The Irreverent Escapades of the Dead Kennedys 

PSD is definitely the tightest, most consistently good DK album. The CD that included In God We Trust is a banger.

Hey Rustin, i agree- i love all of DKs albums and singles, FRESH FRUITS was my holy grail when i was 13 ('81). Then came IN GOD WE TRUST which was shocking, so fast and outrageous. I was too young to get the lyrics, my English was poor (i'm from Croatia), but hey, the music was too awesome! In ex-Yugoslavia we were lucky enough to get the possibillity to buy YU print of PLASTIC SURGERY DISASTERS, i was kinda disapointed, it was slower, darker, with no obvious hits like CALIFORNIA, CAMBODIA and KILL THE POOR. I liked it,but...i loved D.O.A, BAD BRAINS and BLACK FLAG better. So, the years were passing by, i got older and the DKs worm kept me restless. So i started to re-discover PLASTIC SURGERY again. To be short, it is my favorite punk album and probablly one of 20 favorite albums of all time of all genres. Production is great, the band is on fire, they play like hell, Jellos lyrics are apocalyptic poetry and my favorite song is RIOT. BLACK FLAG came close with MY WAR and HÜSKER DÜ with NEW DAY RISING. But the winners are DEAD KENNEDYS with their masterpiece-PLASTIC SURGERY DISASTERS

​@Metal Fan That's probably why your name isn't Punk Fan. Why then, are you watching this and commenting?

Watch his "What Would Jello Do" series on RU-vid. He is really a genius and totally down to earth.

@Metal Fan lol don’t be sorry man. No one cares, or cares who Opeth is. Have a good one.

Too bad he became the people he despised later down the line.

Jello WAS/is those people he dispised, I could see that back in the 80s when I was a kid. I wished back then that he would get elected mayor so he could turn into exactly what he wanted to be all along.

@@zeo1087 I could be off the mark here, but I think Jello's decidedly socialist bent, is being equated with the hippies he hated. They're not the same thing, though.

@@zeo1087 Hmm, where to start? Practically in EVERY way. Look, as hard as it may be to believe that your heroes can't potentially turn their backs on their former ideals, it has to be stressed that that is exactly what has happened with the passage of time with regards to jello. A simple close examination of his catalog of work, particularly his highly influential spoken word albums (which I listened to repeatedly back in the day) in comparison to the things he says now, will reveal that he has indeed compromised much of the stances that he once possessed. We can over look the fact of him getting the covid Vax and telling his fans "you should too". He may as well have said that infamous line of social mockery from Become The Media: "Shut Up And Shop!" Keep in mind, he once had a clause in his 2000 Green Party Presidential platform that forbid the drugging of schoolchildren against their will. The whole paradigm shifted around the time obama got into office and jello shifted with it, regardless of the fact that jello did not vote for him, which I acknowledge. The left suddenly went crazy with power mad authoritarianism, becoming the modern Religious Right, only their religion is woke identity politics and sjw virtue signalling. Jello jumped headlong into this, not realizing that he again is compromising a past bit of advice he gave to his fans on those spoken word albums: avoid becoming a fundamentalist about their activism. He should know better and if anything should be calling these people out: "Yo! This is NOT the way to get people turned onto our ideas; you're giving everything I've been trying to build up over the last 30-40 years a bad image! Stop!" It should also be the same with antifa regarding the constant rioting and violence they engage in. NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If anything, he's become the silent punk rock cheerleader for it all, illustrated bluntly in his series of rants TRUMP STOLE THE ELECTION around the time of Trump's election by blurting out "NOW IT'S TIME TO GET EVIL!!!!" Wow. What happened to encouraging reasonable and rational debate between the two sides in order to try to come to a common ground solution: TO quote jello himself: "Sit down and talk to them. They start spouting Rush Limbaugh style anti immigrant, anti-welfare type rhetoric, don't dismiss them as unreachable. Sit down and talk to them." From Machine Gun In The Clowns Hand. This is especially disheartening when one looks at the mass of online skeptics and social commentators that have sprung up on RU-vid and elsewhere in this Age Of Information revolving around the internet and you realize that (gasp) there IS indeed such a thing as rational and sensible thinking conservatives after all, and not all of them do support Trump or the Republicans, there's many independent party type people and no party people period. You think jello would be willing to reach out to and converse with these people so we could really build a united opposition to the powers that be. So what happened to all that? Did he just decide to forget about it with the passage of time and now it's just easier to jump on board the new left wing vs extreme left wing authoritarian express fostered by the msm, which btw is another issue. He now gets all his info and regurgitates the official narrative from sources like MSNBC, CNN, the mainstream newspapers, little realizing that those outlets are all owned and controlled by a group of international financiers that have their own agenda that is detrimental to the rest of humanity. And it doesn't matter the issue, he tows the official narrative, whether it's regarding his own ongoing Trump (whom I have no love for btw) Derangement Syndrome, the covid vaccines, race riots, the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict, the Canadian Trucker Strike, Putin, downplaying the corruption and criminality of the negligent biden administration, etc. It's also obvious to anyone who has half a functional brain that jello, along with the rest of his punk rock compatriots and the bulk of the left have clearly displayed that they only really believe in the notions of free speech, expression, choice, assembly etc. for their own side and their side's issues and usually those issues revolve around pushing forms of cultural and social degeneracy, whether it's the gradual perversion of the arts, abortion rights, the lgtbq agenda, excessive non-white third world immigration to the West, the softening of the criminal justice system, lax drug laws, etc. But they'll almost immediately turn around and demand the shutting down of the opposite side trying to hold rallies or lectures/debates on free speech, strong borders, gun rights, private property rights, racial iq differences, the constitution, human biology, whatever the left gets outraged over currently. This man's politics, much like that of punk rock itself, cannot exist without a heaping dose of hypocrisy and double standards behind them. Its gotta be left wing vs extreme left wing and those are the only choices you get; just a very narrow minded perspective of dialectic discourse. And as you can see over on the official Alternative Tentacles channel, with regards to observing the comments sections of, oh, at least the last couple of dozen episodes of WWJD, it's beginning to turn off the more mature, rational, logical and sensible thinking of his fans. I could go on, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. He's a man that has done a complete 180 on many of the past stances, positions and ideals that he had, probably for behind the scenes immunity from persecution and/or financial gain. My guess is that it may have actually begun around the time of the feds raiding his apartment in '85-86 and bringing him up on obscenity charges. It's obvious by now that they must've made a deal of sorts with him behind closed doors, what it was we can only speculate. Choose your idols carefully people.

