Rise Against Fight Bullying With "Make It Stop"

The Punk Rockers from Rise Against have never fit the mold set aside for bands of their genre I remember. Tim McIlrath, Joe Principe and Zach Blair are "Straight Edge", and are joined by Brandon Barnes in the support of PETA, living vegetarian lives, and are never afraid to take a strong political stance with their music. I wouldn't be worried about them checking into the Chelsea Hotel any time soon. The boys have a new album out, Endgame, and it is really a hard-rocking album that shows a stunning use of melodic punk, reminding me of some great British Punk bands from the 80s like The Buzzcocks and The Jam.

Yesterday, they released the video for the latest single, Make It Stop (September's Children). The song takes an incredibly strong and vocal stand against bullying, and in particular, the bullying of LGBTQ kids. For the video, they take it take it to a new level, showing the kids who are victims of bullying with a choice to make. The song, and the band, use their voice to tell kids to stay strong, and the familiar refrain, "It gets better." I have to admit, when watching the video I had to wipe a tear or two from my eye. I thought it was exceptionally well done.




I thought it was sweet and touching the band included the names and ages of Tyler Clementi, Billy Lucas, Harrison Chase Brown, Cody J. Barker and Seth Walsh. The band worked in collaboration with the It Gets Better Project. For further information about Dan Savage's project, visit here. For more about the band, you can check out their official website here. You can purchase the album on iTunes here, and on Amazon.com here. You can purchase the video on iTunes here. I bought it, showing my support of a band showing our community and kids such great support as well.