Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

This album inspired me to become a poli sci major. When I was 14 I made a choker made from an old white crew neck t-shirt collar on which I sharpied the words "economy is looking bad, time to start a war." It went well with my homemade iron-on "jail to the thief" anti-Bush patch.

I think what makes the Dead Kennedys one of my favorite punk bands is multifaceted, but a major point of that is that it's not just angry-three-chords. There's elements of surf rock and even some early horror stuff on this record. East Bay Ray is a fantastic guitarist and second to maybe only Joe Strummer. Jello Biafria's lyrics, sarcastic-yet-serious delivery really seals the deal as well. Favorite tracks: "California Uber Alles", "Kill the Poor", "Holiday In Cambodia", "Let's Lynch the Landlord"

Song called "Let's Lynch the Landlord" = instant 5 stars Song called "I Kill Children = instant 5 stars 14 tracks but the whole album is barely 30 minutes? = instant 5 stars.

5 Fuck yeah, love the Dead Kennedys. As probably one of the most politically charged groups of all-time (up there with Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy), I've always felt that this band (along with the mentioned) "got it". Going into my review, I was actually prepared to give a 4 or 4.5 because, while I really enjoy the album, there are a handful of songs I don't return to as much. After giving this a re-listen now, I'm left wondering what the hell I was doing sleeping on them before. All killer, no filler front to back - an absolute punk essential (though Frankenchrist is also an amazing album imo). They say that the older you get, the more disillusioned you become with the punk mindset, and a developing exposure to the larger political stratosphere leads to a more complex and comprehensive mindset. I say - Dead Kennedys were right all along. RIP D.H. Peligro Favorite songs: Obviously Holiday in Cambodia and California Über Alles are bangers, but you can't go wrong with anything here. Let's Lynch the Landlord is probably the most underrated.

Dead Kennedys honed the hardcore punk sound unlike any other band at the time. While other big bands like Black Flag, Bad Brains, and Minor Threat got really good at playing loud and fast, Dead Kennedys did that while also wielding razor-sharp lyrics to give hardcore a pointedly political edge to it's attitude. Let's Lynch the Landlord, California über alles, and Chemical Warfare are not just for moshing in the pit! Stylistically, the boys pull from a few other sources for inspiration. Surf punk, notably used by the B-52's, gives Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables plenty of personality. This is combined with vocalist Jello Biafra, whose iconic voice and energy gives Dead Kennedys a lot of prominence. Further setting themselves apart from the other hardcore punks bands at the time, Dead Kennedys utilize varied songwriting to keep things fresh. Holiday in Cambodia, for example, uses dynamic changes in the intro and breakdown to great effect. When it comes to the simple high-energy riffs though, they still know how to bring the house down. East Bay Ray's noisy guitar and Ted's tight drums deliver killer punk sounds in spades. I would be remiss not to mention Klaus Flouride on bass, who expertly keeps up with the band while holding down a perfectly solid bass groove. This is obviously hardcore punk perfection. What more could you want from a band who calls out snide college leftists who think they know how great state communism is? Pol. Pot.

Thoroughly enjoyable and nicely varied for a punk album. I didn't feel like I was listening to the same slurred song for thirty-five minutes like I often do with bad punk. There's also just a lot of great songs on here. 'Kill the Poor,' 'California Uber Alles,' 'Holiday in Cambodia,' I could go on. This was a great introduction to the Dead Kennedys!

This is how I imagine clowns sing but I did have fun

Always nice when I can play an album out of my own collection rather than streaming on YouTube! This album is a neat signpost for how fast punk started evolving after it's emergence in 1977 (not the true beginning of punk, but that's when the big albums started coming out). By 1980 we were already ready for subgenres (as well as post-punk). This album shows the incipient hardcore punk style that would become popular in the years after this album. More than that, though, it was a truly political punk album that broke through to the mainstream in at least some meaningful sense, unlike the works of the Sex Pistols and the Ramones. The fun part about this album is that it manages to tackle big subjects without taking itself too seriously. It's often funny, personal, and crass. The music is what really makes this album. The guitar work is head and shoulders above what was present in most of the other major punk bands, and the rest of the band compliments that well. Jello's voice isn't amazing, but it's distinctive, and it works with this band 5/5 An absolute punk classic

Man, I really enjoyed that. The Kennedys are a bit more political than their contemporaries but always manage to avoid getting bogged down by preaching. It's an absolute romp of a record. Loved it so much I played it through twice. Which is easy enough since it's only 36 minutes long. 15 songs, 36 minutes. Love that vibe. Each song comes in hard, sticks around just long enough to make a point, and then we're moved on to the next one. No wasted time, no bloated verses, no pointless vamps. Just pure, distilled rock. So good.

It's going to be five stars if you don't want to read the rest. Basically, when I was about 10 I heard about the Sex Pistols and they sounded like the most exciting thing ever. They were okay but a bit ploddy and the singer seemed like a Wally. This, with its breakneck pace, vicious humour and sheer anarchic fun, is the band I wanted the Pistols to be.