@@buckyhate7695 No, not necessarily the hippies who cut their hair and opened businesses with a real (admittedly) capitalist dope dealer mentality that originally drove his fury, but more the type of blind followers of whatever form of social convention is at the head of the wheel (the parents of most of us for example), and in recent years, the paradigm has in fact shifted and it is now the left who are the authoritarian control freaks to revolt against, on account of their side's rhetoric being the official establishment narrative pushed by the media, academia, the music industry and Hollywood. The Right are in fact now the rebel alliance trying to bring down the Empire, which jello and the rest of punk rock are now a part of, whether or not they realize it.

Blowfly was a fucking legend

​@@thepunkhistorian6397 When Biafra performs live with different projects he does sing DKs songs. Lots of footage on yt available.

He had a great surf-y band in the 90s called Jumbo Shrimp

The whole band was made up of virtuosos.

Absolutely one hell of a unique guitarist

Agreed. Unique player, love his tone too.

Couldn't agree more! My most fav punk guitarist and he was even so much more than that!

Saw them in May. Got on stage with them. Most epic moment of my life

Hell no jello and dh are the band. Is east bay ray paying people for writing this nonsens

How many times did they play the east coast? I grew up in Albany just outside Berkeley. We would go to DK shows every week at least once. My political views were formed by DK Subhumans Crass Rudi Peni. MDC. I haven’t changed a bit. Just older and wiser. IMO DK was by far the best punk band in America. One of the best bands. Smart music. When VH had the amazing lyrics and music for Jump. You might as well jump jump. Brilliant guys DK was singing about shit that actually mattered. Sadly Panama Pan a ma ha was making millions for bloated rock stars and DK needed money to fight obscenity charges. Way before Too Live Crew got the credit they didn’t deserve. Crucifucks best band ever out of Wisconsin. Ok maybe the Femmes. But 2nd best.

No he is not

Jello is phenominal and dh peligro

EbR is the punk clapton

@@scottmeikle3724 perfect description!

No, that would be Minutemen though in some circles that may not be considered "punk" per se.

Yeah and I was The 5th member of the Beatles

Similar story, I'm 49 now. Still love DK and every other band/side project he did, especially Lard. Last Temptation of Reid is gold

Never liked Pink myself! ok as a lightweight pop artist but not in the same league in my mind!

