So just yesterday I listened to the Dead Kennedys for the first time ever, and immediately wanted to listen to a whole album all the way through. I don’t have too much experience with punk; honestly most of my exposure with the genre is through Green Day and the soundtrack to the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater videogames growing up, and tangentially through ska music. Given my lack of knowledge of both punk music in general, though especially the Dead Kennedys, I figured a good place to start would be their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980). This album reached 33 on the UK hot 100 list the year it debuted, according to Wikipedia. I’ve always heard a lot about the Dead Kennedys, or at the very least, I’ve seen a lot of people wearing shirts of theirs around, so I’m pretty stoked to finally give them a listen and learn more about punk rock in general. With that, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Kill the Poor” has an almost immediately recognizable voice cutting through (likely from the Tony Hawk videogames), with some super awesome, almost easy going distorted power chords from the guitar. Then the pace picks up with the drums and the electric guitar as well. Wow, this song is really awesome in terms of the instrumentation. There’s a really loose tone coming from the bass, and reminds me a bit of Mike Watt’s playing in Minutemen. Oh wow, this guitar solo is completely unexpected, and absolutely awesome. The lyrics seem a bit esoteric, but the delivery is awesome.
“Forward to Death” drops right into place from the previous track with the fast-paced drums. Wow, this track has so much energy. It almost sounds like a Motorhead riff in how fast and cutting the electric guitar and bass are – really sweet.
“When Ya Get Drafted” starts out with some droopy sounding bass, which is kicked forward to a certain extent by the electric guitar. The energy is tangible. Wow, that electric guitar solo at the end is so short-lived but really did so much with that short time.
“Let’s Lynch the Landlord” almost sounds like a Nirvana song to me at first. The vocals are absolutely unmistakeable though in the timbre, tone, and delivery. Oh wow, that electric guitar solo is so incredibly melodic and is almost shimmering in tone in relation to the rest of the instrumentation. Honestly the instrumentation is awesome – the songwriting and delivery is superb, and is really showing me what’s possible with punk rock in a certain way.
Oh wow, “Drug Me”, starts out with some fast-paced vocals and instrumentation that sounds like what I imagine something like psychosis to be if it were a sound. Absolutely awesome, and almost begging to be slowed down only to be denied by the band. There’s some super fast parts in the song that are almost reminiscent of surf rock on speed.
“Your Emotions” starts out with some almost tin-like tone from the electric guitar, but is soon made into a fuller-sounding tone as the other instruments come in. Wow, this album really stops for nothing.
“Chemical Warfare” has a super gritty sound, that sounds a bit like The Who’s song, “My Generation”, while hopped up on speed or something. Wow, this is awesome. Definitely sounds like a political statement being made, though I would have to listen super closely to the lyrics again to be sure. Oh wow, there’s a little circus-like punk rock polka feel at the latter half of the song that totally throws me for a loop. Wow, the end of this song is absolute chaos, and I’m really digging it. Wow, and the song drops into the chorus one last time at the end of the song.
“California Uber Alles” starts out with some super low drums, that almost remind me of “The Other One” by the Grateful Dead with the rhythm being played. Oh wow, this song is sweet. I definitely remember this one from a Tony Hawk videogame. It’s nice to finally hear the song again and know who made it. It’s almost got a punk surf rock feel it, and is really sweet in terms of what’s going on with the instrumentation. I don’t remember this part from the THPS videogames, but the energy builds up to be mountainous and begins a rapid descent back down the mountain right into the chorus. Wow, this song is sweet.
“I Kill Children” has a super dark tone coming from the guitar at the beginning, and the vocals as well when they come on. This song is pure punk rock. Wow, the energy coming from the track is absolutely awesome, and has lost that darkness in tone from the instrumentation and replaced it with pure chaotic punk energy. The Dead Kennedys pretty sweet. I really dig that bass in this song, super high energy with some really tasty tone.
“Stealing People’s Mail” has an almost hilarity to it in terms of the context compared to the previous song – going from killing kids to simply stealing mail is super punk rock if I’ve ever known it. That guitar solo is super awesome. Oh wow, there’s like a scratchiness, and almost face-melting element to the lead guitar.
“Funland at the Beach” has some droning electric guitar at the beginning, and then the drums come in and give the song some semblance of structure. Wow, that bass is so smooth yet bolsters the energy of the song so well, and the guitars absolutely play short little circles around the tune with some power chords and stuff. Awesome.
“Ill in the Head” has some really discordant, almost cheese-like tone from the guitars. This song sounds like it could have been part of some medley from one of Frank Zappa’s and/or The Mothers of Invention’s albums. Wow, this song is really sweet with the chaos and discordance that somehow works out to have semblance of melody. The harmonizing between the bass and the electric guitar is absolutely awesome. That bass guitar almost sounds like a flat tire that just won’t quit, no matter how low it gets – awesome.
“Holiday in Cambodia” has an almost space-rock vibe to it, and reminds me a lot of the Gong album I listened to recently. Oh wow, the melodic sounding guitar is almost a breath of fresh air through all this chaotic, cutting, driven playing throughout the album. I really dig the vibe – it’s very different from what I have a tendency to normally listen to. The playing in this one is absolutely delicious from all members of the band. There’s almost a space-like surf rock vibe from the electric guitars, that’s kept grounded by the smooth bass playing, while driven further forward by the drums. The vocal delivery is also super different from what I’m used to hearing to a certain extent. Wow, I’m almost reminded of TOOL in a super roundabout fashion from this sound.
“Viva Las Vegas” starts out with some bare drums that are joined by some bass playing that really gives a platform for the vocals and that fuzzy guitar to stand on. Oh wow, there’s almost a twang to that guitar – awesome. This song sounds like if Elvis Presley released a punk rock song – and is absolutely awesome. Wow, this song is honestly awesome, I’m really digging this one. That little outro is absolutely unexpected and totally sublime at the same time. Great ending to a terrific album.
Wow, I’m super glad to be checking out punk music in the last few months. There’s so much history in the genre, both musically and contextually within world events from the time the music is made. If you’re looking to get into punk rock, this may be a good place to start. Granted I’m still new to the genre, this one is relatively short at 33 minutes long and is full of great tunes that really are simply stated to be punk rock. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I do sincerely hope that you enjoy it at least as much as I did.
-A