One of the greats.
During my kinder-punk exploration in middle school I would pick up cool looking used CDs at the flea market and snagged less talk and HTCE, which both hooked into my pubescent brain immediately and have stuck with me since. I was a huge blink 182 fan and really appreciated the silliness and pop sensibilities of HTCE mixed with the scathing commentary that I was probably too young to understand but certainly old enough to think was cool. I remember hearing “stick the fuckin flag…” for the first time and having a literal “CAN THEY SAY THAT??” moment while washing dishes at my parents house lol.
I used to upload the flea market CDs onto my Xbox 360 and listen to them nonstop while playing skate 2 and MW. some of those early propagandhi tunes still give me a weird Pavlovian response and take me back to playing call of duty as a teen. Kind of funny in hindsight considering the lyrical content of the records vs the literal military propaganda I was playing lol
I also distinctly remember opening up the Less Talk More Rock CD for the first time and seeing “pro feminist, animal friendly, anti fascist, gay positive” in a circle around the disc. I doubt I knew what feminism or fascism really were back when I was like 14, but by that point I definitely knew I was gay and it was really encouraging to see a band unabashedly support the gay community during a pretty confusing time in my life when I wasn’t quite sure where I fit in.
I saw them with Comeback Kid in 2009 in Buffalo. I couldn’t drive yet and the propagandhi show was on a Friday, and Godspeed You Black Emperor was playing the same venue the next night so my dad only let me go to one. I chose propagandhi and thought I would regret it for years because of how elusive and cryptic GYBE is, but I’ve seen Godspeed 5-6 times since and have yet to catch propagandhi again. Definitely don’t regret it now. Very sick show.
Anyway, they’re one of my favorite bands ever and it’s great to see them getting some love. I’ve kept up with all of the releases but fell off a bit when failed states came out. Still love em to death, but those first 5 records (pretty fucking good run if you ask me) hold a very special place in my musical awakening