I bet most of you know the dates of the Rodney King riots...
Posted by psychoholic@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 143 comments
...because of a Sublime song.
And it's in your head now. You're welcome. :)
M3talhead@reddit
Where were you, sitting home watching your tv?
Klutzy-Delivery-5792@reddit
I was par-ticipatin' in some anarchy
mist_kaefer@reddit
First spot we hit was the liquor store
twig0sprog@reddit
Finally got all that alcohol, I can’t afford
Euphoric_Evidence414@reddit
Red lights flashing, time to retire
DeliciousGlobal@reddit
And then we turned that liquor store into a structure fire
Icy_Chain6191@reddit
Next spot we hit was the music shop
HuckleberryHappy6524@reddit
It only took one brick to make that window drop.
roopjm81@reddit
Finally we got our own PA
gotta-go-II@reddit
Where do you think I got this gui-tar that you’re hearin’ today? HEY!
sanedragon@reddit
When we returned to the pad to unload everything
AquariusRising1983@reddit
It dawned on me that I need new home furnishings
(I know, I'm late to the party! 😅)
prstele01@reddit
That comma is unnecessary.
YouMeADD@reddit
Yeah, I was too young to understand the distance from them to my house in the valley so I was petrified we were gonna get home invaded and shot
mnfimo@reddit
Yeah, but the riots didn’t start till April 29th, Bradley was so messed up he sang it wrong but they kept the take. The song has the right name
becauseineedone3@reddit
Same for August 8th by NOFX which is about Jerry Garcia’s death which actually happened on August 9th.
HeywoodJaBlessMe@reddit
I see a bunch of hippies cryin'.....
Yeah August 8th is a beautiful day....
mikeumm@reddit
What did Jerry do to anyone?
HeywoodJaBlessMe@reddit
Nothing as far as I can tell. Punk rock is known to be rude
beersonz@reddit
And, if I recall correctly, it was their job to keep punk rock elite.
bigthemat@reddit
I have a birthday song? Cool
The_Real_dubbedbass@reddit
I love that though because it means Fat Mike so hated the Dead that he couldn’t be bothered to actually get the date right.
Also I’m a massive Deadhead and also like NOFX/Fat Mike. So it gets me feeling all crossed up.
abbydabbydo@reddit
Wow. What a hateful song. Bums me out, Fat Mike once did me a solid and now I have torn feelings.
Adventurous-State940@reddit
TiL
CreamyHampers@reddit
The alternate version of the song that appears on the 1997 album Second Hand Smoke features Brad saying the correct date.
MaverickGalaxyJam@reddit
That song name is my birthday
omelatk@reddit
Thank you for clarifying. This always confused me.
Chance-Pea9940@reddit
fr that whole vibe was wild, like they just kept goin with it, no chill at all
hoopstick@reddit
Or peak chill
No-Win-2741@reddit
I know the dates because I was working for the LAPD at the time.
VoidOmatic@reddit
Reginald Denny'd.
Primary-Strawberry-5@reddit
Roller_ball@reddit
"I remember a simpler, more innocent time, when the worst thing you'd hear about in the news is hijacked jetliners flying into buildings." - Norm MacDonald
Primary-Strawberry-5@reddit
I cried over the loss of Norm MacDonald. It was like losing my favorite uncle
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
"Things like this never happened"
Primary-Strawberry-5@reddit
I initially made that because one of my classmates posted a placid countryside scene with an American flag flying in it with those same damn words. We were both teenagers during the LA riots, the OKC bombing. Yeah, we grew up in Vermont, which stayed pretty sheltered from a lot of the issues facing this country, but even that wasn’t complete shelter.
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
I'm not even a "burn it down to build it back up again" guy but when boomers complain after living through the 70s and 80s, you either have a memory of a fish or are completely lying.
psychoholic@reddit (OP)
My side business partner is an older black dude and he went to a segregated school when he was a kid in the mid-late 60's so his view probably isn't that rosy. The 70s had the tail end of Vietnam (and the rise/fall of disco). The 80s had... well everything.
