Parts Per Million stand with women and the right to choose on the fiery ‘Her Song’
Boston hard rock band delivers incendiary takedown of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade with a controversial new video out Tuesday, September 10
NOW PLAYING: Watch the ‘Her Song’ music video on YouTube
A rallying call for women’s reproductive rights, ‘Her Song’ streams September 13
BOSTON, MA. [September 10, 2024] -- Parts Per Million are speaking up. And the Boston hard rock band is sending a message at the loudest volume possible: Women’s reproductive rights are everyone’s reproductive rights.
The sentiment rings loud and clear across Parts Per Million’s intense new video for “Her Song,” which debuts on YouTube on Tuesday, September 10, a few days ahead of the blistering track crashing the streams on Friday, September 13.
The video, written and directed by Revelry Studios’ Tyler Ayers and Parts Per Million vocalist and guitarist Paul Mcsweeney and filmed at Beantown Studios takes on the issue of abortion with a decidedly pro-choice fury, offering solidarity with women across the country in our collective struggle to maintain a right to choose. And the visual echoes the message behind the song, as the relentless “Her Song” aggressively explores the overturning of Roe v. Wade by The Supreme Court, and the atrocities that have played out since that decision in 2022.
“These are our sisters. Our daughters. Our mothers. Our friends. Our wives and lovers,” says Mcsweeney. “No one should be allowed to dictate what someone else does with their own body. Period. This is everyone's fight.”
And the only way to reclaim – and maintain – this freedom is by showing public solidarity and speaking up for all. Parts Per Million understand they have a platform, and are choosing to use it to illuminate this hot-button issue as the country barrels headlong into a presidential election where lines are clearly drawn.
“This was something that really pissed me off when it happened a few years ago,” McSweeney says of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade, which effectively ended the constitutional right to abortion. “It's still hard to believe some of the experiences women have had. It was something that was always on my mind, and it felt like people weren't angry enough or understanding enough of what was actually about to take place. And it's just gotten worse.”
As Parts Per Million let the riffs fly – “Her Song” was mixed and produced by Kevin Billingslea and mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound – and Mcsweeney rages against the forces that are continuously stripping away American rights, both the song and video flips the script and asks: “What if the women you have so negatively affected had the same control over your lives?”
The impactful visual depicts judges dragging its main character to the cage, an obvious symbolism of women losing body autonomy, where she finds herself alone, scared, and ridiculed. Women then come together to display protest signs with inspired messaging. As the story continues, women of all different influences and ages come together to not only rescue her – but to put those very judges in those cages and setting them on fire.
“It's violent in nature, and although it may seem unnecessary, this decision has brought great pain and suffering on women all across the country,” Mcsweeney reasons. “You can't convince me that it's not a violent decision against our society that just pushes us to what feels like a dystopian nightmare. I've always respected the most basic of principles surrounding this, which is ‘my body, my choice’. It’s an easy decision to try and ignite a fire and hope that we can make a difference.”
This is not the first time Parts Per Million and Revelry Studios have brazenly taken on a controversial topic that dominates our country’s news headlines. The heavy rock and grunge quartet, founded a few years back by Mcsweeney and guitarist S. Brian Bailey and rounded out by bassist Alex Marks and drummer Brad Griffen, closed out 2023 with the ferocious “CTRL ALT DEL,” about Artificial Intelligence’s constant encroaching on human creativity and production – a scenario that has only gotten worse this year.
The prior year, they tackled the epidemic of gun violence in America with the controversial song and video for “Placebo”; in 2021 explored how unexpected death tears families apart in “Find The Light”; and in 2020 reflected the corruption and decaying of America in the Boston Music Awards-nominated visual for “2020 Vision.” Most of the music and videos created by the band center around generational trauma, and how the ills of society are often passed down from one generation to the next.
For McSweeney, this is all a part of having a voice and a platform and using it to call attention to issues that need to be addressed -- whether by a hard rock band or anyone or anything else.
“We always joke with Tyler that one of these days we're gonna make a video that isn't painfully depressing,” he says with a laugh. “The idea of this band Parts Per Million has always been we are a small part, trying to get a lot of small parts together to make a difference. There are a lot of things that need changing. Certain bands have always had a message that was important. We love all music, and not everything has to be heavy, but we don't think there's anything that interesting in constantly whining in songs about love or relationships.”
Especially when the issues of the day are a matter of life and death.
According to Parts Per Milllon, there are currently 10 states across the country with bans in place that make no exception for rape or incest, and there have been almost 60,000 pregnancies across these states that stem from rape. There are also 13 states that force women to give birth to a dead, or soon-to-be-dead, baby, and six that make no exception for the health of the mother. Some states have multiple bans in place, allowing for confusion over what’s legal and what is not, leaving doctors more concerned with the law than the health of their female patients. And we’re seeing a rise in women being questioned by police after experiencing the tragedy of a miscarriage.
“We want to make sure we get as much information out there as we can to try to make people really understand what is happening,” Mcsweeney adds. “The headlines mostly just say ‘Roe vs. Wade is overturned’, but they don't tell any of the awful things that have ensued since. Tyler from Revelry Studios and I spent time thinking about how serious the end of this video is and asked ourselves ‘Is this too much?’ But it is not. People need a wake-up call. This is by far our most important video to date.”
