Re-Education (Through Labor)
Encyclopedia
"Re-Education" is the first single from Rise Against
's fifth studio album, Appeal to Reason
. The single was released digitally to digital stores and radio stations on August 25, 2008. A music video was released on the same day.
A limited physical version of the single was released on 7" vinyl and can be obtained exclusively by pre-ordering Appeal to Reason. This version also includes a B-side titled "Minor Threat", which is a cover of the eponymous song by Minor Threat
.
The single's fifth week on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart made "Re-Education (Through Labor)" Rise Against's second-highest charting single to date, hitting number five. It has since reached a peak of number three. The band's previous highest charting single on the Alternative Songs chart was "The Good Left Undone
", the third single from the band's previous album
, which peaked at number 6. "Re-Education (Through Labor)" is also Rise Against
's first song to appear on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
premiere of WWE Friday Night Smackdown. It was also used partially during the Spike TV Video Game Awards
2008.
The song appears in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour
and is available as DLC for the Rock Band
series along with "Savior
" and "Prayer of the Refugee
".
It also appears in the offroad arcade racing game, Nail'd
as a background music track.
The song was used by the NFL in their 2008/2009 end-of-season highlight package, as well as being used by Fox Sports (Australia)
in 2009 during coverage of the NRL competition.
Re-Education (Through Labor) featured in 2009 horror film Orphan
.
The song is used in a video package the Boston Bruins
show before each game.
The song also reached #84 Triple J Hottest 100
in 2008.
(Faith No More
, Green Day
), filmed in the band's home city of Chicago and features members of the Chicago branch of the Moped Army
and their mopeds. McIlrath admitted to MTV News that the promo does have a slightly political theme, which practically anyone will relate to. He explained: "One of the great things about doing a video is that your imagination is the only thing that's limiting you, so you can do anything. So we have a video that's going to encompass the anger and the angst that the youth of America feel toward society at large and the things that are demanded of them."
On September 22, 2008, Rise Against released the music video for "Re-Education (Through Labor)".
The video begins with a quote from President John F. Kennedy
: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable." It frequently switches between scenes of the band playing in the basement of an abandoned cinema and an army of moped riders. The group drives around Chicago
and drops backpacks, presumably bombs, in various locations. The closing scene shows the row of moped riders watching the city burn in the night after the bombs have detonated. This links back to the J.F.K quote about violent rebellion.
There is another version of this video, with informative statistics on subjects such as deforestation, the death of children, and others. This version is called "uncensored", because the original video doesn´t show any of this information.
Rise Against
Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath , Zach Blair , Joe Principe and Brandon Barnes .Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it...
's fifth studio album, Appeal to Reason
Appeal to Reason
The Appeal to Reason was a weekly political newspaper published in the American Midwest from 1895 until 1922. The paper was known for its radical politics, lending support over the years to the Farmers' Alliance and Populist movement before becoming a mainstay of the Socialist Party of America...
. The single was released digitally to digital stores and radio stations on August 25, 2008. A music video was released on the same day.
A limited physical version of the single was released on 7" vinyl and can be obtained exclusively by pre-ordering Appeal to Reason. This version also includes a B-side titled "Minor Threat", which is a cover of the eponymous song by Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
.
The single's fifth week on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart made "Re-Education (Through Labor)" Rise Against's second-highest charting single to date, hitting number five. It has since reached a peak of number three. The band's previous highest charting single on the Alternative Songs chart was "The Good Left Undone
The Good Left Undone
"The Good Left Undone" is the third single from Rise Against's fourth full-length album, The Sufferer & the Witness. In June 2007, they announced that they would be holding a contest to determine who could make the best video for the song...
", the third single from the band's previous album
The Sufferer & the Witness
-Personnel:Rise Against* Tim McIlrath – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar solo on "Prayer of the Refugee"* Joe Principe – Bass guitar, backing vocals* Chris Chasse – Lead guitar, backing vocals* Brandon Barnes – Drums, percussion...
, which peaked at number 6. "Re-Education (Through Labor)" is also Rise Against
Rise Against
Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath , Zach Blair , Joe Principe and Brandon Barnes .Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it...