Primary-Strawberry-5@reddit
In high school: this same guy was an outspoken atheist and now he posts shit like “I asked God for a best friend, so He gave me sons.”
Moxie_Stardust@reddit
They should be old enough to remember the Watts Rebellion/Riots (if they even heard about them...)
bigthemat@reddit
That instrumental riff/hook gets stuck in my head more than any other song.
Rugbysmartarse@reddit
I'm seeing them saturday night
Texas_Kimchi@reddit
I know because my family and friends had their entires lives taken away from them for something they weren't even involved with. Most my family ended up leaving LA and have never been back after their businesses were burned down. My Uncle said it the best to KTLA News, "What did we do? We've been serving your community with prices that keep us poor because we are happy to help. We came here poor and now we're leaving poor."
Dphre@reddit
Ah yes the summer of Sublime.
Jayman44Spc@reddit
Definitely remember the song. What always comes to mind first unfortunately is the news video of some trucker being dragged out of his big rig and beaten then having his face spray painted black while probably dying in the street
duckswtfpwn@reddit
I actually played Daryl Gates in my high school play my senior year in high school. Of course I was a latch key kid (awesome BTW) and watched the riots on the local channels (no cable). And as everyone is saying April 26th 1992. " Where do you think I got this guitar that you're hearing today?"
thosefriesaremyfries@reddit
Tuscaloosa Alabama, Cleveland ohio
tamaleringwald@reddit
Fountain Valley, Paramount....
PoisonMind@reddit
Eugene, Oregon
Curtainmachine@reddit
CLEVELAND, OHIO!
thosefriesaremyfries@reddit
Cleveland rocks, Cleveland rocks, Cleveland rocks, Cleveland rocks, Cleveland rocks, Cleveland rocks, Cleveland rocks.... OHIO!!!.. hio.. hio....
ScreenTricky4257@reddit
I know the date of MLK's assassination because of U2.
schmoolecka@reddit
Some trivia: Alice In Chains recorded ‘Dirt’ in LA during the riots. It’s a harrowing album and I always felt like the political climate bled through
redmosquito82@reddit
April 26th is my birthday so I always liked that he messed up. I was 10!
Primary-Performer853@reddit
Yeah, but that new sublime song with Bradley's son singing... Scary how close he sounds to his dad. Great jam, btw.
Combatical@reddit
Anyone have a link to this? My googlefu is failing me.
drainbamage1011@reddit
Sublime - Ensenada
Shortbus_Playboy@reddit
Holy shit, that is so uncanny that it’s kinda fucked.
Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but hearing new music with that voice after so long is messing with my brain a little, lol
Combatical@reddit
Damn thats freaky! Thanks!
drainbamage1011@reddit
I know, it's crazy how close he sounds! First time it came on, I thought it was an old song that just got released.
INCH75Chris@reddit
https://youtu.be/9WhguJtzWuI?si=Dt-5idu0wUZawKe1
Combatical@reddit
Thanks!
itriedicant@reddit
I hadn't heard it yet. Man, I thought Rome sounded just like him. This is crazy.
psychoholic@reddit (OP)
I heard that the other day and had to take a triple take!
mikerastiello@reddit
Same thing when I heard a LAW song a few years ago. Then I looked them up and saw they were from LBC and I thought “ripping off Sublime AND from their hometown??”.
Then I saw the names of the band and realized the lead singer was his son and the baby on the Sublime album’s back cover and felt a million years old.
Primary-Performer853@reddit
Jingoisticbell@reddit
Nope. I recall it happening and learning about racial tension between Koreans and African Americans/black people. I just couldn’t tell you the date RK was beaten, thus igniting the riots.
Loud-Strawberry8572@reddit
I didn’t know they were mentioned in a Sublime song until right now. I know the dates because I grew up in LA.
Celtic_iceFish@reddit
Flavor Flav and Ice T once said something that made me want to burn my liquor store down to the ground…
MIBJO@reddit
I know it was in April.
Took a vacation in May and whenever someone asked were we were from and I said “LA” that’s all they wanted to talk about.
