When my friends and I were at Binghamton (NY) Central High School, probably in the spring of 1970, we made an antiwar video. I no longer recall the plot, as it were, though I remember bringing my Johnny Seven OMA (One-Man Army) toy gun to the proceedings.
We used as the soundtrack a song from the Detroit-based, left-wing political group The MC5. It came from the second LP, Back in the USA.
The album was by produced by future Bruce Springsteen mentor Jon Landau, and predated punk rockers such as The Ramones by several years. It was a commercial dud, and very much unlike either of the group’s other albums or their legendary live shows, where “the group often overshadow[ed] the more famous acts they opened up for. ” But we liked it; in fact, I still own it on vinyl.
The selection used for the video was called High School. Some of the lyrics:
The kids know what the deal is
They’re getting farther out everyday
We’re gonna be takin’ over
You better get out of the way
‘Cause they’re goin’ to
(High school) Rah, rah, rah
(High school) Sis, boom, bah
(High school) Hey, hey, hey
You better get out of the way
One of the members, Fred “Sonic” Smith was married to singer and poet Patti Smith from 1980 until he died in 1994. They had collaborated on her 1988 album Dream of Life.
LISTEN to High School or to the whole Living in the USA album.