True. very true one of my favorite band of all time I was a punk rocker back in high 2004 San Fernando valley (CSP) Choas street punks check out are local band 40 ouncers
The song is about pol pots regime and kinda talking about the ignorance of kids who think they basically know everything about the world in the west because they have money and drive around in fancy cars etc, then contrasts it with the east (specifically cambodia at the time which was going through civil war, genocide and famine) and how they wouldnt stand a chance living over there and seeing the world for how it really is I'm sure some people have better explanations but that's kinda how I see it
You're 100% correct. Jello write this song about the Patrick Bateman type WASPy creeps from the East Coast. The kind of people that were diversity like a costume. The Bernie Sanders of the world that were swindled into thinking socialism is the answer. Ever wonder why DSA never talk about North Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos? It upends their narrative. I'm not saying that USA was at all correct in the initial war. JfK should have never ever started that war. The Khmer Rouge was a bloodthirsty brutal regime that closely paralleled the Cuban revolution. They were all connected. So shift back to the 80s and the myopic view that many yuppies (who used to be hippies) had of the world. Now overlay it with the 22yo man-bun sporting hipster screaming for "free" college. They're actually the same.
@@your_belief_vs_everything You realize Jello is a dedicated leftist, right? It's called anarcho-leftism. The song is criticizing young people who don't do anything. Yuppies. Who grew up to be massive conservatives.
People gonna say I shoulda done the studio version bc its abit higher quality but I like the live version because jello is just energetic as hell and the video gives some context sooo
Eatenbyghouls I agree, but this is just me, punk can sometimes be very grating, and the best way to get people into it is with the studio versions, then go to the live versions. I’ve introduced many friends to DK, and the better produced versions are a better vehicle to first time listeners. But either way, it’s a classic song!
First time I saw Jello on stage not just the voice; I instantly liked him. 😂 His spasm jerks with the rubber gloves brilliant. Never stopped listening to him
Jello Biafra...ran for mayor of SF and came in 5th i think. His platform was to make Market Street pedestrian only and require business men to wear clown suits. I LOVE YOU JELLO!
Check out his RUclips videos, What Would Jello Do (WWJD). LOVE IT! Some old punks haven't really coped with the changes in polite and Johnny Lyden has gone full Trump loon. But Jello is as politically astute and relevant as ever. Oh, and love my Fuck off Nazi Trump shirt he made!
I don't share Jellos politics but greatly respect him and have loved his music since I discovered DK in the 80s. Very intelligent, witty, provocative guy. God broke the mold when he made him.
The Dead Kennedys are scary how well their songs have held up for 40 years. Police violence - Police Truck, unemployment and people being thrown away - Soup is Good Food, government corruption and the need for change - Stars and Stripes of Corruption, environmental destruction - Moon Over Marin, or Cesspools of Eden, people protesting and the results of riots - Riot. As for the lead singer, who I had the pleasure to meet an get to know - Jello Biafra is AMAZING. He never sold out and stayed true to his morals and ideals. He has kept making new music and done a lot of spoken word over the years. Hell he did a country/punk album - Prairie Home Invasion, with Mojo Nixon - a mix of different styles of country but with punk lyrics. Fuck Jello JUST put out a new video a couple of days ago with his current band - ruclips.net/video/lFVUaY4ARdg/видео.html
True story, when I saw the Dead Kennedys back in 1985 in Raleigh NC, I met the band. When I got there a girl I knew was talking to some black guy with dreads -which were not too common then. So we are talking and my friend introduces me to the guy Peligro, and I am terrible with names and faces. So I just talk with him like a normal person, he tells me he is just there for the show an all. Then some guy looking like Buddy Holly walked up and Peligro called the guy Bay. It then hit me, it was East Bay Ray, and I turned to Peligro and said "wait, if that's East Bay Ray, that means you're DJ Peligro?" He said yes and we all had a laugh. They introduced me to Jello after the show and we hung out. Heck when I was homeless in 86 Jello told me if I could get out to SF he had a sofa I could crash on till I got on my feet and if I liked the place they had a room I could rent.
One more thing to add. Jello is at that age where he grew up with Vietnam War on TV. It came out just a few years after that war ended. It wasn't ancient history for him.
Being a 55 year old punk musician from the era of this song (and the dad of a kid who writes hip-hop beats) I see how the early days of rap were definitely running a parallel course with punk, doing some of the same things but in their own distinct style from their own distinct paradigm. The Dead Kennedy's are probably the best band to do this with, because they are witty and sarcastic beyond words, and they are super tight musically. It's great to see people younger than myself finding this music and finding something appealing in it. Cheers!
