After 11 years at Epitaph Records, NOFX left the label in 2002 and moved to, Fat Wreck Chords founded by their singer Fat Mike and his girlfriend in 1990, and released The War on Errorism. The album takes aim at U.S. President George W. Bush, criticizing him and his policies, while the cover features a cartoon version of the president as a clown. The back of the cover booklet and runout groove has a caption stating "Somewhere in Texas there is a village without its idiot". "Mattersville" was originally released on Fat Music Volume 6: Uncontrollable Fatulence. A few songs from The War on Errorism were included on the Regaining Unconsciousness EP, released earlier. Other songs recorded during this time, but not released on the album, are: "Jaw, Knee, Music", "One Way Ticket to Fuckneckville", "Glass War", "Idiot Son of an Asshole", "13 Stitches", "Hardcore 84".
Singles
The song "Franco Un-American" was the first single, garnering some airplay on major radio stations in the United States. A music video was also made for the song.
Release
The album was released in 2003 as an Enhanced CD and marks the first time NOFX created CD-ROM content for an album. The CD-ROM features include an introduction from Fat Mike and Eric Melvin, an 8-minute trailer for the movie, a music video for "Franco Un-American", and a live video of the song "Idiot Son of an Asshole."
Reception
In a review on AllMusic, reviewer Johnny Loftus wrote: "Musically, NOFX fuses its political cynicism with criticism of punk rock itself and suggests that the best thing for all the kids and the bands might be to close ranks and start their own little hardcore community. "Irrationality of Rationality" and "Franco Un-American" -- two of the album's most melodic, catchy songs -- are also two of War on Errorism's most biting commentaries. The first personalizes the trickle-down effect of corporate decision-making over a lockstep hardcore rhythm; the second gets all-new wavy as Fat Mike reasons out his own world view, and somehow rhymes "apathy" with "Noam Chomsky."" The album reached the #1 position on the Billboard Independent Album chart, as well as #44 in the Billboard Top 200.
Legacy
The track, "The Idiots Are Taking Over" was featured as the song on the DVD menu of The Sasquatch Gang. In an episode of One Tree Hill, several lines from "Re-Gaining Unconsciousness" were read aloud, and "The Separation of Church and Skate" was a playable track on Tony Hawk's Underground. Pop-punk band MxPx released a cover of "Franco Un-American" on July 2, 2019, with updated lyrics reflecting the contemporary American political climate. The cover artwork mimics that of The War on Errorism, with a caricature of RepublicanSenate Majority LeaderMitch McConnell in place of George W. Bush.
