Randy Smith selects his favourite protest songs from 2000 onwards (part 6)

  Day 6 of Randy's favourite recent political/protest songs...

  GRIT - Nowhere Else

  Grit (https://www.facebook.com/GRITDUBLINOIPUNK/) is from Dublin, Ireland. Comprised of folks / musicians generally associated with a heavier crust / hardcore sound. Musically, Grit is melodic, catchy, anthemic oi / punk done up just right. As one band member put it in an interview with Idioteq: "a band that’s a bit of fun, catchy sing-along, good for a dance yet punk as fuck." Inspired by bands like Camera Silens, Bishops Green, Syndrome 81, etc.

  Lyrically, Grit says: "Topics include: work, class struggle, friendship, loyalty and the sad state of our country due to austerity policies of the government hopefully with a different edge. With GRIT it’s “real” singing and you can hear the words and we need super-catchy choruses." And: "Some of the topics we have tackled are: austerity politics, class struggle, the decline of the Irish small town, dysfunctional relationships, mental health, friendship.We try to have a defiant tone, I hope that although some of the subject matter may be bleak you will still feel optimistic about the future when you listen."
 
  For me, I've reached the age where I wax poetically, nostalgically and at great and unwarranted length about the past, about the 'good old days'. And for me, that's the late 80s/early 90s in Toronto. There was definitely nowhere else I wanted to be and, for me personally, this song is important because it sums up the tenor of those times quite succinctly. This song 'takes me back.' There was fun, there was friendship, there was fighting (and infighting!), there was adventure, there was debate and debauchery and, I'll add, in retrospect, there was the arrogance of youth and a sometimes blinding belief in our own correctness and rightness. But, goddam, we did get shit done.

  We literally lived and breathed left-radical politics 24/7. And, like the song says, we also drank a lot of pints along the way. This song takes me back to beer-filled nights at the South African Centre in Kensington Market and  shows at Sneaky Dees, it takes me back to the Love And Rage conference in Hamilton and ARA conferences in Columbus, Ohio, to endless meetings, countless demos, never-ending debates, punk rock fundraisers with bands like Blundermen, Random Killing, Jersey and Repeat Offender, and to numerous road-trips to conferences, prisons, courtrooms / trials and assorted actions.

  It takes me back to publications and organizations such as Arm The Spirit, Toronto Anarchist Black Cross, Toronto Ecomedia, Anti-Racist Action, Love And Rage, RASH, Community Charge, Prison News Service; all of which influenced me one way or another. Proud to have been part of or worked on / with a few of them. This song takes me back to Toronto Anarchist Black Cross meetings, to hanging out at the Blackbird Design studio watching the newest Toronto Ecomedia being laid out, to sitting in Jim's living room and stuffing copies of the latest Prison News Service / Bulldozer into envelopes for mail out.  It takes me back to Myrtle Street and Dundurn Street in Hamilton and Huntley Street in Toronto, where numerous issues of Arm The Spirit were put together.

  Mostly though, this song takes me back to the people / crew whose mentorship, camaraderie, kindness and commitment to the 'cause' inspired me, influenced me, moved me. I'm very thankful to have had (and in some cases still have) these folks in my life. A partial and certainly very incomplete list in no particular order: Ron, Kraaker, Kim, Steve, Kevin, Shannonbrooke, Superfred, Patricio, Ruth, Tom, Rich, Bilbo, Kieran, Mike in Detroit, Eden, Rick L., Jim Campbell, Gord H. ,Craig, Karl and Dale, Sunday, Kristine, Dan/RASH. Apologies to those I've forgotten. Thanks to all. The struggle continues.

https://gritdublin.bandcamp.com/album/demo

Our scene, our fight
Poseurs, yuppies can stand aside
Cos we're going to get pissed tonight
Our crew, side by side
Unspoken bonds last our whole lives
And we're gonna have the craic tonight

I've kept it together the whole week long
I've tried so hard to toe the line
I work all week, pay the bills, pay my dues
Keep in touch with my roots, with my crew
Cos we don't fit in nowhere else

We'll sing, we'll fight
Nowhere to hide
Good night white pride
And we're gonna use our fists tonight
Our crew, side by side
Unspoken bonds last our whole lives
And we're going to have the craic tonight

Nowhere else
We don't fit in nowhere else