I've been a punker since this song came out in '79. I saw the DK's several times and I've seen Jello's present band a couple of times, too. I just wanna say that you got it - you got what punk rock is. You are absolutely correct - the music is ...well I fuckin love it - but yes, lyrics are so equally important. It can make you laugh (more often than you might think) can make angry, can make you learn. Most of all it makes you feel and you're never left empty.
I'm chock-full of music reactioners/reactivists but I really enjoyed your reaction, so it looks like I'm subscribing :) You have a great natural style and clear articulation of ideas, and this was a really interesting choice for a reaction. Thanks for being here--looking forward to more! :)
PS If you're looking for more Dead Kennedys, any track from Fresh Fruits for Rotting Vegetables will be equally mind-blowing, though you have to watch out for gratuitous language and even an "N"-bomb in the original version of this song--I don't know if people will raise a stink if you listen/post them, but if you're willing to do so, you'll stand out from the pack and make an impression that lasts longer than 'offensive language' fads do. You're absolutely right about punk lyrics--they're incendiary but they're talking about truth, which is often viscerally ugly. But def check out more Kennedys--it's all this high energy and infectious (in the good way) :)
It's brilliant watching you experience a band like this for the first time. It brings me back 35 years to when I discovered this music. I love your enthusiasm.
DK were to America what Crass were to the UK. A great sounding band with an anti authoritarian message, they sure educated me on U.S. politics. Their album Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables is brilliant, try Chemical Warfare. I'm surprised you don't know them, they're as well known as Ramones.
Don't get me wrong i love the Dead Kennedys I really do but jello biafra or Eric Boucher as he is better known is a full on bellend ♠️ it really does pain me to say it to as he is such an amazing talent 🍀 full metal jackoff is a masterpiece 😜 he even lost the rights to his own music that he wrote to the rest of the band who carried on using the Kennedy name 👀 I have to say though he did the best version of viva las vegas I've heard in a long time 🍀
Jello Biafra was the lead singer and almost became mayor of San Francisco back in the day. Member were: Darren H Peligro on drums. East Bay Ray on guitar and Klaus Fluoride on bass. They reformed many years sans Biafra but the less said the better, imo.
Because of YOU, T...... I just replayed ALL my DK albums and gave them all the 69000 listen. DAMN YOU SIR YOU DID THIS TO ME (and yes I have them all on vinyl and cd)
Jello came in a distant 5th...with Dianne Feinstein winning...thank you Dan White and your Twinkies for allowing Dianne Feinstein to become a Senator...
Fun fact: Apparently, "Police Truck" was written shortly after Jello moved to Oakland. A girl he knew was picked up by OPD and raped with a broom stick in the back of a Paddy Wagon. The cops drove her to the house they knew she was staying in. Jello answered the door and the cops immediately recognized him and said to him, "how did we know we would find YOU here?"
thank you for not pausing the music every twenty seconds to interject; perfect unfiltered reaction. Kinky Sex Makes the World Go 'Round is another fun jam from Dead Kennedys.
Dead Kennedy's "Insight" is really good. "Moon Over Marin" is fantastic. East Bay Ray is a phenom guitar player. Lots of surf rock/Link Wray/ influence.
I interviewed Jello Biafra (singer) for my college newspaper maybe a decade later. He still had similar energy, but was focused on speaking against the ridiculous PMRC and the craziness that the GOP became after Reagan. His spoken word stuff is great
Dead Kennedys are just solid gold. All their albums are good and they were never short of heavy subject matter. They got so heavy they ended up getting sued by Tipper Gore and such. Their singer Jello Biafra is a never ending source of information on dark reality. Check out the 1990 track he wrote with D.O.A called ‘Full Metal Jackoff’ if you want the ugly truth on ‘the war on drugs’. For one.
In my opinion, the Dead Kennedy's, and the Sex Pistols are the two best all time punk bands. Lyrically, musically, and fronted by two punk icon hero's. DK's Jello Biafra, and the Pistol's Johnny Rotten. Lyrically speaking Jello Biafra is a tell all, scary look at the truths of our world. Genius. He also ran for mayor of San Francisco.Has been in a few movies with his wonderful voice. He was also on Ice T's album, Freedom Of Speech...Just Watch What You Say. He is on two tracks of the LP. I love to see brother's checking out punk. I have always pushed punk on my friends that are big hip hop fans. Rap and punk are the same kind of monster. In your face. Word of the street. I don't know if you are fan of Hip Hop? Thanks for a fun reaction. One love
Music I grew up with… saw them in 1984 in Winnipeg. Brilliant experience… was a great time to be into punk. Black Flag, DK, SNFU, Deja Voodoo… great way to spend evenings growing up in a prairie city. Thanks for the video!
