Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2

Disc 1
1	Favorite Son / Green Day previously unreleased 2:13
2	Let Them Eat War / Bad Religion 2:58
3	Unity / Operation Ivy 2:14
4	Necrotism: Decanting the Insalubrious (Cyborg Midnight), Pt. 7 / The Lawrence Arms previously unreleased 1:48
5	We Got the Power / Dropkick Murphys previously unreleased 2:45
6	Drunken Lullabies / Flogging Molly 3:49
7	Doomsday Breach / Only Crime 2:15
8	Gas Chamber / Foo Fighters previously unreleased 0:55
9	Status Pools / Lagwagon previously unreleased 2:36
10	What You Say / Sugarcult 2:36
11	7 Years Down / Rancid 2:33
12	Off With Your Head / Sleater-Kinney previously unreleased 2:26
13	Scream Out / The Unseen previously unreleased 2:48
14	Violins / Yellowcard previously unreleased 3:33
15	Like Sprewells on a Wheelchair / Dillinger Four previously unreleased 3:41
16	Chesterfield King / Jawbreaker Live / previously unreleased 4:03
17	Born Free / The Bouncing Souls Live / previously unreleased 1:45
18	No Hope / Mad Caddies Live / previously unreleased 1:41
19	Kids Today / The Matches previously unreleased 1:25
20	Can't Wait to Quit / Sick of It All previously unreleased 2:09
21	Comforting Lie / No Doubt 2:52
22	State of Fear / Useless ID previously unreleased 3:12
23	I'm Thinking / Autopilot Off previously unreleased 2:50
24	My Star / The (International) Noise Conspiracy previously unreleased 2:35
25	Time's Up / Donots previously unreleased 3:24
26	Kill the Night / Hot Water Music previously unreleased 2:42
27	You're Gonna Die / Thought Riot 2:36
28	Fields of Agony / No Use for a Name previously unreleased / Acoustic 2:45
Disc 2
1	Independent Media in a Time of War DVD
2	Honor Betrayed DVD
3	Fixed in Florida DVD
4	Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War DVD
5	Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election DVD
6	Unconstitutional DVD
7	We've Had Enough / Alkaline Trio DVD
8	Los Angeles Is Burning / Bad Religion DVD
9	Drunken Lullabies / Flogging Molly DVD
10	Idiot Son of an Asshole / NOFX DVD
11	With Love, The Underground / Thought Riot DVD
12	Bush Straigt Talk / Will Ferrell Comedy / Multimedia Track
13	Greg Proops / Greg Proops Comedy / Multimedia Track
14	Patton Oswalt vs. Bush / Patton Oswalt Comedy / Multimedia Track

Barnes & Noble

With one of the most heated elections in decades looming on the horizon, musicians of all stripes are rolling up their sleeves to pitch in for -- or against -- the candidates of their choice. The principals behind this punk rock–inspired 28-song set (20 of which have never appeared on disc before) make no secret of their collective affiliation, even though only some of them go so far as to fuse music and message. Those that do, however, connect pretty solidly. Green Day's spitting-mad sarcasm-fest "Favorite Son" manages to hit both the funny bone and the fury bone, as does the Foo Fighters' cover of the Angry Samoans' short-fused "Gas Chamber." The frowns get turned right-side-up on equally passionate screeds by Bad Religion ("Let Them Eat War") and the International Noise Conspiracy ("My Star"), but Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2 isn't all about sloganeering -- as evidenced by Yellowcard's nuanced "Violins" and Sugarcult's "What You Say." The set includes several tracks by gone-but-not-forgotten forebears such as Jawbreaker (who contribute a live version of the gnarled "Chesterfield King") and Operation Ivy (whose vintage "Unity" conjures up specters of hard-core activism past), but even those take on a contemporary vibe, thanks to the universality of their subject matter. Yes, Rock Against Bush 2 aims to make listeners think, but more important, it intends to make them feel as well. David Sprague

All Music Guide

While Fat Mike of NOFX has never been known as one of the more emphatic and articulate political voices in punk rock (let's face it, NOFX have been more about high punk goofiness than making a "statement"), he's certainly been making up for that in 2004, having started the Leftist activist group Punkvoter.com with the expressed goal of voting George W. Bush out of the White House in that year's presidential elections, and releasing not one but two Rock Against Bush compilation albums on his Fat Wreck Chords label. Designed to raise money for Punkvoter.com and awareness about the upcoming election, Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2 offers up 73 minutes worth of circa 21st century punk with a decidedly anti-authoritarian slant; if you're looking for specific anti-Dubya anthems, there aren't a lot of 'em here, though No Use for a Name's acoustic reworking of "Fields of Agony" actually features the voice of the man himself thanks to the magic of sampling, and Bad Religion contribute "Let Them Eat War" from their virulently anti-Republican The Empire Strikes First. Along the way, you get solid new stuff from Green Day, Sleater-Kinney, Foo Fighters and the Dropkick Murphys, hard-to-find tunes from No Doubt, Jawbreaker, and Yellowcard, and generally cool rock from the Lawrence Arms, Flogging Molly, Rancid, Operation Ivy, and the (International) Noise Conspiracy. In short, a good, pissed-off time is had by all, and anyone with a taste for the current state of punk rock and a healthy disgust for the Bush administration will consider their money well spent on this album. The CD is accompanied by a bonus DVD that adds major value to the package, featuring six politically oriented short subjects (including extended previews of Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War and Unconstitutional), five music videos (including NOFX's ridiculous and sublime "Idiot Son of an Asshole"), and some genuinely funny topical humor from Will Ferrell, Patton Oswalt, and Greg Proops. Register to vote, and pick this up on the way home. Mark Deming