Recently, NPR’s “Song of the Day” a chord with old-skool punk fans who found it hauntingly familiar. Many who caught the sense of recognition probably brushed it off, thinking “Bah, this is a catchy pop song. I don’t listen to pop…” Well, this is true – it is a pop song. But once, in the early 80’s it was a raging punk song, blasted out of crunchy guitar cabs and screeched over by a very young Henry Rollins. Now, the Dirty Projectors have created an entire album based on Black Flag’s 1981 album, Damaged.

Dirty Projectors’ Rise Above Is A Punk Tribute By Association

Not straight up cover songs though. Dirty P’s frontman and songwriter, Dave Longstreth claims that the album consists of Damaged songs that he reconstructed from memory and injected with his intuitive interpretation of the original song’s message. It’s interesting to hear this song in a pop context more than 25 years later. The original album was stickered by MCA Records as “Anti-Parent” due to its lyrical content, but The Dirty Projectors’ version could easily be mistaken by an unsuspecting parent as a lovely little lullaby! According to the NPR piece:

While both albums draw from difficult political eras, the music hardly feels hopeless or brooding, as The Dirty Projectors’ reliance on pop helps couch the statements of Rise Above in optimism. Hearing this version, it’s intriguing to hear the rage of Black Flag’s original wash away and reveal more of a plea for change.

So watch this video of the original “Rise Above” recorded at Target Video in SF by Black Flag in 1984:

Then jump over to NPR to listen to the Dirty Projectors version of “Rise Above” from their new cd, Rise Above.

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