His name is Jello Biafra and they split up in 85-86 after 4 albums over the direction of where the band was going. Jello. the lyricist left because he didn't want to sell out. Since then he's made several albums with different bands and some spoken word albums.
Jello is uncanny in his knowledge , these songs came out late 70’s / early 80’s he’s talking about stuff that would blow peoples minds ; “ he blows minds for a living “ stuff people only knew about through the rise of the internet .
See a live version with the crowd slam dancing and flying across the stage to get a real idea of how lively and crazy it was plus it would be one of 4 bands for the night.
I'm so glad you understand the song. It's from the album "Give me Convenience or Give me Death" which is a play on the French revolution slogan "Give me Liberty or Give me Death", which is basically saying that western society has devolved to convenience being the privilege prized experience. Like those degenerated beings who liked intellectual and physical ease above everything else in WALL.E Like people arguing about their fast food meal not being fast enough, and this attitude that the Dead Kennedy's saw in US culture that they felt could precipitate a society which is more fascistic and has decreasing rights. As they say, in fascist countries at least the trains run on time. You have convenience but at the cost of genuine personal; autonomy and liberty. The song is a cautionary tale to wish for convenience over democracy. And how that will create fascism like in Cambodia at the time.
‘Kiss Ass Or Crack’ could have been the Khmer Rouge official slogan. But they went with the even more chilling ‘To keep you there is no profit, to lose you no loss’.
One can learn more from dead Kennedys albums and Jell-O Biafra’s lyrics then any history textbooks . The Clash, Minor Threat, Stiff Little Fingers, Sex Pistols, DOA , D.R.I. I could go on for pages. Punk isn’t a fashion or a music genre. The perception of punk has been stigmatized by main stream media for over 40 years and longer if you include the 1930’-1969, because youth we’re learning about the world and the human condition through artists. Governments didn’t like youth expressing themselves, ever. That’s why we have censorship. Punk means thinking for yourself. Hopefully that ethos will never die . 🤟👁❤️🇨🇦
"You're a star-belly snitch, you suck like a leech You want everyone to act like you Kiss ass while you bitch, so you can get rich While your boss gets richer off you Well, you'll work harder with a gun in your back For a bowl of rice a day Slave for soldiers till you starve Then your head is skewered on a stake" love those lyrics
Not many people have heard of them because radio stations were powerful at the time and they didn't give these bands a chance. Other bands compromised, like The Clash, and got some air time if the song didn't seem too political ("Rock the Casbah"). Some artists that you may not have heard about because of this reason were Crass, Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich, Lydia Lunch, Chumbawamba (at least until "Tubthumping" when they were called sell-outs), The Dead Kennedys, 45 Grave, X, Christian Death, and even Siouxsie and The Banshees. Some late-night shows may have played them, i.e. Rodney on the KROQ in Los Angeles. Sidenote: X were an LA-based band that was produced by Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist of The Doors.
I'm goin through your work the wrong way .Lol. I am uniquely amazing about your dignified trust in Punk music. Every "reaction" channel either will not use the song or they will absolutely degrade the music/artist. Thanks!
Imagine being kid growing up listening to kiss and ozzy, then on one very late night in new Orleans you hear Hardcore music for the first time . This isn't punk, this is the next generation of American punk, aka, Hardcore. The singer is Jello Biafra. He is special! Another great band from this genre are the Bad Brains
I love how jello acts stuff out but never bothers to let anyone know what it's about. BUT I wish you watched this with the lyrics, there is SO much info in there (not anti war, more anti corporation) and Pol Pot (what he is chanting at the end) is one of the worst genocidal monsters in history.
Punk was almost always political in the late 70s - remember "Anarchy in the UK" and "God Save The Queen" ?? Between 1980 and 1982 I listened to the Sex Pistols, the Dead Kennedys, the Ramones, the Clash, the Ruts all the time.....so much anger in the people I knew and in the music we listened to...
A good video to look up would be when this band's lead singer, Jello Biafra, and Ice T were on Oprah. They were arguing with Al Gore's wife, Tipper, about state censorship of music. The Dead Kennedys were charged and put on trial over an album cover, if I recall correctly
Got the LP when it came out... but, check out where they got the riff... Great Turkish surf from '67... Cem Karaca "Suya Giden Alli Gelin"... thank me later
Hopefully this song and vid has prompted you to watch The Killing Fields. That'll make clear who Pol Pot was and what a holiday in Cambodia post Vietnam meant.
