Roots Radicals
{{short description|1994 single by Rancid}}
{{distinguish|Roots Radics}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2010}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Roots Radicals
| cover = Rancid - Roots Radicals cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Rancid
| album = ...And Out Come the Wolves
| released = {{Start date|1995|8|7}}
| recorded = February–May, 1995 at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California; Electric Lady Studios, New York City
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Punk rock
| length = 2:47
| label = Epitaph
| writer = Tim Armstrong / Lars Frederiksen / Matt Freeman
| producer = Jerry Finn, Rancid
| prev_title = Salvation
| prev_year = 1995
| next_title = Time Bomb
| next_year = 1995
}}
"Roots Radicals" is a song by the American punk rock band Rancid. It was first released as a single in 1994. The song was re-recorded and released as the first single from its third album, ...And Out Come the Wolves. The song reached number 27 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks. The b-side, "I Wanna Riot" was originally featured on the Epitaph Records compilation Punk-O-Rama Vol. 1 (1994), and a slightly different and longer version of "I Wanna Riot" with the Stubborn All-Stars was later featured on the Beavis and Butt-head Do America Soundtrack (1996).
Track listing
- "Roots Radicals" – 2:47
- "I Wanna Riot" – 3:06
Song information
The song is a tribute to Roots reggae, a subgenre of reggae music known for political radicalism. Specifically, the band is acknowledging that "the roots, the reggae on my stereo" to which the band listened during their teenage years influenced their later work. The title lyric and the line "you know I'm a radical," refer to the Jimmy Cliff song "[{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t2831212|pure_url=yes}} Roots Radical]", which features the chorus, "I'm a radical, I'm a roots radical". One of the repeated verses references Desmond Dekker, one of the most successful roots musicians. The song also draws inspiration from Bunny Wailer's "Roots, Radics, Rockers and Reggae" and Stiff Little Fingers version of that song, "Roots, Radicals, Rockers and Reggae". The "60 bus", which is mentioned in the beginning of the song, refers to a transit route that runs north from downtown Campbell, California along Winchester Boulevard to Santa Clara.{{cite web |url=https://www.vta.org/go/routes/60 |title=VTA Route 60 }} The "43 bus," referenced in the song, is the defunct AC Transit 43 line which ran from
El Cerrito Plaza, through Albany, Berkeley and Oakland to the Eastmont section of Oakland.{{cn|date=June 2023}}
The lines "All the punk rockers/And the moonstompers" references the Symarip track Skinhead Moonstomp, and alludes obliquely to the band's extensive skinhead fanbase.{{cn|date=June 2023}}
Another line from "Roots Radicals" provided the name for Give 'Em the Boot, a series of Hellcat Records compilations albums.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Rancid}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Tim Armstrong
Category:Songs written by Lars Frederiksen
Category:Songs written by Matt Freeman
Category:Epitaph Records singles
{{punk-song-stub}}