Songfacts®:

• This song was written mostly by The Dandy's drummer Brent DeBoer. When Songfacts talked to lead singer (and DeBoer's cousin) Courtney Taylor-Taylor about this song in 2012, he said his part of the song was influenced by his general distaste for modern music. He even hinted at his disinterest in his own art sometimes, stating "I'd always rather be out than in."
• The title of the album came from what was written on Woody Guthrie's guitar: "This Machine Kills Fascists." Lead singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor then put a similar sticker that read "This Machine" on his guitar for the band's "Smoke It" video. In 2012, guitarist Pete Holmstrom told Songfacts that the sticker "was staring them in the face" and that The Dandys decided it would be a great title for an album because it can be interpreted in so many different ways.
• "Hiking and camping and generally proving your outdoor-worthiness is very Nu Portland. Portlandia," singer Courtney Taylor-Taylor told Spinner regarding his childhood in Portland, Oregon, before going on to say regarding this song: "This is not that. This is what it felt like growing up here. Tripping balls and having a bonfire with your friends and going home to your own bed requires no skill set whatsoever."