Politicians talk about getting down to "kitchen table issues."
Pittsburgh punk band Anti-Flag does just that in "Modern Meta Medicine," a new single from "Lies They Tell Our Children," a new album coming Jan. 6.
This one goes hard, taking on big pharma and the U.S. health care system for bankrupting its citizens while failing to match the life expectancy rate of other developed nations.
The dark video, which focuses on pills rather than vaccines, offsets caskets with pharma executives celebrating on Wall Street.
"We're all bogged down with dread/fill us with medicine," the band, joined by Jesse Leach of Killswitch Engage, sings on the gang chorus.
It ends with a sign along the road that reads, "R.I.P. The pursuit of happiness: It was only ever a rat race."
Anti-Flag released it on Wednesday with the statement:
"Let's be honest, in a world and cultural climate that reaps division and sows a void of nuance in our conversations, writing a record that challenges a healthcare system that puts profit before people can be scary," the band says. "But an opioid crisis, miracle cures for our weight, our skin, the hair on our heads, a limp [penis], and then the simultaneous denial of access to healthcare for the bodies of pregnant people, the poor, Black and immigrant communities is a stark contrast that must be discussed.
"At the crossroads of where business models and our healthcare intersect, the for-profit model has beyond proven it is unsustainable. And the fact that these corporations have preyed openly upon the most vulnerable in our society with very little push back has only opened the doors wildly for the conspiracy theorist, instead of allowing us to globally celebrate science, progress and the advancements of our healthcare.
" 'Modern Meta Medicine' looks to trace back the origins of capitalism's takeover of our health as global citizens, the Reagan era policies that allowed for billionaires to flourish off of the suffering of so many. Healthcare is a human right, and we need to steal our rights back from a machine that sees us as commodities and profit margins, however we can."
It added of its guest, "We are grateful to Jesse Leach from Killswitch Engage for lending his talent and empathy to this track. Since becoming friends we've had a few great conversations on this topic so we knew he would be perfect for this and holy sh— did he deliver."
Indecline, who shot the video, noted, "We are grateful to Anti-Flag for giving people music that allows them to think about what really matters. This is actually a love song. But the love is available equally, for everyone who is willing to accept it. That's our hope for health care, too."
