Search - The Presence :: Common Man's Anthems

The first track off of their new album "Common Man's Anthems", Martyr Rock, sets the tone touching on issues such as global warming, strife between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq and the outsourcing of labor to foreign countries. While these issues are addressed, the message as the chorus drops is, ?You can let a thousand hours drip off a clock, And still never know the hour you should watch, Life is your death getting closer non stop, So stop watching that clock and pump up Martyr Rock.? Bulletproof is more localized but touches a similar vein about mortality and facing it. The track was written after 9/11 with the false sense of bravado the group needed to do their daily routine after the destruction in NYC. ?You can't kill something that?s already dead, this is zombie town, the city only sleeps in your head, And I'm the zombie insomniac, And I'm getting tired and fatigued of fatigues inspired to bomb Iraq.? Guest emcees and producers add to the creativity of the tracks. Rob Sonic is featured on Pink Noise, a track about the fascination with wars and other disasters by the media. Nuclear Five features Aesop Rock, Masai Bey and Karniege. ?The Nuclear Five refers to the first five nations to possess nuclear weapons? Nasa explains. The El-P produced Turbo Connection deals with the supply and demand of oil and the motor industries hold on economic power.