Oliver's Army - Hayseed Dixie

Oliver's Army - Hayseed Dixie

2:51

Free Your Mind... And Your Grass Will Follow, 2017

Written by Elvis Costello, 1979

My favorite bluegrass-rock cover band does one of my very favorite Elvis Costello songs!  Adding in a fiddle line that evokes "Here Comes the Sun," they don't exactly transform this anti-imperialist tirade, but they definitely put their stamp on it.  They clearly love the source material and treat it with equal parts reverence and glee.  

Come Out And Play - Hayseed Dixie

Come Out And Play - Hayseed Dixie

2:52

Grasswhoopin' Party Pack, Vol. 1, 2013

Written by Dexter Holland, 1994

This brings back memories.  The year was 1994.  Dookie was dominating music on TV.  The Offspring released this song and we all sat around on the couch, much like in Green Day's brilliant classic "Longview," watching the video, bemused and hesitantly disdainful.  Was this song a bit racist?  Was this a case of a young neo-con-cum-punk making remarks about the violent crime rate of certain demographics?  "Your never-ending spree of death and violence and hate / Is gonna tie your own rope."  Is that a racist trope or a stock image from the genre?  Later, "Get a Job" would further enhance these suspicions.  Anyhoo, Hayseed Dixie does a great job with this song.