Yep....pink revolutionised pink rock...at least her husband has a black flag tattoo 🤣🤣🤣

Yeah! Pink is not dead!

Pink is for girls!

😊😢. Fff Sq

Insight is such a great track…Still have it on the Kill the Poor single…

Agreed. As an introverted, cynical 15 year old that didn't know where I fit in, "Insight" spoke to me and was a big part of me getting into punk.

Ellefson had a DK sticker on his bass during "Peace Sells."

@@lobotomyscam1051 Yep, I remember.

If you were a punk in the early late 70's 80's this song had MEANING. The cops used to beat up and arrest us for no reason.

@@DiogenesOfCa yeah, y'all got to feel how it is to be black.

@@WillToNihilsm Not really the same

Dude --- as an L.A. Westside kid graduated high school in '83 and friends with members of Suicidal Tendencies, and a huge fan of DK, Black Flag, FEAR, Exploited, GBH, Social D, etc... Dead Kennedys made such an impact on the scene, as you know. I was lucky enough to have older siblings and my sisters dated musicians and I used to get to go to the Whiskey, Starwood, Madame Wongs East and West, Club 88, The Central (before it was the Viper Room, and I got to see Wendy O and Plazmatics, Oingo Boingo, The Dickies, The Norml, The Weasels, X, Devo, before they released albums or were just newly released albums when I was only 14, 15 years old around that same time I was hanging out at KXLU radio station at Loyola Marymount University because it was in my neighborhood. It was cool because they got everyone's demo records and I got about 8 or 10 45s from various known and unknown bands, plus an older friend drove a frieght truck and made deliveries for Frontier Records and SST and would give me copies of albums from various bands. Skating at Marina Skatepark with Jay Adams and the Dog Town boys. Those were the days. I saw DK at Devonshire Downs in the Valley I think with Angry Samoans, Vandals, RF7, Agent Orange (maybe) those shows were always a blurr and I get confused about the lineups because I was at so many shows. Anyways sorry to run on about that stuff. Be Cool.

@@13_13kIt sounds lame but I wish I had kept a diary of the shows and bands I saw. I bought a PIL bootleg live at the Pasadena Civic. Once I started listening I realized I was at that gig. The memories came back because of John Lydon’s stage banter.

@@vinylrichie007 --- I've thought about the same thing as you, I should have kept a diary of all the shows and underground (Raves) and after hour clubs that I've been to. I still hang out with one of my best friends that I met in 7th grade and we get to remind each other of shows we went to and parties etc... we went to a gallery here in L.A. on La Brea near Melrose a couple weeks ago that had a Beastie Boys history with different things like original lyrics hand written on notebook paper and posters and flyers from shows and photos, memorabilia, it actually was kinda lame but there were a couple cool things. But one thing we both tripped on was a copy of Flipside magaizine that we both had owned when it came out when we were in high school. It was cool seeing that one of the Beasties kept that thing all these years. But we also reminded each other of going to a concert way back in the early '90s in downtown L.A. called Big Top Locos and it was Rage Against The Machine, Cyprus Hill, and two or three other bands and we were literally the only white people there among hundreds of other people, my buddy, his blonde girlfriend and another buddy of ours also white and after the show was over it turned into a gang war. Like a Suicidal show in Baldwin Park that the promoter over sold tickets and inside the show the whole place was fighting and people stuck outside who paid for tickets but couldn't get in were pissed and the neighborhood gangsters were driving by and jumping the punk rockers because Suicidal and Venice 13 and Venice White Boyz were connected, then the cops showed up, so you had to pick your poison, either stay inside the venue where everyone was fighting, or go outside and try to get to your car before the cops or gangsters got you. Many crazy shows like that back in the '80s and '90s . Those were the days LOL

@@13_13k The coos liked to disrupt Dead Kennedys shows.

like what you couldnt like both?thats lame

@@chrhadden I didn't like their frat-boy attitudes, their openly Nazi fans, the constant violence at their shows or their unintelligent and poorly-played dialect of punk rock.

Hahahaha WTF why can’t you enjoy both?! That’s NOT smart. Oh I’m with one but not the other. I like the Sex Pistols but not the Clash. Ridiculous.

they are both very important bands from the era. get real.

I was around back then. I don’t know anyone who didn’t like both bands.

i did the same. how can you not buy a record with burning police cars on the front.

DK & Jello Really Woke Me Up To Local Politics & Politics in General. Forever Grateful.

@@rking5074 same. I still remember going through the AT catalog and finding Noam Chomsky’s spoken word at like 14 years old. The DK’s were so formative in so many facets of my life.

