctrinated to believe that Israel is the sole protagonist in this conflict and that any other opinion is a betrayal.”
-The Crotches

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As regular or even semi-regular browsers of The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series may have noticed, we tend to shy away from presenting interviews with participating artists in text form. That’s principally due to the sensitive nature of the series’ overarching theme – how fascism and authoritarianism directly damage musicians and other artists both professionally and personally. Typically, we opt for video, as that artistic medium captures the seriousness and emotional intensity of the subject more powerfully than written accounts.

Enter The Crotches. Germinated and anchored by three brothers, the Tel Aviv garage-punk band departed from their home country roughly two years ago and settled in Las Vegas.

The punk squad – who were conscripted to serve in Israel’s military – made the tough decision to leave in large part because of immoral actions taken by the Israeli government, which is controlled by war criminal and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his Likud Party. Additionally, the musicians are anti-Zionist.

What follows is the entirety of The Bad Penny‘s conversation with Crotches frontman/vocalist Alonzo and guitarist Amitkes, who answered our questions in tandem – and with a truly admirable degree of transparency and courage.

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