Roots Radicals

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"Roots Radicals"
Single by Rancid
from the album ...And Out Come the Wolves
Released	August 7, 1995 (1995-08-07)
Format	CD single
Recorded	February–May, 1995 at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California; Electric Lady Studios, New York City
Genre	Ska punk
Length	2:47
Label	Epitaph
Writer(s)	Tim Armstrong / Lars Frederiksen / Matt Freeman
Producer	Jerry Finn, Rancid
Rancid singles chronology
"Salvation" (1995) "Roots Radicals" (1995) "Time Bomb" (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 American Soundtrack (1996).

Track listing

1. "Roots Radicals" - 2:47
2. "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 "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 "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.^[1]

References

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