Black Flags (feat. Boots Riley)

Atari Teenage Riot
Anonymous Teenage Riot

Are you ready to testify ?
Are you ready to testify?
Black Flags
Are you ready to testify?
You got 2 seconds
Are you ready to testify!!! Come on!

There’s a unified axis of government
And corporate power
Lawless and unrestrained
That’s what we should talk about
Corporations exploit the power of the state
To further enhance their power
And the real criminals get away

Are you ready to testify ?
Are you ready to testify?
Black Flags
Are you ready to testify?
You got 2 seconds
Are you ready to testify!!! Come on!

Try to threat the system
You’ll have the full weight of law
Come crashing down upon you
So you don’t resist
Surveillance, goons
Force us to be silent
They kill the careers of journalists
So noone can resist

my flow, it sputters like they shut off my water
i got the sheriff after me for what i said bout obama
my flag is red like a period
comma
i'm a piranha
just like every one of y'all
let's take that shark to the slaughter
and here we gotta beat bouncin' more than last months rent check
the boss walkin' walll street with a pimp step
people of whoville!
we need to slit the grinch's neck
we low paid prostitutes with no fishnets
ash-sha`b yurid isqat an-nizam
tell homeland security we are the bomb
inform the house staff the mob's on the lawn
and it aint no soiree
il ne c'est pas bon
they call this black flags
but i'm not an anarchist
i'm on some sickle/hammer shit
collective bruce banner shit
over a piano pitch
cock and let the hammer hit
we're here collecting damages
and handing knuckle sandwiches

There’s a class war going on
And it’s the rich who are waging it!
They try to destroy anyone who is a threat to their power
Playing for keeps – they want it all!

Do you want it all?

Are you ready to testify ?
Are you ready to testify?
Black Flags
Are you ready to testify?
You got 2 seconds
Are you ready to testify!!! Come on!

extra part on album version:

What they call „law“ is used to restrain us ordinary citizens who are opposed to this
Your cyberattacks are „crimes“ if the government dislikes you
But are perfectly ok if they unleash them
They pursue a whistleblower while criminal politicians get away

link to video instructions/concept : http://dimmakrecs.com/2011/08/atari-teenage-riot-wants-you-to-be-in-their-video-for-black-flags/

In addition to the band’s “Blood In My Eyes” video, Atari Teenage Riot is also asking their fans to participate in the video for the band’s upcoming single "Black Flags", which will be released on September 6th 2011.They are calling their fans and others who support song’s ideals to make a video statement in front of a black flag, or any black surface to be included in the band’s final video. “Black Flags.” Fans are also invited to incorporate “Corpsing” into their video. Drawn from an idea the band had while “planking” at a Southern European airport, “Corpsing” is the act of laying down in a public location, covered in a black flag to represent those that have died as result of corporate greed. The band invites anyone to film themselves lip-synching to the “Black Flags” lyrics in front of a black flag or corpsing and send in their video to be included in the “Black Flags” video. All entries should be submitted to blackflags@atari-teenage-riot.net. Read the band’s full concept for the video below:

“ In the past decade we have witnessed how dangerous corruption can be for ordinary citizens, from Fukushima to the financial crisis, we could even include the current phone hacking scandals in the UK in this. The list goes on. Almost weekly more shocking news is being published. Corporate greed has too often put the lives of people in danger.

Historically, the Black Flag stood for not belonging to a certain Nation State (due to the fact that no national colors were used on it). For the us, it means also that no individual can look at him/herself as superior to others just because of his/her national identity.

The mainstream media often looks at “consumers” and labels them as “apathetic.” But as the protests around the world have indicated, there is more political activism than ever before. And not only that, we see the same activism and energy at our concerts.

Cynics always find many reasons for not doing anything and being miserable. Often they say that the world is too “complex” to get involved. We believe that even though the world is complex, there are some fundamentally powerful ideas. Respect for another human being, for example, is a fundamental idea that grants great power.

If you agree to the basic principles of equality and freedom, join us and make a statement!

The visuals of Atari Teenage Riot videos have always been very important. Directors like Philipp Virus, Andrea Giacobbe, John Hillcoat, and Zan Lyons have done an excellent job in working together with the band and getting the message across to a wide audience. We want “Black Flags” to follow in those footsteps of our previous video, but with one key difference: Atari Teenage Riot wants you to be in it!

If you want to be in the video and show that you support the ideals mentioned above, please send us the following footage:

• Take your mobile phone, webcam or any other camera and film yourself lip-synching the song Atari Teenage Riot - Black Flags (feat. Boots Riley) by Alec Empire/ ATR
• Have a black flag in the background, or hold it while you're lip-syncing. (The black flag motif will link all images together. If you don't have one to hand, use a black T-shirt, pull it inside out, stick the arms into it...there you go.)
• You can choose any location for it. If you want to do it at home, great. If you know a crazy location, do it there. (In front of your school or university? At a shopping mall? With your friends at a party?)
• We will use fragments of all videos, which are sent in and ultimately add all of you to the official video.
• If you want to support the idea but want to do so anonymously, you can cover your face. No problem.

If you want to go a step further, Atari Teenage Riot want to introduce you to "Corpsing" — the silent protest for all people who have died as a result of corporate greed.

Planking has been probably the most fun trend since break dancing. When ATR waited at an airport in Southern Europe, we did quite a lot of planks in the silliest locations, until some airport authorities tried to stop us. From that, the idea of “corpsing” developed through public appearances of Anonymous and from the acts of political activists in China.

In Berlin, Alec lay down on his back, like a corpse, and put a black flag over his head/face. Apart from it being a very strong image, many people stopped and did what they are supposed to: Ask a question! To our surprise people from all kinds of backgrounds immediately understood and supported what we were talking about.

The release date of “Black Flags” is only days away from 9/11. When we realized that it has been ten years, and when we looked at how many have used deaths of real people for their own political and economic greed since then, the original idea of the song made so much more sense again.

If you agree, film yourself in public places, even on the dance floor, wherever you can raise awareness and send it to us! We will include you in the video.

Please always send in a video link to this email : blackflags@atari-teenage-riot.net (don't attach the files directly please.)”

http://www.atari-teenage-riot.com

FAQs:

1) Is there a deadline?

:) there is not. However, the sooner you send in your video, the more people are likely to see YOU! We will keep adding more people even after the song has been released as a single.

2) Can I wear a mask?

Yes , you can. Some of you contacted us and said that they can't reveal their identity in the video for various reasons (parents, boss, community etc.). We understand! You can wear a mask. Please do the take in front of a black flag or hold it (create a black flags easily: take a black t-shirt, stick arms to the inside).

3) I have a band. Can I wear my bands t-shirt in the video?

Yes, you can. We WANT artists and other bands to join us!