If you’re a politically-minded rock fan old enough to remember the 2000s, the past few weeks have felt sadly familiar. Once again, we’ve got a Republican president starting an unconstitutional war in the Middle East based on faulty intel, and a broader national trend of right-wing backlash here at home. If you’re thinking about those days, you’re not alone: Boston-based musician and activist Evan Greer is right there with you.
Her new single, “$5,” starts off reminiscing about the DIY punk shows where she got her start. “$5 at the door/60 kids, seven bands, only four chords,” Greer sings. Later, she remembers what some of those bands were fighting for: “We were angry, we were hungry, we were bored/Making magic in the cracks between the cops and the landlords.” As the song goes on, Greer turns that low cover charge into a warm, nostalgic pop-punk hook with shades of Weezer and Green Day. (“$5” also features guitar and backing vocals from Eve 6.)
The music video for “$5,” put together by fellow musician-activist Taína Asili, is full of footage from some of the house shows, DIY festivals, and political rallies that Greer has played over the last 20-plus years. Since Greer is a proud trans artist, the video also doubles as a “transition timeline,” in her words.
“It starts with footage of me playing at a rally against the Iraq war I helped organize in high school, and ends with me playing at the Trump inauguration protests,” Greer says in an email. “The montage shows me losing my sideburns, growing out my hair, ditching cargo pants for sequin dresses and playing shows ranging from basements to big stages.”
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“$5” will appear on Greer’s first full-length album since 2021, the excellently titled AMAB/ACAB, out Sept. 19 via Philly-based Get Better Records. The album also features contributions from Downtown Boys singer Victoria Ruiz, Boston Red Sox organist Josh Kantor, former Decemberists drummer Rachel Blumberg, singer-songwriter duo Emma’s Revolution, and more.
Though Greer is known as an outspoken advocate for digital liberty (she’s the director of the nonprofit group Fight for the Future) and trans rights, “$5” ends up being more of a righteous personal anthem than a protest song, per se. At a moment when puritanical forces in this country are actively trying to deny Americans the freedom to be themselves, that’s radical enough.
