This is Hate Army, it's the 2nd song on SLaN. I don't think racism is something new in America, but it seems that white supremacists have been emboldened by Trump's election. This song is a reaction to the Charlottesville march and the far-right in general. These angry white boys who blame all their problems on people of color and women might thrive in a dark corner of the internet, but when they step into the light (by attending highly-visible public gatherings), they will find there are real consequences to their actions. It's already started to happen, with people being outed as white supremacists losing their jobs, etc. I hope they retreat into the shadows and slowly dissolve into oblivion.
R.E.M. is one of my biggest influences and it definitely shows on this track. Aside from possibly Jason, I don't think I ever played with R.E.M. fanatics (in The Planes at least), so it was great to let my fan flag fly on a couple of tracks on SLaN.
lyrics
I don’t know your name,
I don’t know where you are,
Until you show yourself in the streets,
And this snowflake tears you apart.
Hate army, come for me,
Come for me now,
I want to see your burning torches,
Illuminate your frowns.
It’s just a joke, where’s your sense of humor?
It doesn’t mean a thing.
But we know there’s missiles in the dog whistles,
And you’re ready to let them sing.
Trying to change your mind,
Wouldn’t do any good,
So we’re gonna make you understand,
Why your fathers wore the hood.
Hate Army, come for me,
Come for me now,
I want to see the burning crosses,
Your lame excuse for a crow.,
I want to hear you whine for hours,
How being white is hard,
You got a right to your blood and soil,
Within the prison yard.
It doesn’t come from the top down,
It rises up from the street,
The end result of fragile masculinity.
Hate army, come for me,
Come for me now,
I want to see your burning torches,
Illuminate your frowns.
It’s just a joke, where’s your sense of humor?
It doesn’t mean a thing.
But we know there’s missiles in the dog whistles,
And you’re ready to let them sing.
The Planes are a three-piece indie rock band from Brooklyn, NY. Since their founding in 2010 by guitarist/singer Stephen
Perry, they’ve earned a reputation for writing catchy indie rock jams, showing up to gigs on time, and taking that last drink ticket off your hands, y’know, if you’re not going to use it anyway and it would just go to waste....more