Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run.
Eric Reed Boucher, better known by his professional name Jello Biafra, is an American singer and spoken word artist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.
Frankenchrist is the third album by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys, released in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles.
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 in San Francisco, California. It was used by Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California über alles". After realizing the potential for an independent label, they released records for other bands as well. Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray and vocalist Jello Biafra formed Alternative Tentacles, but Biafra became the owner in the mid-1980s. Alternative Tentacles no longer owns the rights to Dead Kennedys recordings after a 2000 lawsuit.
"California über alles" is the debut single by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. It was the group's first recording and was released in June 1979 on the Optional Music label, with "The Man with the Dogs" appearing as its B-side. The title track was re-recorded in 1980 for the band's first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, and the original recording as well as the B-side were later included on the 1987 compilation Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death.
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is the debut studio album by the American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. It was first released on September 2, 1980, through Cherry Red Records in the United Kingdom, and later issued by Jello Biafra's own Alternative Tentacles label in the United States. It is the only Dead Kennedys album to feature drummer Bruce Slesinger and guitarist Carlos Cadona.
Bedtime for Democracy is the fourth and final studio album by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Released in 1986, songs on this album cover common punk subjects often found in punk rock lyrics of the era such as conformity, Reaganomics, the U.S. military, and critique of the hardcore punk movement. The album's title refers to the 1951 comedy film, Bedtime for Bonzo starring Ronald Reagan and also reflects the band's weary bitterness from the trial they were undergoing at the time over the controversial art included with their previous album. By the time recording of Bedtime for Democracy had begun, the Dead Kennedys had already played what would be their last concert with Jello Biafra and announced their breakup immediately after the release of the record, whose opening track is a cover of David Alan Coe's "Take This Job and Shove It."
Plastic Surgery Disasters is the second full-length album released by punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Recorded in San Francisco during June 1982, it was produced by the band's guitarist East Bay Ray and punk record producer Thom Wilson. The album is darker and more hardcore-influenced than their debut album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables as a result of the band trying to expand on the sound and mood they had achieved with their 1980 single "Holiday in Cambodia". It was the first full-length album to feature drummer D.H. Peligro, and is frontman Jello Biafra's favorite Dead Kennedys album.
Machine Gun in the Clown's Hand is the eighth spoken word album by Jello Biafra. Topics covered in the album include the War on Terrorism, California's energy crisis, and voting problems in Florida. Biafra originally titled the album Osama McDonald, a name which he was later credited by on the album Never Breathe What You Can't See, which was recorded with The Melvins.
Never Breathe What You Can't See is a studio album by Jello Biafra and The Melvins, released in 2004 through Alternative Tentacles.
"Too Drunk to Fuck" is the fourth single by Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1981 on Cherry Red Records with "The Prey" as the B-side. Both songs from this single are available on the rarities album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987).
Live from the Battle in Seattle is the only album released by anti-globalization punk band The No WTO Combo. Of the five tracks on the album, only two, "New Feudalism" and "Electronic Plantation", are original songs. "Let's Lynch the Landlord" and "Full Metal Jackoff" are both covers, by Jello Biafra's former band Dead Kennedys, and D.O.A. featuring Biafra, respectively. "Battle in Seattle" is an opening speech/rallying cry by Jello Biafra. Biafra later re-recorded "New Feudalism" and "Electronic Plantation" for the album The Audacity of Hype by Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine.
Sieg Howdy! is the second album by Jello Biafra and The Melvins. It consists of songs recorded during the same sessions that produced their first collaboration Never Breathe What You Can't See but not used on that album, plus remixes of four songs from the first album.
Beyond the Valley of the Gift Police is the fourth spoken word album by Jello Biafra. The album included a cartoon tract insert by graphic novelist Daniel Clowes, Devil Doll?, which spoofed the Chick Publications tracts. The album cover is a reproduction of a painting by Sandow Birk.
The Last Temptation of Reid is the debut studio album by Lard, released in 1990.
Prairie Home Invasion is an album released by US musicians Jello Biafra and Mojo Nixon in 1994. The title is a play on the popular public radio program A Prairie Home Companion and the Ice-T album Home Invasion. There was also 7" and CD singles released for "Will The Fetus Be Aborted?", which included an outtake from this album titled "The Lost World" as a B-side and Eugene Chadbourne & Evan Johns' parody of Billy Ray Cyrus's "Achy Breaky Heart" titled "Achy Rakey Heart" as a CD single bonus track. "Let's Go Burn Ole Nashville Down" has been described as a comment "on the sad state of country music in the '90s", with lyrics that attacked Garth Brooks and Jimmy Bowen.
Last Scream of the Missing Neighbors is a punk album by Jello Biafra of Dead Kennedys and Canadian band D.O.A., released in 1990. It is notable for "Full Metal Jackoff," a furious 14-minute song that touches on then-relevant topics such as Willie Horton, the Iran-Contra Affair, Oliver North, the crack epidemic, and many others.
Milking the Sacred Cow is a compilation album released by the American punk rock band Dead Kennedys in October 2007. It is composed of songs from all studio albums of the band's career, except for their final album, Bedtime for Democracy. It also contains two previously unreleased live tracks, "Soup Is Good Food" and "Jock-O-Rama", the studio versions of which can be found on the album Frankenchrist. The album has been criticized by former lead singer Jello Biafra.
The Big Ka-Boom, Pt. 1 is the seventh spoken word album by Jello Biafra.
Jello Biafra and the Guantanamo School of Medicine is a punk rock band led by Jello Biafra. They released their debut album, The Audacity of Hype in October 2009.