I was in an inner city school in South Central LA in the late 80's listening to this. Imagine how fun it was to be a little Mexican girl in a predominantly black school. The kids didn't know what this music was so they use to call me Madona. I freaken hated that because to me she was Whack!!! 😂
This band was really popular in the uk as it fit well with British punk and attitude they were on many British punk compilation L.P.s like punk and disorderly 🇬🇧👍🏻
It's not really Holiday in Cambodia. It's a play on words. It's really Holiday Inn, Cambodia. During the Cambodian genocide Pol Pot locked people in a hotel. Jello Biafra was a master songwriter.
![Shocking Reaction To [ Punk Rock] Dead Kennedys - This could be anywhere](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/N66iWG0E7qM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Shocking Reaction To [ Punk Rock] Dead Kennedys - This could be anywhere](/img/tr.png)
The Dead Kennedys are one of the most important punk bands of all time. Their music is as fresh and relevant today as it was 40 years ago.
Nah.
Facts
True that! Jello spoke the truth!
More so...
True. very true one of my favorite band of all time I was a punk rocker back in high 2004 San Fernando valley (CSP) Choas street punks check out are local band 40 ouncers
The song is about pol pots regime and kinda talking about the ignorance of kids who think they basically know everything about the world in the west because they have money and drive around in fancy cars etc, then contrasts it with the east (specifically cambodia at the time which was going through civil war, genocide and famine) and how they wouldnt stand a chance living over there and seeing the world for how it really is
I'm sure some people have better explanations but that's kinda how I see it
Pretty spot on!
You're 100% correct. Jello write this song about the Patrick Bateman type WASPy creeps from the East Coast. The kind of people that were diversity like a costume. The Bernie Sanders of the world that were swindled into thinking socialism is the answer.
Ever wonder why DSA never talk about North Vietnam, Cambodia or Laos?
It upends their narrative. I'm not saying that USA was at all correct in the initial war. JfK should have never ever started that war.
The Khmer Rouge was a bloodthirsty brutal regime that closely paralleled the Cuban revolution. They were all connected.
So shift back to the 80s and the myopic view that many yuppies (who used to be hippies) had of the world. Now overlay it with the 22yo man-bun sporting hipster screaming for "free" college. They're actually the same.
@@your_belief_vs_everything You realize Jello is a dedicated leftist, right? It's called anarcho-leftism. The song is criticizing young people who don't do anything. Yuppies. Who grew up to be massive conservatives.
The Left Over also jello endorsed bernie twice for president. Try again.
Blue_Stork based Jello
People gonna say I shoulda done the studio version bc its abit higher quality but I like the live version because jello is just energetic as hell and the video gives some context sooo
Eatenbyghouls
I agree, but this is just me, punk can sometimes be very grating, and the best way to get people into it is with the studio versions, then go to the live versions. I’ve introduced many friends to DK, and the better produced versions are a better vehicle to first time listeners. But either way, it’s a classic song!
I agree as well. I like to see bands in their element. I can always check out the studio version later
First time I saw Jello on stage not just the voice; I instantly liked him. 😂 His spasm jerks with the rubber gloves brilliant. Never stopped listening to him
Good choice fam!
Both versions are great, you can't go wrong, either way
Jello Biafra...ran for mayor of SF and came in 5th i think. His platform was to make Market Street pedestrian only and require business men to wear clown suits. I LOVE YOU JELLO!
I believe he actually came in fourth getting like 4 percent of the vote
Check out his RUclips videos, What Would Jello Do (WWJD). LOVE IT! Some old punks haven't really coped with the changes in polite and Johnny Lyden has gone full Trump loon. But Jello is as politically astute and relevant as ever. Oh, and love my Fuck off Nazi Trump shirt he made!
Market Street is now mostly pedestrian. Thanks, Jello!
There's a classic video of him vacuuming the sidewalk during his campaign
@@amiehamilton1840 well sex pistols aren't and were never punk 🤷 they were a boy band put together to advertise a clothing brand.
Jello... agree with him or not, he’s a man of powerful intellect & uncompromising principles. DK belongs in every music collection
I don't share Jellos politics but greatly respect him and have loved his music since I discovered DK in the 80s. Very intelligent, witty, provocative guy. God broke the mold when he made him.
