Influences and Genre
Musically, United Nations takes influence from mid 1990s screamo, hardcore punk, powerviolence, and post-hardcore bands such as Refused, Nation of Ulysses, Orchid, Majority Rule, Fugazi, Reversal of Man and bands signed to Gravity Records or Ebullition Records. Their genre is also often described as grindcore. United Nations pays tribute to the band's from which they take their influence from in their albums. On their self-titled debut album, the song titled "The Shape of Punk that Never Came" pays tribute to Refused's album The Shape of Punk to Come – most notably in the lyric "Dennis, are you listening? Is there something that I'm missing?" which is directed toward Dennis Lyxzén, the lead singer of Refused. The album United Nations Plays Pretty For A Bunch Of Fucking Babies was inspired by Nation of Ulysses' album Plays Pretty for Baby.
Lyrically, United Nations has songs that feature both comical songs with assistance from comedy group Stella and comedian Kristen Schaal, and also songs that about social and political values. More specifically, United Nations was inspired by bands that "raised questions about political corruption, social inequity, personal responsibility and artistic freedom" in opposition to bands that are more concerned with pop culture. Geoff Rickly commented on his vision for the band:
| “ | To me, it was like, maybe speaking sincerely about things isn't enough to make people pay attention. Maybe you have to make fun of people — and be a mirror — to show them how stupid they look, to get their attention. That's the idea. Punk is just way too safe these days, so we're hoping by making some audacious claims and doing some strange things and breaking a few laws, we can get people to think at least. It's the idea that you need to embrace the absurdity or it will fucking kill you. The world doesn't make sense, and trying to make sense of it is a fool's errand. | ” |
|
—Geoff Rickly, |
||
Read more about this topic: United Nations (band)
Famous quotes containing the words influences and/or genre:
“Nothing changes more constantly than the past; for the past that influences our lives does not consist of what actually happened, but of what men believe happened.”
—Gerald W. Johnson (1890–1980)
“We ignore thriller writers at our peril. Their genre is the political condition. They massage our dreams and magnify our nightmares. If it is true that we always need enemies, then we will always need writers of fiction to encode our fears and fantasies.”
—Daniel Easterman (b. 1949)