Dicks - ‘No Nazis Friend’

Emerging from the small but urgent scene in Texas, and fronted by Gary Floyd, one of the few openly gay musicians in the entire movement, the Dicks were one of the most politically-oriented of all hardcore bands. Their blistering Kill from the Heart album for SST Records contains several anti-fascist tirades. The best is ‘No Nazis Friend’, a blues-inflected blur of rage directed not just at the local police but fascists everywhere. Floyd’s scorching vocals more than match his lyrical venom: “Don't wear no uniform/ Fight you like a mighty storm/ I've got the rage in me/ And that is part of it.” Unapologetically confrontational, the Dicks never gave fascists an inch in their day, and neither should we in ours.
Kevin McCaighy