The Dead Kennedys are scary how well their songs have held up for 40 years. Police violence - Police Truck, unemployment and people being thrown away - Soup is Good Food, government corruption and the need for change - Stars and Stripes of Corruption, environmental destruction - Moon Over Marin, or Cesspools of Eden, people protesting and the results of riots - Riot. As for the lead singer, who I had the pleasure to meet an get to know - Jello Biafra is AMAZING. He never sold out and stayed true to his morals and ideals. He has kept making new music and done a lot of spoken word over the years. Hell he did a country/punk album - Prairie Home Invasion, with Mojo Nixon - a mix of different styles of country but with punk lyrics. Fuck Jello JUST put out a new video a couple of days ago with his current band - ruclips.net/video/lFVUaY4ARdg/видео.html
True story, when I saw the Dead Kennedys back in 1985 in Raleigh NC, I met the band. When I got there a girl I knew was talking to some black guy with dreads -which were not too common then. So we are talking and my friend introduces me to the guy Peligro, and I am terrible with names and faces. So I just talk with him like a normal person, he tells me he is just there for the show an all. Then some guy looking like Buddy Holly walked up and Peligro called the guy Bay. It then hit me, it was East Bay Ray, and I turned to Peligro and said "wait, if that's East Bay Ray, that means you're DJ Peligro?" He said yes and we all had a laugh. They introduced me to Jello after the show and we hung out. Heck when I was homeless in 86 Jello told me if I could get out to SF he had a sofa I could crash on till I got on my feet and if I liked the place they had a room I could rent.
Chicken Shit Conformist is unfortunately still relevant, to the generation who grew up with DK.
Jello Biafra never sold out. As great as that is, it kept him from hitting heights that some of his lesser contemporaries have hit.
One more thing to add. Jello is at that age where he grew up with Vietnam War on TV. It came out just a few years after that war ended. It wasn't ancient history for him.
He was very political then and he still is. Check out his RUclips channel!
And he wouldn't have it any other way.
He also ran for president once...
Jello has sold out 100%
There's always room for Jello
bwahahaha--that's the awesomest comment i've seen today :)
That was his slogan when he ran for Mayor of San francisco.Great comment.
Being a 55 year old punk musician from the era of this song (and the dad of a kid who writes hip-hop beats) I see how the early days of rap were definitely running a parallel course with punk, doing some of the same things but in their own distinct style from their own distinct paradigm. The Dead Kennedy's are probably the best band to do this with, because they are witty and sarcastic beyond words, and they are super tight musically. It's great to see people younger than myself finding this music and finding something appealing in it. Cheers!
Agreed.
I've been a punker since this song came out in '79. I saw the DK's several times and I've seen Jello's present band a couple of times, too. I just wanna say that you got it - you got what punk rock is. You are absolutely correct - the music is ...well I fuckin love it - but yes, lyrics are so equally important. It can make you laugh (more often than you might think) can make angry, can make you learn. Most of all it makes you feel and you're never left empty.
I love how he gets these legendary punk bands better than 99% of people I’ve shown the same shit on the first listen
I'm chock-full of music reactioners/reactivists but I really enjoyed your reaction, so it looks like I'm subscribing :)
You have a great natural style and clear articulation of ideas, and this was a really interesting choice for a reaction.
Thanks for being here--looking forward to more! :)
PS If you're looking for more Dead Kennedys, any track from Fresh Fruits for Rotting Vegetables will be equally mind-blowing, though you have to watch out for gratuitous language and even an "N"-bomb in the original version of this song--I don't know if people will raise a stink if you listen/post them, but if you're willing to do so, you'll stand out from the pack and make an impression that lasts longer than 'offensive language' fads do. You're absolutely right about punk lyrics--they're incendiary but they're talking about truth, which is often viscerally ugly.
But def check out more Kennedys--it's all this high energy and infectious (in the good way) :)
It's brilliant watching you experience a band like this for the first time. It brings me back 35 years to when I discovered this music. I love your enthusiasm.
I'm from Serbia, I've been listening to punk since 1980 , as a teenager I sang in the punk& hc band Zenevski dekret( Geneva decree)
DK were to America what Crass were to the UK. A great sounding band with an anti authoritarian message, they sure educated me on U.S. politics. Their album Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables is brilliant, try Chemical Warfare.
I'm surprised you don't know them, they're as well known as Ramones.
Amazing to watch you react to a video, and listen to a song, yet have absolutely no idea what you just watched and listened to.
First time I’ve heard anyone react to the Dead Kennedy’s! Classic punk at its finest!
Vin and sori did a reaction a while back but dont think one of them really liked them lol
Eatenbyghouls Right! Forgot about their reaction! I don’t watch them very often... meh!