's first song to appear on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Appearances
The song has been used in TV spots for the MyNetworkTVMyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV is a television broadcast syndication service in the United States, owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a division of News Corporation...
premiere of WWE Friday Night Smackdown. It was also used partially during the Spike TV Video Game Awards
Spike TV Video Game Awards
Spike Video Game Awards is an award show hosted by Spike TV that recognizes the best computer and video games of the year. The VGAs feature live music performances and appearances by popular performers in music, movies, and television. Additionally, preview trailers for upcoming games are...
2008.
The song appears in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
and is available as DLC for the Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
series along with "Savior
Savior (Rise Against song)
"Savior" is the eleventh track from Rise Against's 2008 fifth studio album Appeal to Reason. It was released as the album's third single on June 3, 2009...
" and "Prayer of the Refugee
Prayer of the Refugee
"Prayer of the Refugee" is the second single from Rise Against's album The Sufferer and The Witness, and was released worldwide in 2006. The song was originally titled "Diaspora", with advance copies of the album using that title instead of "Prayer of the Refugee".The song is featured as a...
".
It also appears in the offroad arcade racing game, Nail'd
Nail'd
Nail'd is an off-road arcade racing game developed by Techland for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Nail'd was released on 30 November 2010 in North America and on 4 February 2011 in Europe. It is currently available in both regions via digital download from Steam. The game focuses on...
as a background music track.
The song was used by the NFL in their 2008/2009 end-of-season highlight package, as well as being used by Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
in 2009 during coverage of the NRL competition.
Re-Education (Through Labor) featured in 2009 horror film Orphan
Orphan (film)
Orphan is a 2009 psychological thriller directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, starring Isabelle Fuhrman, Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard. The film centers on a couple who, after the death of their unborn child, adopt a mysterious 9-year old girl...
.
The song is used in a video package the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
show before each game.
The song also reached #84 Triple J Hottest 100
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs...
in 2008.
Song meaning
Frontman Tim McIlrath spoke to MTV News about this song: "It's talking a lot about the 9-to-5, dog-eat-dog lifestyle, and what we are asked to do to simply make ends meet nowadays, and I think it's a feeling shared by people all around the world and especially in this country."Music video
The song's music video was directed by Kevin KerslakeKevin Kerslake
Kevin Kerslake is an American music video director. He has directed videos for Stone Temple Pilots, Filter, R.E.M., 311, Faith No More, Green Day, The Used, 10 Years, Depeche Mode, The Smashing Pumpkins, Papa Roach, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Rise Against, Insane Clown Posse, The Offspring, and Blue...
(Faith No More
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...
, Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
), filmed in the band's home city of Chicago and features members of the Chicago branch of the Moped Army
Moped Army
The Moped Army is an organization of moped enthusiasts, centered around the organization's website which serves as a catalyst for the spread of moped culture and the organization of moped-related events throughout the US and Canada...
and their mopeds. McIlrath admitted to MTV News that the promo does have a slightly political theme, which practically anyone will relate to. He explained: "One of the great things about doing a video is that your imagination is the only thing that's limiting you, so you can do anything. So we have a video that's going to encompass the anger and the angst that the youth of America feel toward society at large and the things that are demanded of them."
On September 22, 2008, Rise Against released the music video for "Re-Education (Through Labor)".
The video begins with a quote from President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
: "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable." It frequently switches between scenes of the band playing in the basement of an abandoned cinema and an army of moped riders. The group drives around Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and drops backpacks, presumably bombs, in various locations. The closing scene shows the row of moped riders watching the city burn in the night after the bombs have detonated. This links back to the J.F.K quote about violent rebellion.
There is another version of this video, with informative statistics on subjects such as deforestation, the death of children, and others. This version is called "uncensored", because the original video doesn´t show any of this information.
Award nominations
"Re-Education (Through Labor)" has been nominated for a 2009 MuchMusic Video Award in the category Best International Video (Group).Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100... |
12 |
| Hot Canadian Digital Singles | 56 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 22 |
| U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs | 3 |
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
63 |