I tried to be slick and say the specific city I was from instead of “LA” after a while only for people to be like “where’s that?” and it would eventually lead back to “LA” and people asking the same questions lol
Sw4nR0ns0n@reddit
Nope, it’s because of an ice cube song tyvm
Euphoric_Evidence414@reddit
Reading about Brad Nowell’s death on wiki just now before time to make the donuts, I had a thought: anyone else think we Xennials were a lot less likely to try heroin because of all the people we knew of who’d died young from it? Cobain died by suicide but it was related to heroin/opiate addiction. Everyone knew about the “27 club,” many of whom had heroin-related deaths. The wiki says No Doubt put on a “cautionary” tribute concert after Brad’s death to raise awareness of the danger of heroin. I don’t remember hearing about that at the time but I think the message spread maybe- I was offered heroin once while a teen and passed because I knew it could ruin my life.
Checktheusernombre@reddit
I remember not taking D.A.R.E. seriously but also understanding that heroin can absolutely take you out. I think it was when Oxy showed up that made it an acceptable gateway for some.
ghoooooooooost@reddit
NationAL GUUUAAARRRRRRD! SMOKE from all around!
grumpyoldnord@reddit
Best part is at the end and your hometown is one of the cities he names off.
blue_suavitel@reddit
Lmaooooooo wow you got me
PrometheusZero@reddit
I only know it was 1992 and I only know that because of GTA San Andreas.
iill_communication@reddit
How do you think I got this guitar that your hearing today?
BIRDsnoozer@reddit
Not sublime, but Ice Cube
"April 29th was power to the people, and yall might just see a sequel"
Delta632@reddit
It shows how important great music is to a period of time.
itadapeezas@reddit
I don’t know the date and don’t know the song lol. Going to look them both up now, tho!
Spicy_Potato_Person@reddit
Those were the days. I fondly remember the Roof Koreans. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xS9uOVznM9M&pp=ygUMcm9vZiBrb3JlYW5z
martapap@reddit
I remember Latasha Harlins who was a black teenage girl who was beaten and shot of the head shot by a Korean shop owner a month before the riots because she stole a $1 juice bottle. And the guy ended up getting probation. Actually they didn't even want to charge him but had to when they saw the video footage.
All of that happened a month before the riots. That was why people already were pissed off at korean shop owners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Latasha_Harlins
the__ghola__hayt@reddit
*her
Soon Ja Du was a woman.
Sudden_Associate7566@reddit
Yeah it always bums me out how people say “it was so cool how there were a handful of civilians posted up with guns ready to execute people for property damage.” None of this was cool. Rest in power Latasha 🕊️
APOC_V@reddit
I always think of this clip about them. https://youtu.be/lvArYxgtB34?t=832&si=w05xkUGeHwJda-cE
Basically you’re dealing with a bunch a first gen Korean immigrants who all had done military service and the Korean gun shops just gave out all their guns to arm them!
Finding_Gnosis@reddit
Downset was the band that enlightened me to those dates... "April 29th... Florence and Normandy!"
jayne-eerie@reddit
I don’t know the song because I didn’t like Sublime. Now I feel left out.
literanch@reddit
Cheerwine is the perfect accompaniment to BBQ
Evening_Ad_1099@reddit
Man, i remember hearing the sirens and helicopters for days. We should have been scared, but we were too young and stupid to truly grasp what was going on .
DramaticErraticism@reddit
Goddam, this song when the BASS hits was berserk.
lakebistcho@reddit
But he says the wrong date in the song IIRC.
Hilsam_Adent@reddit
The riots began on 29 APR, Bradley sings, "April 26th, 1992", so you do, in fact, recall correctly.
Lumpy_Strawberry_154@reddit
ANGER!!!!! Hostility towards the opposition!
TheMancYeti@reddit
Scrolled too far for this comment. April 29th Florence and Normandie!!!
evgenyyorobephoto@reddit
I’ve found my people 🤘🏽
Moons_of_Moons@reddit
Finally we got our own PA
Hilsam_Adent@reddit
Where do you think I got this guitar that you're hearin' today?
Melodic_Ad5650@reddit
I hate Sublime. So I do not know.
