Irish

One of my favourite bands in my early 20's was the Dropkick Murphys. They're an American punk band that leans into their Irish heritage and incorporates bagpipes, accordions, tin whistles and other instruments into their fold-tinged punk rock.

I admit that I haven't really followed them closely since the early 2000's when they moved away from the straight punk sound and became heavily Celtic-punk. It all started sounding a little bit samey to me, but I'll still dip my toes in from time to time.

One of the main reasons I still list them in my favourite bands is because of their ethics. They are loudly and proudly anti-Trump, anti-ICE, pro-Union, pro-human rights, and just generally stand for all the same things that I do.

Seeing bands that I love be vocal about where they stand on these issues makes me feel like there's still some hope for the world and makes me feel more confident about speaking out for my own beliefs.

One the coolest projects that the Dropkick Murphys have done was with Woody Guthrie's Estate. They were given access to his catalogue of lyrics that had never been turned into songs, and they made them into songs. Now, I'm not a Woody Guthrie fan, but I can appreciate the magnitude of the gift that they were given.

And even if I don't like Woody Guthrie's music, even if I don't really listen to the Dropkick Murphys anymore, I truly feel like I can stand behind the statement idea "THIS MACHINE KILLS FACISTS".