@@eatenbyghouls1849 verdade
Don't get me wrong i love the Dead Kennedys I really do but jello biafra or Eric Boucher as he is better known is a full on bellend ♠️ it really does pain me to say it to as he is such an amazing talent 🍀 full metal jackoff is a masterpiece 😜 he even lost the rights to his own music that he wrote to the rest of the band who carried on using the Kennedy name 👀 I have to say though he did the best version of viva las vegas I've heard in a long time 🍀
there's definitely a lot to unpack in that song. As many posted earlier, this message still resonates today.
“Looks like nam” or Cambodia lol
Hahahahaha
Or Laos, or parts of Thailand or.......they all got fucked into the stone ages.
@@DK-wr6qs sheep!!
Jello Biafra was the lead singer and almost became mayor of San Francisco back in the day. Member were: Darren H Peligro on drums. East Bay Ray on guitar and Klaus Fluoride on bass. They reformed many years sans Biafra but the less said the better, imo.
Looks like Scott Weiland’s influencer
Because of YOU, T...... I just replayed ALL my DK albums and gave them all the 69000 listen. DAMN YOU SIR YOU DID THIS TO ME (and yes I have them all on vinyl and cd)
Jello came in a distant 5th...with Dianne Feinstein winning...thank you Dan White and your Twinkies for allowing Dianne Feinstein to become a Senator...
@@jonsummerville9022 true Thanks Jon but hey those were the days! he did well for a guy who wrote his platform on a cocktail napkin!!!!
Haha - Darren peligro = Darren Danger!
Id recommend either california uber alles or police truck
Yes ☝🏻
Fun fact: Apparently, "Police Truck" was written shortly after Jello moved to Oakland. A girl he knew was picked up by OPD and raped with a broom stick in the back of a Paddy Wagon. The cops drove her to the house they knew she was staying in. Jello answered the door and the cops immediately recognized him and said to him, "how did we know we would find YOU here?"
I have been watching a vid for kill the poor with a bunch of nuke tests as the video
@@neilpatrickhairless that was not a fun fact lol perhaps interesting in queasy sickening sort of way, but definitely not fun haha
Enjoyed your video. First heard them back in 80's. Fun watching Jello facing off with Tipper Gore on Ophra. (hope i spelled her name right)
DK"s most vicious song. I remember when it came out. A masterpiece. Jello is the singer and a absolute beast 😄
thank you for not pausing the music every twenty seconds to interject; perfect unfiltered reaction.
Kinky Sex Makes the World Go 'Round is another fun jam from Dead Kennedys.
Dead Kennedy's "Insight" is really good. "Moon Over Marin" is fantastic. East Bay Ray is a phenom guitar player. Lots of surf rock/Link Wray/ influence.
Just subscribed cos I see you appreciate Jello and the DKs!
I interviewed Jello Biafra (singer) for my college newspaper maybe a decade later. He still had similar energy, but was focused on speaking against the ridiculous PMRC and the craziness that the GOP became after Reagan. His spoken word stuff is great
The drummer died recently. RIP.
"Right Guard will not help you here" is probably the most overlooked set of lyrics in the song.
this is one of the best punk song of all time
Check out police truck by these guys, the audio is much better in the studio
Dead Kennedys are just solid gold. All their albums are good and they were never short of heavy subject matter. They got so heavy they ended up getting sued by Tipper Gore and such. Their singer Jello Biafra is a never ending source of information on dark reality. Check out the 1990 track he wrote with D.O.A called ‘Full Metal Jackoff’ if you want the ugly truth on ‘the war on drugs’. For one.
In my opinion, the Dead Kennedy's, and the Sex Pistols are the two best all time punk bands. Lyrically, musically, and fronted by two punk icon hero's. DK's Jello Biafra, and the Pistol's Johnny Rotten. Lyrically speaking Jello Biafra is a tell all, scary look at the truths of our world. Genius. He also ran for mayor of San Francisco.Has been in a few movies with his wonderful voice. He was also on Ice T's album, Freedom Of Speech...Just Watch What You Say. He is on two tracks of the LP. I love to see brother's checking out punk. I have always pushed punk on my friends that are big hip hop fans. Rap and punk are the same kind of monster. In your face. Word of the street. I don't know if you are fan of Hip Hop? Thanks for a fun reaction. One love
Dead Kennedy’s are one of Dexter Holland and Noodles from The Offsprings favorite bands 🖤🖤
Music I grew up with… saw them in 1984 in Winnipeg. Brilliant experience… was a great time to be into punk. Black Flag, DK, SNFU, Deja Voodoo… great way to spend evenings growing up in a prairie city. Thanks for the video!