And it’s a statement that needs to be made, regardless of gender, race, class, or anything else that prevents one group from standing up to defend another. Because in this case: Women’s reproductive rights are everyone’s reproductive rights.
‘Her Song’ single artwork:
Parts Per Million is:
Paul Mcsweeney: Vocals and guitar
S. Brian Bailey: Guitar and vocals
Alex Marks: Bass and vocals
Brad Griffen: Drums
‘Her Song’ production credits:
Written by Parts Per Million
Video written and directed by Tyler Ayers and Paul Mcsweeney
Video filmed at Revelry Studios in Manchester, New Hampshire
Track mixed and produced by Kevin Billingslea
Track mastered by Ted Jensen of Sterling Sound
ISRC code-qz-taz-23-39969
‘Her Song’ lyrics:
Tell me its fine, tell me I'm fine
Tell me to lie, don't tell them it's mine
Tell us to hide, swallow your pride
Get into line, fall into line
This is not your place, it’s not your call
And we shouldn't be told to take this fall
It's not divine, it's by design to keep us down
But we're not out, lets hang em' high
Name my egg, pretend that it has arms and legs
No feelings, leave them when they're breathing
Lets play a game, you can take my place
I'll tell you who, what, where, when, and spit in your face
You couldn't carry this weight, resigned from debate
Shut up, sit down, accept your fate
Attached to me, my decisions made
But there's no cord to cut there's just a rope to swing
Hang em' high
Burned alive
Pro-life kills lives
HYPOCRITE
We won't forget
Hang em' high
Burned alive
Tell me it’s fine, tell me I'm fine
Tell me to lie, don't tell them it's mine
Tell us to hide, swallow your pride
Get into line, get into line
Hang em' high
Burned alive
Parts Per Million short bio:
Parts Per Million is an independent rock band from the New England area founded by singer/songwriter Paul McSweeney and guitarist Brian Bailey. The band rounded out its line up with bassist Alex Marks and drummer Brad Griffen.
The band uses each member’s abilities and different influences as the catalyst to form a sound surpassing something to be listened to and become something to be experienced. Parts Per Million intertwines the ‘90s-era heavy rock and grunge while incorporating something that is rarely heard in rock music with four-part singing harmonies, soaring guitar solos, and a chemistry between them that generate a sound that's unlike anything in today's rock scene.
In 2020 the band received a Video of the Year nomination for their song “2020 Vision” at the Boston Music Awards. In 2021, they followed up with a gripping and powerful video for “Find the Light” and a personal cover of Childish Gambino’s “Me And Your Mama” with the same vision that’s always been in mind – to change hearts and minds to believe there is always a way through adversity, and that something better is waiting on the other side. What followed was 2022’s “Placebo,” which addressed suicide and gun violence, and 2023’s “CTRL ALT DEL,” a blistering takedown of growing AI technology. New single “Her Song,” a fiery pro-choice anthem, is out September 2024.
Media praise for Parts Per Million:
“Electrifying.” _The Whole Kameese
“[a] heavy dose of new music…” _Ghost Cult Magazine
“The performance by the band is flawless… impressive.” _Blood Makes Noise
“Parts Per Million’s video for ‘Placebo’ is disturbing. Very disturbing.” _DigBoston
“Boston’s PPM shoots for the sky with the way that Paul McSweeney’s voice practically soars like Superman out of the speakers.” _Rock And Roll Fables
“ ‘CTRL ALT DEL’ is a metallic roller coaster, a mind-bending hellraiser. Parts Per Million are on a mission. They go after AI with Herculean vocals, massive guitar voltage and smashing drumming. A loud and clear middle finger to Artificial Intelligence. The slow-fast process makes your head spin, and when you think you can take a breather, your ears get slammed again in an eye blink. Holy smoke.” _Turn Up The Volume
“Heavy music can be pretty derivative, so it's always a pleasant surprise to find a band playing interesting heavy rock. Boston's Parts Per Million stop just shy of being heavy metal, and I mean just shy. Their latest single, ‘CTRL ALT DEL,’ is a mid-tempo hard rock song that reminds me of if you could mix 90's alt-metal with artists like Led Zeppelin or The Who. It's a loud song that fits a surprising amount of melody into it without sacrificing the volume. It's filled with thundering drums and guitars, and vocals that come across as eerily hypnotic. ‘CTRL ALT DEL’ is just a big and loud rock song that delivers a message about the scarier side of AI, and is going to be a must listen.” _If It’s Too Loud
“While hard to pinpoint in terms of genre, they are definitely a rock band – chock full of anthemic choruses, melodies, and guitar riffs.” _The New Fury
“Parts Per Million’s influences stem from ‘90s hard rock and grunge, which can be heard in their harmonies and scorching guitar solos.” _Don’t Forget To Rock
“Parts Per Million has its special magic around their music and their writing style. It stems from a genuine and gentle place and as they continue to grow as a band, we fall more in love with their magic and their presence.” _Keep Walking Music
“If there’s one thing that is certain in this time of uncertainty, it’s that these guys rock. With powerful vocals over pounding drums and riffs aplenty, ‘2020 Vision’ is as big as any rock track to come out this year… If you need something new to help the beers go down then give this a go. It’s sure to get you rocking.” _Hard Beat UK
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