Originally posted by kosmo vinyl:
I'm djing and looking for recommendations...
The Weakerthans background and probably a good deal of their fanbase is going to be in the punk community; the singer for the Weakerthans used to be in Propagandhi, the political-ish punk band. I'd recommend digging into the punk vault a bit for some older things, then hit maybe some newer rock/punk things - Hot Water Music, Cursive, etc.
Just some ideas. More info on the bands below.
From AllMusic:
Propagandhi:
"As one of Fat Wreck Chord's very first bands, Propagandhi have long been going against the grain of not just society, but even their own record label. Initiated by Chris Hannah and Jordy Samolesky, the band of radicals from Winnipeg, Canada, got together in 1989 and eventually played a show with NOFX. After talking with Fat Mike and realizing they shared the same D.I.Y. attitude, the band agreed to join his fledgling label. Ideally, the band would have loved to skirt the entire capitalist process of selling and marketing music, but made compromises in order to get its pro-gay, pro-feminist, pro-civil liberties, anti-fascism message out. Screeching over fast, catchy punk music, the group moved easily from humorous to profound to blunt with song titles like "I Was a Pre-Teen McCarthyist," "Hate, Myth, Muscle, Etiquette," and "Stick That Fucking Flag Up Your Goddamn Ass, You Skinhead Creep."
That style took a dramatic turn in 1997 when singer, songwriter, and bassist John K. Samson left to write, start a publishing company, and eventually form the Weakerthans. The remaining members of Propagandhi started their own label, G7 Welcoming Committee, which released the band's third album, Where Quantity Is Job #1 [1998], along with Weakerthans' records and Propagandhi's 2001 effort, Today's Empire, Tomorrow's Ashes, in Canada. Both Where Quantity Is Job #1 -- a compilation of live tracks, demos, and previously unreleased material -- and Potemkin City Limits were released in 2005. The latter CD featured Glen Lambert as a replacement for Chris Hannah, although it soon became apparent that Hannah had not left the band, and had instead been using the "Glen Lambert" moniker as a pseudonym."
The Weakerthans:
"Formed after Propagandhi member John K. Samson got the itch to perform and record again after taking a sabbatical to write and start a publishing company, the Winnipeg-based Weakerthans took Samson's music in a completely different direction. Propagandhi had been known for powerful, speedy punk and overtly political lyrics, but the Weakerthans went down a more melodic and introspective path. Consisting of Red Fisher drummer Jason Tait and bassist John Sutton, the Weakerthans took their name from a line from the film adaptation of Marguerite Duras' The Lover: "Go ahead, I'm weaker than you can possibly imagine." The band prided itself on its high standards, both as political beings (shying away from large label or distribution contracts because of their connection to exploitation) and in their personal lives (promoting vegetarianism) and received critical praise for their debut album, Fallow, which was issued in 1998 on a co-operative label, G7& Welcoming Records. Their second full-length, Left and Leaving, was issued in early 2000. Watermark followed a year later. By 2003, the band found a deal with Epitaph and issued Reconstruction Site."