This song was written back in 1980 and was a satirical slam on the Khmer Rouge and what was going on back then. Brilliant.
I received Jello Biafra's autograph through the post the other day..
check me out on Facebook or Instagram my photo's of musicians autographs...
I have a signed piece of paper from him I just stuck on the wall with a tac lol
he signed my vinyl sleeve of California Über Alles!
@@falafel1980 lol
His name is Jello Biafra and they split up in 85-86 after 4 albums over the direction of where the band was going. Jello. the lyricist left because he didn't want to sell out. Since then he's made several albums with different bands and some spoken word albums.
Jello is uncanny in his knowledge , these songs came out late 70’s / early 80’s he’s talking about stuff that would blow peoples minds ; “ he blows minds for a living “ stuff people only knew about through the rise of the internet .
Exactly, punk is energy (and message)💪👍👍👌
Love your Rush reactions btw
Gigantic smile on my face the entire time watching someone fall in love with jello biafra for the first time
Greatest surf band in the world !!
R I POWER DH !!
See a live version with the crowd slam dancing and flying across the stage to get a real idea of how lively and crazy it was plus it would be one of 4 bands for the night.
I'm so glad you understand the song. It's from the album "Give me Convenience or Give me Death" which is a play on the French revolution slogan "Give me Liberty or Give me Death", which is basically saying that western society has devolved to convenience being the privilege prized experience. Like those degenerated beings who liked intellectual and physical ease above everything else in WALL.E Like people arguing about their fast food meal not being fast enough, and this attitude that the Dead Kennedy's saw in US culture that they felt could precipitate a society which is more fascistic and has decreasing rights. As they say, in fascist countries at least the trains run on time. You have convenience but at the cost of genuine personal; autonomy and liberty. The song is a cautionary tale to wish for convenience over democracy. And how that will create fascism like in Cambodia at the time.
‘Kiss Ass Or Crack’ could have been the Khmer Rouge official slogan. But they went with the even more chilling ‘To keep you there is no profit, to lose you no loss’.
East bay ray had such a great tone. They were magnificent
Born 66 saw them @ Sheffield Leadmill. Only played 3 times in UK at time, must have been early 80's as still at school.
You should also check out "Police Truck" and "Too Drunk to Fuck"
One can learn more from dead Kennedys albums and Jell-O Biafra’s lyrics then any history textbooks . The Clash, Minor Threat, Stiff Little Fingers, Sex Pistols, DOA , D.R.I. I could go on for pages. Punk isn’t a fashion or a music genre. The perception of punk has been stigmatized by main stream media for over 40 years and longer if you include the 1930’-1969, because youth we’re learning about the world and the human condition through artists. Governments didn’t like youth expressing themselves, ever. That’s why we have censorship. Punk means thinking for yourself. Hopefully that ethos will never die . 🤟👁❤️🇨🇦
im glad you didn't notice the hard r he dropped in the beginning of the song lol
It’s an as buddy
Child of the 80s here. I bought this album new. This is a crushing, blitzing commentary on corporations and Wall Street. Wall Street is Cambodia.
I think Jello was high on acid during that recording.
Wouldn't surprise me honestly.
Yes Excellent band and message
"You're a star-belly snitch, you suck like a leech
You want everyone to act like you
Kiss ass while you bitch, so you can get rich
While your boss gets richer off you
Well, you'll work harder with a gun in your back
For a bowl of rice a day
Slave for soldiers till you starve
Then your head is skewered on a stake"
love those lyrics
I was introduced to DK's in 1980. I was 18 at the time.
They're still played regularly.
All of these are great classics! Give a listen to Sick if it all, Road less traveled.
Jello Biafra is a lyrical genius and extremely intelligent.
Indeed
Not many people have heard of them because radio stations were powerful at the time and they didn't give these bands a chance. Other bands compromised, like The Clash, and got some air time if the song didn't seem too political ("Rock the Casbah"). Some artists that you may not have heard about because of this reason were Crass, Nina Hagen, Lene Lovich, Lydia Lunch, Chumbawamba (at least until "Tubthumping" when they were called sell-outs), The Dead Kennedys, 45 Grave, X, Christian Death, and even Siouxsie and The Banshees. Some late-night shows may have played them, i.e. Rodney on the KROQ in Los Angeles. Sidenote: X were an LA-based band that was produced by Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist of The Doors.
