Just in time for the elections, local punk band Good Riddance have released a song to encourage political engagement. “No More System to Believe In” was released Oct. 22 by Fat Wreck Chords and the band is donating 100% of T-shirt proceeds to Fair Elections Center. I recently spoke with Good Riddance vocalist Russ Rankin. He’s also been a bandmember in Fury 66 and Only Crime.
Rankin has produced solo albums (including 2022’s Come Together Fall Apart, a poetry book “Pure Few Hearts” (2023) and is now writing screenplays. Produced by Cameron Webb, “No More System to Believe In” reminds us that the power to rebuild our society lies within each of us. Rankin says that Good Riddance will release a new album, “probably by this time next year.”
JOHN MALKIN: I have the idea you’ve thought there’s “No More System to Believe In” for a long time.
RUSS RANKIN: The song is about the system we’ve had for quite a while. But the song is also about the fact that we operate within the confines of the system we’ve allowed. Even though it doesn’t seem that way, it really is up to us and what we’re willing to live with. Most of the things that people are upset about politically these days we’ve created, promoted or allowed to happen. This song is about reclaiming our role in the republic and demanding more from the people we choose to represent us at the highest levels of government. It’s not so much, “The system sucks, so screw it.” It’s actually, “The system is flawed because we’ve allowed it to erode and we have an apparatus to change it.” So, why don’t we change it?
I don’t think we have great choices in this election and it’s hard to believe that this guy is running for president again!
One of the oldest political parties in our country and this is the best they could do? My grandfather was a Republican and was the assistant attorney general in the U.S. under Dwight Eisenhower, and worked on Eisenhower’s campaign. If my grandfather was alive today, he would be fucking pissed if he saw what’s happened to his party! It’s terrible having two corporate-backed parties to choose from, which have become increasingly similar in their tactics, worldview and the way they get things done.
My awakening happened in 1996 when I went to vote and I was 100% sure that I had two choices. I looked my ballot and I was like, “Who are these other people? Why have I not heard anything about them?” Traveling to other countries like Canada during elections, I saw they have a real debate and there’s five people up there. There needs to be many parties with different viewpoints.
This election seems to be a referendum on the whole system and the fact that a lot of people recognize one candidate as an existential threat to the Republic. There’s a whole generation of people who were too young to vote four years ago, who have seen what’s going on and they’re like, “Not having this.” Hopefully this is the beginning of a more engaged electorate. Our band is not promoting one party or candidate. We never will. Our whole thing is. get out there and make sure you’re heard!
I’ve always been told not to vote for candidates I really believe in, but against someone we must keep out of office; Reagan, the Bushes and so on.
As a person who is not registered with either of the two biggest parties in this country, I’m very familiar with that refrain: “Don’t vote for who you really support. We’ve got to keep out—insert Republican boogeyman here.” I’ve always thought, “When do I get to actually vote my values?” It’s kind of bogus, especially for people who are progressive or on the left, to complain about what’s going on yet do nothing to construct a party or entity that reflects their values. And every four years we’re expected to run into the arms of the Democrats. The entrenched base of the Democratic Party will never give a fuck about progressive values! Basic things like single payer health care, getting rid of the death penalty. People in the Democratic Party will pat us on the head and say, “That’s really cute. Now vote for me.”
That being said, the Republican Party published their plan for what they’ll do if they get the White House. They said the quiet part, out loud! I think their plan is more dangerous than anything I can remember. It’s so backwards and draconian and an existential threat to the Republic. What I’m hoping is, after this election we take a step back and really think about; do we want to keep doing it this way every four years? It’s so funny when I hear people criticize the Democratic Party as if it’s left wing or Marxist. I’m thinking, “If only! I wish!” The Democratic Party today is a moderate Republican Party.
Any thoughts on the ongoing Israeli war?
Since I’ve been alive and paying attention, Jerusalem and that region have been in conflict, with only small breaks. If anybody can figure out a solution where everybody’s happy, they should get a prize that’s bigger than the Nobel Peace Prize! Jerusalem is only so big and all these different people think it’s theirs. A lot of this violence I ascribe to the West arbitrarily drawing up borders after World War II in the Middle East. We in the United States of America can be very self-righteous on the world stage and we’re quick to point a finger when we feel a state is acting out of line. Unless that state is Israel or Great Britain. Then we suddenly have this massive blind spot where not only do we not condemn or divest, we give more. Maybe it’s because we have such a virulent history of colonial violence that we feel it would be the pot calling the kettle black to say “Hey, stop!” These two countries are able to do whatever they want with our blessing, money and weapons.
I wonder what you think about Santa Cruz, politically and socially. I suppose we’re a reflection of the rest of the country, with huge economic and social disparity. There are very tall buildings going up downtown that may end up having views of homeless encampments.
I see the same thing as you. I thought a long time about what to do for homeless people. When I’ve traveled to other countries you just don’t see it and I wonder, “Are they being well hidden? Or is there a social contract here and everybody’s got a different baseline?” Does it have something to do with the fact that a lot of places have decriminalized drugs and put more emphasis on the social ramifications? Some say, “These people just like living like this. They’re just fucking drug addicts and derelicts.” I don’t believe that’s true for most of the people in that situation. I think it’s a systemic failure of our society.
This town was a sleepy, hippie town when I was growing up here and I guess it couldn’t last forever. Sooner or later, people with money are going to be like, “Whoa! That place is cool. I can make so much money here!” In the ’90s, I was living in a two-bedroom apartment with a buddy of mine and we were not far from the beach, and our rent was so cheap! Now in Santa Cruz, you can rent somebody’s closet for a ridiculous amount of money! A lot of people have had to move away. That’s a tragedy. A couple weeks ago we had the 35th year anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake and I was going through some photos on a Santa Cruz Facebook group. I had kind of forgotten that it looked like someone had just carpet bombed our city. I think once those classic buildings that I remember from when I was a kid were gone, it was a free for all. Downtown and Santa Cruz hasn’t been quite the same ever since.
Listen to John Malkin’s interview with Russ Rankin on Thursday at noon on Transformation Highway, KZSC 88.1 FM. kzsc.org
