The Bright Lights of America

The Bright Lights of America
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 1, 2008
Recorded2007–2008
GenrePunk rock
Length48:51
LabelRCA
ProducerTony Visconti
Anti-Flag chronology
A Benefit for Victims of Violent Crime
(2007)
The Bright Lights of America
(2008)
The People or the Gun
(2009)
Singles from The Bright Lights of America
  1. "The Bright Lights of America"
    Released: February 11, 2008
  2. "The Modern Rome Burning"
    Released: March 1, 2008
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic63/100 link
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic link
AbsolutePunk.net(69%) link
Alternative Press
Sputnikmusic link
Unglued Reviews link

The Bright Lights of America is the seventh studio album released by Anti-Flag on April 1, 2008. Much of the album was released on the band's MySpace with twelve of the thirteen tracks on March 24, 2008. This album was different from the previous one; it was the first to feature a string section and child choirs.[1] It was the band's final release on RCA Records.

Singles and videos[edit]

The first song released from the album was "Good 'N' Ready", featured on Fat Wreck Chords Hanuk-Comp From the Dreidel to the Grave compilation.

In April 2008 Anti-Flag teamed up with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello and a host of roller derby girls for a video for "The Bright Lights of America".[2] "The video demonstrates the audacity and the craziness of the seemingly endless war... We're trying to get that across in a funny and interesting way. In the video there are different teams that represent various places in the world and various nationalities. Team USA comes out and plays dirty and wipes the floor with everyone. Throughout all that you have Tom Morello as the coach of Team USA - he's a fiery coach and he's out for blood! He gets the ladies to perform at their peak!", bassist Chris #2 told Kerrang!. The Los Angeles Roller Derby team and a group of fans took part in the 20-hour show, with many suffering on-set injuries; one girl sprained her knee, another broke her collar-bone, according to the magazine.[2]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleFeaturingLength
1."Good and Ready" 3:59
2."The Bright Lights of America" 3:32
3."Vices"Clip from Mumia Abu-Jamal at the end of the song4:59
4."The Modern Rome Burning" 4:19
5."If You Wanna Steal (You Better Learn How to Lie)" 4:04
6."No Warning" 3:00
7."Spit in the Face" 4:09
8."We Are the Lost" 4:17
9."Go West" 4:19
10."The Smartest Bomb" 3:48
11."Shadow of the Dead" 3:51
12."The Ink and the Quill (Be Afraid)" 4:34

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA Charts)[3] 97
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[4] 89
US Billboard 200[5] 118

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Anti-Flag Interview - Justin Sane". ThePunkSite.com. 2007-12-06. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  2. ^ a b Kerrang! #1206 April 2008, News. Anti-Flag team up with RATM guitarist for new video. p.08.
  3. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 16.
  4. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Anti-Flag – Bright Lights of America" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  5. ^ "Anti-Flag Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2021.