Song of the Day: "The American in Me"-The Avengers

Often associated with the Sex Pistols (their EP was produced by Steve Jones and they opened for the band at their last show at the Winterland), the Avengers, while only existing very briefly released some great songs. While they did not really stray from the basic punk format, their politically tinged tirades helped give their fast paced numbers, "We Are the Ones," "The American in Me," and "White Nigger" a greater kick and were more idealistic than anything the Sex Pistols recorded. Sadly, they never really got too involved in the recording process. Their debut album was released in 1983, four years after they broke up. Penelope Houston, the bleached blonde singer/songwriter of the band went on becoming exactly that, a folky singer-songwriter and abandoned her punk roots. But what little this band left behind is great enough for me. With its allusions to the Kennedy era (and mainly assassination), Vietnam, the SLA, and other radical 60s events and icons, "The American in Me" survives in today's era not as a recap of the Kennedy assassination, but rather as a both a critique and celebration of America's fascination with violence, "It's the American in me that makes the watch the blood running out of the bullet hole in his head/"It's the American in me that says its an honor to die in war that's just a politician's lie." Hey, at least she's honest.