Punk/ska band We Are The Union decided to have a little fun at the expense of old punk rockers like the members of Dead Kennedys whose sexagenarian politics are weirdly incongruous with the songs of their youth. As the band explained to Brooklyn Vegan:
This song is probably going to get us into some trouble. Though its original title, "Punk Rock is an Oligarchy," was swapped at the last minute in favor of the Dead-Kennedys-Retweeting-Mitt-Romney-inspired "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Punk Rock Stars," the meaning of the song remains the same. For a community supposedly built on antiestablishment ethos, when it comes to the endless battle with white supremacy, abolishment of the police, trans rights, and, truthfully, most of the social issues facing us all today, I look around and see too many of my teenage heroes remaining quiet and unhelpful at best. At worst, I see them standing fully on the wrong side of history. If the words that shaped our worldview as young punks in the early 2000s ever meant anything, the time is now for the people who wrote them to show up, take accountability, and get to work. But from former Sex Pistols wearing MAGA shirts to overwhelmingly white male festival lineups, one can't help but wonder: was punk rock all just a way to sell us god damn t-shirts?