That’s the same reason I grabbed Rage against the machine’s debut. The cover was a Tibetan monk, committing self immolation in protest.

Shopping in a record store in 80 or 81, never heard of the DKs, and bought my first taste, sound unheard, based on the name. Played it for friends like it was crap, "Like, isn't this crappy," I would say to them. But after a few more listens, I "got it." Bought all of their stuff ever since.

I'm in my 50s and I understand the punk rock glory. I also can appreciate the comment about being hunted.

@@efromhb Same here mate, we were hated by everyone..ha! Fukem! Ppl don't realise how violent it was. But we were right, govts are shit & war is a business...look at the state of the world now ffs.

i didnt realize how old the music was.the only two i got when they were new were frankenchrist and give me convienence.i was like 12 around that time.we were still treated as outcasts at that point too,but that what we wanted .we did everything we could to not blend in with all the docksider wearing polo shirt clowns.there looking down there nose at us was what made us better then them to me anyway.

@@chrhadden They came to our town in 84, after the gig they came to our pubs & drank with us. They were mainly concerned about the bushfires (Ash Wednesday, hundred of fronts from SA to Vic.777p9 Anyway they drank with us like a tribe (they didn't hire out the top floor of the pub & only let chicks in...no locals. That was Green Day & they had to be 'escorted' from the place!! Upset the wrong blokes forever). DH Peligro (sic?) shouted us beer, asked us about local bands... great bloke & crackin drummer. Hear he died the other day....So RIP DH Darren (?) We just called him DH. An American who understood why Yanks aren't well liked throughout the world. Good man.

Oregon... tolerant Oregon... lol.

🙋⚡✨💥

❤

Yes I agree the lyrics song titles and album titles are brilliant

I love that DOA is still at it and Joe Keithley is still putting on killer shows at age 65.

I wonder what he thinks about all the current censorship. He's pretty anti Trump so is it okay to censor Trump, for example? Is it okay to ban everyone that doesn't absolutely love transgender people, etc?? Elon Musk just swore to the ADL that he'll uphold all the stuff about hate speech for them on Twitter, so there's more censorship right there. I don't get why you don't let "hateful" people be hateful (in words, not actions) and simply let people prove them wrong, if that's the case, or ignore them.

Gene and Dean Ween agree.

Awesome. Loved 45 Grave.

The first time I saw Dead Kennedys was also at the Florentine Gardens. I don’t remember how many times I saw them live. They were always great live. The flow of some of the shows were ruined by Jello excessively talking between songs.

@@blackbeansmatter128045 Grave were so good live. With the exception of the songs on Hell Comes To Your House they didn’t capture that magic on vinyl.

Very under appreciated crazy geniuses

Why them vegetables always gotta be hot rodding around here and tearing up the place?

You rod those vegetables... Where do you put your rod? Like, you're fucking Jack o' Lanterns or something?

I like those other bands you mentioned more than the DKs funnily enough

Dude! Marcus and Carolina knocked it out of the park on their punk series! Really excited to listen to them talk about Patti Smith!

Yes!!! Newspaper and ads cut outs. Inspired me for school art medium projects.

that is laughable

Not according to the authorized DK biography "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables:the Early Years"@@nickcarroll5034

Funny you mentioned that they became much more relevant in 2001 when Bush became president. That was the time I got heavily into punk rock music as a teenager. It was also the time I got into politics the first time in my life. The Dead Kennedys wasn't the first punk band I discovered, but I got introduced to them by a friend pretty early on, and I fell in love with them immediately. I loved everything about them, the name, the music, the lyrics, the super dark humor, their whole aestetic. And I still do. I got a turntable this year and the first LP I got was Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables.

PSD is a masterpiece.

Was that Black Flag at Au Cargo in Montreal for the Slip it In tour, summer 1984 with Saccharine Trust opening? I was there with 3 friends from the Toronto show and we were on the guest list because Elizabeth was trying to put together an interview. She finally got to interview them in Ottawa.

@@seanp9277 yeah Blag Flag were at the Cargo and the Dead Kennedy’s were at the Roller Rink near the Berri Voyageur Bus Terminus. ( near St Laurent and du Maisoneuve. I think. Not far from Dutchys).

The Cramps!! I'd take them over the Misfits anyday!!

Peligro?

You sir are a punk legend. Those who know, know.

@@therapist6328 hahhahaha I just got there before most people, but thanks for the compliment.

Holidays in Cambodia I mean&