The Dead Kennedys hit me like a ton of bricks back in '94 sophomore year...
Buying an album puts together the artists message.
Proof once again
Everybody loves Jello.
Without having seen comments ... Jello was a mime for awhile. This song kills.
U naild it thank use punks are dieing but yes it's the messages that matter thank u for your time we are dieing breed but we will always live
Shout out to eatenbyguls great punk taste. Your videos rock brother fuck yeah
love the Dead Kennedys , saw them in the 80.s , American version of the Crass i always thought .
I hope you did some further listening of their material? Growing up in the UK, homegrown punk bands were good but I preferred DK.
Seems like eaten by ghouls is into the exact same music I like lol
I'm goin through your work the wrong way .Lol. I am uniquely amazing about your dignified trust in Punk music. Every "reaction" channel either will not use the song or they will absolutely degrade the music/artist. Thanks!
The word for Jello you are looking for is, authentic.
Best Punk band to come out of America 👍🏻👍🏻
A very timely song of theirs fits our present day. It's titled "Nazi Punks Fuck Off"....
Imagine being kid growing up listening to kiss and ozzy, then on one very late night in new Orleans you hear Hardcore music for the first time . This isn't punk, this is the next generation of American punk, aka, Hardcore. The singer is Jello Biafra. He is special! Another great band from this genre are the Bad Brains
Studio version is a real masterpiece,GEZA X as producer shines on that song
They are a band from San Francisco The singers name is Jello Biafra
I love how jello acts stuff out but never bothers to let anyone know what it's about. BUT I wish you watched this with the lyrics, there is SO much info in there (not anti war, more anti corporation) and Pol Pot (what he is chanting at the end) is one of the worst genocidal monsters in history.
Fun fact, Jello ran for mayor of San Francisco and got 3rd... Hahaha
If you wan't an expressive band you must look at MC5 and The Mars Volta, i think Cedric from TMV is one of the most amazing frontman in history.
Absolutely
Take a Look in the net, discusion between jello biafra and tippa gore. Old but Gold.
Dead Kennedy’s were one of if not the first political hardcore/punk bands , predating RATM by a decade+
Punk was almost always political in the late 70s - remember "Anarchy in the UK" and "God Save The Queen" ??
Between 1980 and 1982 I listened to the Sex Pistols, the Dead Kennedys, the Ramones, the Clash, the Ruts all the time.....so much anger in the people I knew and in the music we listened to...
A good video to look up would be when this band's lead singer, Jello Biafra, and Ice T were on Oprah. They were arguing with Al Gore's wife, Tipper, about state censorship of music.
The Dead Kennedys were charged and put on trial over an album cover, if I recall correctly
4 albums and zero radio air time. Well maybe a tiny bit of air play on KROQ & 91X in California
Got the LP when it came out... but, check out where they got the riff... Great Turkish surf from '67... Cem Karaca "Suya Giden Alli Gelin"... thank me later
Saw them with 6 opening bands in mid 80's.
Loved DK!!! And, may D.H. Peligro RIP!
Police truck is another classic from them. Timely as well. Punk was always anti establishment.
Hopefully this song and vid has prompted you to watch The Killing Fields. That'll make clear who Pol Pot was and what a holiday in Cambodia post Vietnam meant.
Hell yeah! Some actual punk rock!
This is my middle of the night driving song.
Everything going on lately I've kinda had "Pull My Strings" stuck in my head. Maybe check that one out? A bit obscene, but....well. No comment.
Cool. And old school punk rock classic!
You were struck by the name of those requesting but not the band and song title?
I was in an inner city school in South Central LA in the late 80's listening to this. Imagine how fun it was to be a little Mexican girl in a predominantly black school. The kids didn't know what this music was so they use to call me Madona. I freaken hated that because to me she was Whack!!! 😂
This is an American punk rock classic, check out sonic reducer by the dead boys, another American punk band. 😊
This band was really popular in the uk as it fit well with British punk and attitude they were on many British punk compilation L.P.s like punk and disorderly 🇬🇧👍🏻
there's always room for JELLO!
Jello Beafra thats his name
One of the most important bands in punk rock...
So what by CRASS would be a good song, keeping along the crass theme.
It's not really Holiday in Cambodia. It's a play on words. It's really Holiday Inn, Cambodia. During the Cambodian genocide Pol Pot locked people in a hotel. Jello Biafra was a master songwriter.
We need Jello now more than ever.
But....what about Angry Samoans. I would love to see that.
DK's kick ass. East Bay Ray is a phenomenal guitar player.