The War on Errorism

The War on Errorism is the ninth studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released on May 6, 2003 through Fat Wreck Chords.

The War on Errorism
Studio album by
NOFX
ReleasedMay 6, 2003
RecordedJanuary–April, 2003
StudioMotor Studios, San Francisco, USA
GenrePunk rock, skate punk, ska punk
Length36:16
LabelFat Wreck Chords
ProducerRyan Greene, Fat Mike
NOFX chronology
Regaining Unconsciousness
(2003)		 The War on Errorism
(2003)		 The Greatest Songs Ever Written (By Us!)
(2004)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Robert ChristgauA− [2]

The album was recorded in 2003 after they left Epitaph Records in 2001, following the release of 2000's Pump Up the Valuum.

Background

After 11 years at Epitaph Records, NOFX left the label in 2002 and moved to, Fat Wreck Chords founded by their singer Fat Mike and his girlfriend in 1990, and released The War on Errorism. The album takes aim at U.S. President George W. Bush, criticizing him and his policies, while the cover features a cartoon version of the president as a clown. The back of the cover booklet and runout groove has a caption stating "Somewhere in Texas there is a village without its idiot".

"Mattersville" was originally released on Fat Music Volume 6: Uncontrollable Fatulence. A few songs from The War on Errorism were included on the Regaining Unconsciousness EP, released earlier.

Other songs recorded during this time, but not released on the album, are: "Jaw, Knee, Music", "One Way Ticket to Fuckneckville" (Keyboards version), "Glass War", "Idiot Son of an Asshole", "13 Stitches" (acoustic), "Hardcore 84".

Singles

The song "Franco Un-American" was the first single, garnering some airplay on major radio stations in the United States. A music video was also made for the song.[3]

Release

The album was released in 2003 as an Enhanced CD and marks the first time NOFX created CD-ROM content for an album. The CD-ROM features include an introduction from Fat Mike and Eric Melvin, an 8-minute trailer for the movie Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election, a music video for "Franco Un-American", and a live video of the song "Idiot Son of an Asshole."

Reception

In a review on AllMusic, reviewer Johnny Loftus wrote: "Musically, NOFX fuses its political cynicism with criticism of punk rock itself and suggests that the best thing for all the kids and the bands might be to close ranks and start their own little hardcore community. "Irrationality of Rationality" and "Franco Un-American"—two of the album's most melodic, catchy songs—are also two of War on Errorism's most biting commentaries. The first personalizes the trickle-down effect of corporate decision-making over a lockstep hardcore rhythm; the second gets all-new wavy as Fat Mike reasons out his own world view, and somehow rhymes "apathy" with "Noam Chomsky.""

The album reached the #1 position on the Billboard Independent Album chart, as well as #44 in the Billboard Top 200.[4]

Legacy

The track, "The Idiots Are Taking Over" was featured as the song on the DVD menu of The Sasquatch Gang.

In an episode of One Tree Hill, several lines from "Re-Gaining Unconsciousness" were read aloud,[5] and "The Separation of Church and Skate" was a playable track on Tony Hawk's Underground.

Pop-punk band MxPx released a cover of "Franco Un-American" on July 2, 2019, with updated lyrics reflecting the contemporary American political climate. The cover artwork mimics that of The War on Errorism, with a caricature of Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in place of George W. Bush.[6]

Track listing

All tracks written by Fat Mike.

No.TitleLength
1."The Separation of Church and Skate"3:10
2."The Irrationality of Rationality"2:32
3."Franco Un-American"2:25
4."Idiots Are Taking Over"3:23
5."She's Nubs"2:05
6."Mattersville"2:29
7."Decom-posuer"2:54
8."Medio-core"3:05
9."Anarchy Camp"2:54
10."American Errorist (I Hate Hate Haters)"1:52
11."We Got Two Jealous Agains"2:04
12."13 Stitches"1:55
13."Re-gaining Unconsciousness"2:39
14."Whoops, I OD'd"2:50

Personnel
  • Fat Mike - vocals, bass, keyboards, ebow
  • Eric Melvin - guitar, vocals
  • El Hefe - guitar, horns, vocals
  • Erik Sandin - drums, percussion
  • Spike Slawson - additional vocals
  • Karina Denike - additional vocals, vibraphone on "Mattersville"
  • Sascha Lazor - additional guitars on "Anarchy Camp"
  • Ronnie King - additional guitars on "Anarchy Camp"
  • Jesse Sutherland (aka FM Static) from the Epoxies - additional keyboards on "Franco Un-American"
  • Jason Freese - saxophone on "Anarchy Camp"
  • Eduardo Hernandez from Mad Caddies - trombone on "Mattersville"
  • Recorded at Motor Studios, San Francisco, USA – except "13 Stitches" which "wasn't actually recorded anywhere", according to the liner notes.
  • Produced by Ryan Greene and Fat Mike
  • Engineered by Adam Krammer
  • Mastered at Oasis by Eddy Schreyer

References
  1. The War on Errorism at AllMusic
  2. "CG: nofx". Robert Christgau. 2004-08-10. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  3. "NOFX - Franco Un-American (Official Video)".
  4. "NOFX Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  5. "One Tree Hill (TV Series) Don't Take Me for Granted (2004) Soundtracks". IMDb.
  6. Polk, Nick. "MxPx cover "Franco Un-American" with updated lyrics". PunkNews.org. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
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