BetterThanAFoon@reddit
I remember. It was an interesting time to be in Southern California. It was really interesting having to drive by the aftermath on the way to LAX to catch an international flight. I was young but I remember it looking like a war zone.
martapap@reddit
I could not name a sublime song off the top of my head.
muscratt16@reddit
Let it burn
-OccultOfPersonality@reddit
Wanna let it burn
Euphoric_Evidence414@reddit
Lmao this whole time I’ve been singing “water let it burn, water water let it bur-urn” as in “we don’t need no” I guess
glitter_dumpster@reddit
Wanna let it burn, wanna wanna let it burn
DarinCN@reddit
Can’t we all just get along?
MrNinoBrown1906@reddit
I dont knkw sho Sublime is
itriedicant@reddit
The problem is, I don't know if it's April 29th or April 26th
ghoulthebraineater@reddit
29th. The title is correct. The lyrics were wrong.
itriedicant@reddit
I'll never remember that.
Guess I need to listen to the Second Hand Smoke version more often.
Dimplefrom-YA@reddit
april-may 1992.. and yes.
AmputeeHandModel@reddit
Sublime is terrible. Frat boy hop hop reggae crap
Gloomheart@reddit
I'm seeing sublime this summer at Warped Tour and I am so excited
GenghisConnieChung@reddit
What a wild sentence to read in 2026.
What year is it!?!?
Gloomheart@reddit
It's the Summer of Gloomheart!
Seriously tho, I was juuuust young enough for warped tour back then for it to have always required my shitty mothers permission, so I never got to go.
Been waiting my whole life, it feels like!
psychoholic@reddit (OP)
That's awesome!
I_Dream_Of_Oranges@reddit
I immediately sang it in my head 😂
I also got a crossword puzzle clue about Elliot Ness once because of California Love 🤷🏻♀️ who says popular music can’t teach us anything? LOL
CloseButNoChicory@reddit
Never heard of them. Or of the band. Enjoy, all!
frustratedComments@reddit
I don’t. I never liked sublime
HumanExpert3916@reddit
They do suck pretty hard.
frustratedComments@reddit
I never said they sucked. Just that I didn’t like them.
welovesnacks366@reddit
It already was in my head this morning! Must be the times
lovegiblet@reddit
I remember because that was the day I got some pampers
psyclopsus@reddit
National guard! Smoke from all around!
TrustAffectionate966@reddit
More than 30 years later and the police is shooting (white) people on the face and the back for “resisting.” Rodney King was just a preamble for what we see now.
☠️💀
thesweetestberry@reddit
Omg I just sang the date in my head when I read your question.
drewbaccaAWD@reddit
First I've heard of it.. but then, I couldn't name a single Sublime song without looking them up so ::shrugs::
HumanExpert3916@reddit
You’re lucky then!
DiscouragesCannibals@reddit
"April 29th was power to the people, and we just might see a sequel"
BigDaddyUKW@reddit
psychoholic@reddit (OP)
Police got equal hate
BigDaddyUKW@reddit
A horse is a pig that don't fly straight!
Abject_Elevator5461@reddit
Ha! Started playing in my head when I read the title of your post.
Repulsive_Tie_7941@reddit
187 on a mother fuckin COP
dudebro5000@reddit
April 29th 1992
Spezisapatheticcuck@reddit
I know, but it's because of this song.
https://youtu.be/QR9HS2UA-Us?si=yUUNcCMvzuO2olmt
S_A_R_K@reddit
I know because of KRS-One
Lumpy_Strawberry_154@reddit
Thank you
chronicnerv@reddit
Being from the UK, this is the first I have heard of Rodney King. I went to America on holiday a few years prior to this event, but I was too young to really understand anything about the country beyond movies and theme parks. It seems that this video evidence and recording were a precursor to some of the biggest issues authorities face worldwide today, struggling to maintain control while being caught lying or acting abusively.
Baconoid_@reddit
26 days too soon
Peelboy@reddit
I had friends who went looting, our stores were closed down with all the carts chained up in front of the doors, crazy time.
hacksawomission@reddit
?
SambaTisst@reddit
No