Fucked Up and the Halluci Nation Team Up for "John Wayne Was a Nazi"

It's a cover of classic hardcore band MDC

BY Alex HudsonPublished Jun 8, 2023

After teaming up for a version of Dangerous Rhythm's "Electroshock," recent tour buddies Fucked Up and the Halluci Nation have joined forces for another cover song: MDC's "John Wayne Was a Nazi."

In statements, the Halluci Nation's Ehren "Bear Witness" Thomas and Fucked Up's Damian Abraham explained that they had each been fans of the song since they were young.

"The song has been with me since high school," Bear Witness said. "The song and M.D.C. have stuck with me over the years. It's got rage to it and that message, but I love that there's a dark humour to it as well. It really fits in with the way we make music and visuals, with the message that we try to put forward about confronting one-dimensional misrepresentations of indigenous people in the media. John Wayne becomes a stand-in for the entire colonial project."

Abraham added, "As a young punk kid hearing this song for the first time, it did change the way I looked at [John Wayne] — it subverted it to where all of a sudden the hero is the villain, and you can see what's going on in pop culture. As a young punk kid, this song was one of the first that showed the cracks in that veneer."

Fucked Up and the Halluci Nation toured Canada together this spring, although the co-headlining run is already over.

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