The Tracys Newest Single Hearkens Back To 1950’s Science Fiction And Horror, While Still Retaining Current Commentary
Iconic old-school punk band The Tracys have released their second single of 2023 with “Bully Bully Blockhead”, a rousing piece that inspires anti-bullying sentiment with a clear-cut message about the people in power. Hot on the heels of their first single of the year, “A Soviet Mistake”, “Bully Bully Blockhead” uses a seriously catchy chorus to hook listeners.
The music video for this song, linked below, is a psuedo-found footage piece that was taken from The Tracys drummer Matt Ernst‘s art studio in NYC and was created for an exhibition just after the September 11th attacks. Ernst’s art studio was located in Greenwich Village (mere blocks away from Ground Zero) at the time, and he created this video in order to process the anxieties of the tragedy at the World Trade Center.
What results from this footage and the upbeat single, clocking in at a rapid-fire minute and 34 seconds, is a really neat mash-up of science fiction and horror sensibilities. Ernst’s son acted in this music video, both in a depiction of Frankenstein’s Monster and as, presumably, a podracer from Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Despite his young age (he was only 6 at the time!), we would say he did quite well in both roles.
The song’s lyrics also are well worth noting here. There is a description of a schoolyard bully who has been terrorizing the playground, but also of importance is that this child grows up to be in various positions of power later in life:
He’s a judge,
He’s a mayor,
He’s a klan,
He’s a cop
He’s a Blockhead, oh no!
The Tracys, “Bully Bully Blockhead”
The idea that raising a young child on a rhetoric of hate only serves to encourage that hatred later on in life is not one that is unknown to people in this day and age. The Tracys’ latest single truly encapsulates this concept quite easily, and we can get behind this cautionary tale.
The Tracys consists of Dave Klym, John Payne, Larry Mancini, and Matt Ernst. This latest single, “Bully Bully Blockhead” was mixed by Mike Abiuso of Behind The Curtains Media.
You can listen to The Tracys on Spotify now!
