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Like the protest faction of the folk music industry, the Dead Kennedys had a huge influence on political punk music and defined political activism for Punk. Coming out of the first wave of Punk music in the late 1970s, the Dead Kennedys used sharp-witted satirical lyrics against aggressive fast music to highlight their political commentary. The Dead Kennedys’ powerful sound pushed a message that challenged political corruption, social inequality, and media manipulation. Unlike other counterparts of the era, the Dead Kennedys left no doubt that they were using the medium of punk to challenge not just the commercialism of the music industry but the politics of corporate control.

Jello Biafra of The Dead Kennedys

The Politics of Experience

In 1978 when arena rock, over-produced albums, and marketing soared in the music industry, the Dead Kennedys were formed in San Francisco. Once the home of the epitome of alternative rock, The Grateful Dead, The Jefferson Airplane, and the San Francisco sound, the city, its music, and its activists were melting into a world of corporatism.

Jello Biafra, the frontperson of the Dead Kennedys, was determined to make music with a powerful message. The Dead Kennedys called out class warfare and imperialism in their driving “Kill the Poor,” a song whose meaning could not be misunderstood. “Holiday in Cambodia” put a spotlight on the dictatorial regime of Pol Pot and the genocide that was happening in the Southeast Asia country in the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Vietnam.

The debut album didn’t hit the streets till 1980. It was an instant classic in the annals of Punk that propelled the Dead Kennedys to legendary status. The title itself was a political commentary on life in the Regan era, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetable.

Each song on Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetable comments on societal ills. The songs included, “California Uber Alles” an attack on Governor Jerry Brown and his hippie-fascist vision of America. It was hauntingly the antithesis of California dreaming and the peace and love of San Francisco. It was in-your-face punk to its core, with lyrics taken from the German National Anthem it began with, “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles.” Biafra and co-writer Greenway substituted Deutschland for California to shake up the counterculture being called out by Punk.

Punking Satire

The Dead Kennedys used the revolutionary in-your-face driving rhythms as a weapon of political dissent to inspire a new alternative culture, Punk. The message was clear, think and act to change society.

Biafra, as the lead singer for the Dead Kennedys, had a performance artist persona. He acted out his satirical wit with a theatrical delivery that added satirical humor to disarm critics while delivering an accessible, powerful call to action to the Punk lifestyle.

Jello Biafra of The Dead Kennedys

Political Power Engraved in The Name

The Dead Kennedys paved the road for punk to address not just corporate greed in the record industry but every aspect of politics. Directly attacking the taboo and naming names, the Dead Kennedys opened the door for other bands to walk through with a new meaning for the rebellion of Punk. Anti-Flag, Bad Religion, and Propagandi quickly entered with political power engraved in their name.

The Dead Kennedys created a movement within Punk. They were a blend of theatrics, driving punk energy combined with social commentary using punking satire.

The Dead Kennedys Alternative Tentacles

Beyond their own songs, The Dead Kennedys were keen on creating an outlet for others who were walking the political action course. The earliest days of punk in New York, Boston, L.A., Detroit, Berlin, London, and beyond saw records being pressed and distributed in the DIY Ethos of Punk. It was at its core.

Determined to resurrect the essence of the DIY Punk Ethos, the Dead Kennedys formed a record label free from corporate manipulation. Aptly named Alternative Tentacles, the label embodied the essential punk ethos. A DIY platform that would record and distribute politically charged punk artists hidden beneath the surface who the corporate record companies looked at with disdain.

As an offshoot of the Dead Kennedys political direction, Alternative Tentacles was critical in giving voice to underground punk bands. Recapturing the idea and essence of a community, Alternative Tentacles reignited the punk ethos of DIY. Beyond the immediate access to politically centered punk lyrics, music, bands, and artists, Alternative Tentacles gave inspiration to a new generation of independent labels. The Dead Kennedys as a band embodied more than the music of punk. They marketed rebellion as a form of self-expression and were an influence on political punk as a movement.