Classic British punk

NAZI PUNKS FUUUUUUUUUUUCK OOOOOFF

Let’s go! 3 punk albums in a row!? And another San Francisco punk band at that. I’m fired up. This album is incredible. Some real ferocious stuff by the band with the best name in punk rock. Not to mention the monikers chosen by its members... When I was 12 years old I went over to my good friend Connor Cantelmo’s house and he sent me home with a paper Trader Joe’s grocery bag full of punk CDs. Included was a compilation that included both the Dead Kennedy’s sophomore effort, Plastic Surgery Disasters, and an EP from the year before, In God We Trust, Inc. To this day, I am surprised by how much I liked this CD. Everything about it told me I should hate it. Abrasive. Indescribably unpleasant—even cartoon-ish—lead vocals. Horrible lyrical content. Screeching, feedback-heavy production and recording. And so on. And being 12, I didn’t even understand it as far as it’s political satire, which, now, I truly find to be the main course here. But I took to it all the same. It had this draw. It seemed to exist of its own accord. In its own world. By its own rules. It had absolute soul in the sense that this band truly meant every word they said and every note they played. They had to. Where else would this sound have come from if not from someplace deeply personal and undeniably urgent? It was only a hop, skip, and a jump to DK's debut album Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables which contained fan favorites "Califronia Über Alles" and "Holiday In Cambodia." (Though my favorite DK song then and now was and is "Nazi Punks F**k Off" off In God We Trust, Inc.). I love that this album gives conservative parents and nay-sayers exactly what they want to complain about. It's almost like DK decided, "Let's make music for people who want to claim this as devil music anyway. Let's just give it them; give them the evidence. And be as controversial and in-your-face as possible. To every part of the system, Democrats and Republicans alike." I think that approach to being punk is beautiful. It really just takes the breath away from potential critics. It strips them of their power of interpretation. There's almost nothing you can say about this music because what it is so unashamedly blatantly awful. I think it ends up being more depressing to those critics that this music is actually popular than it is anger-inducing, which is a good trade. And it IS incredible this band became so popular. That they have a song on Guitar Hero for instance (!!). Conservative zealots be damned. The system sucks and instead of explaining why, we're just going to show you how the system can not only birth, but foster a band as blatantly distasteful as Dead Kennedys. What is the conservative majority of Reagan's America to do with that!? It makes me smile just knowing this band existed in the context they did. Musically, DK stands in a class of its own too. The way they incorporate decidedly non-punk elements between ferocious, hardcore riffs. There are moments of circus music. Some of more straight rock influences. Some wildly syncopated drum beats. Some of the great early-80s hardcore bass lines. Stop and start call and response moments. Sound collage. And more. All this seems wildly out of place for a hardcore act that had so much on its agenda already politically. That the music is so good, rich, and unique in addition to everything else going on satirically and politically is just gravy. Loud, abrasive, in-your-face-disturbing gravy. Viva Las Vegas. 5 stars.

Fucking 5

Jello Biafra is an acquired taste, like asparagus sautéed in crushed glass.

This shit is mad annoying, actually. Sort of reminds me of a local band playing a college house party and they’re so annoying you want to bail but you can’t leave because you spent $5 on that red solo cup for keg access and you need to get your moneys worth because you’re a broke underage student who only works 12 hours a week and have blown through most of your financial aid even though you pirated, like, HALF of your textbooks so you could pocket the difference so you just drink foamy beer and scornfully clown on the the band from the back of the room

Masterpiece of hardcore punk rock. Sharp lyrics and vocals, over a music that's no less sharp. The best of both worlds, really. The biting sense of satire is everywhere, from "Kill The Poor" to that absurd "Viva Las Vegas" cover closing the album. And the instrumentation is often smart and inventive, with many infectious guitar-and-bass lines that are both angular and highly melodic, thus going beyond what the usual small fry in the genre can deliver. "Holiday In Cambodia" and "California Über Alles" are instant classics, and if their subject matters deal with news events from another era, their impact hasn't aged a day. Maybe because the times have only gotten worse. The Dead Kennedys had Pol Pot and Jerry Brown. Now we have Kim Jung-un and Donald Trump. One can't help wishing more folks had listened to Jello Biafra's politically charged vitriol at the time. But if general audiences listened to good songwriters instead of crooked politicians, maybe the world would be slightly less hellish as a result. On a sidenote, I also highly recommend the *Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death" compilation. It has the single versions of the two last songs I've just mentioned here, and the sound and performance in those different recordings is superior to the album versions. Besides, this compilation also harbors other pivotal singles such as "Too Drunk To Fuck", along with incredible live documents showing how insane that band was onstage. If you're a fan of *Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables*, you can't go wrong with this one, really... Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 811 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory: 103 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 46 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): 41

A pure classic hardcore punk album with intelligent and deeply sarcastic lyrics mixed with surf guitar and elastic band vocals. Lots of punks weren't expecting that. Best Tracks: Kill The Poor; Holiday In Cambodia; Viva Las Vegas

Damn this absolutely smokes - California Uber Alles, Chemical Warfare and Holiday in Cambodia are sensational, absolutely top tier punk songs. They just feel a cut above, right? Smart lyrics, a great sound and attitude to burn. East Bay Ray is such a cool name.

One of my absolute, all-time favorite punk albums, full stop. Honestly, it's probably the punkest punk album I love. 'Coz, like, I think about all of the other punk bands who have an album I love — Green Day, the Ramones, The Clash, Bad Religion — and they have a pop sheen to them, to one extent or another. Which, pop isn't a bad word to me, but you compare any of those band's albums to this and it's a massive gulf. With its massive surf rock influence and the elements of horror and humour throughout, and with how damn fast they play some of those songs, there's really not a single punk album I've heard that goes harder. Maybe a Snot album, but I haven't heard one of those in full. And it just does not let up. It's 30 minutes, front-to-back, of all-cylinders-firing killer and not a second of filler. From the big notable songs like "California Über Alles" and "Holiday In Cambodia", down to stuff like "Stealing People's Mail", "I Kill Children", "Drug Me" and "Chemical Warfare", it's all amazing. I don't even need to give any deep, faux-essay reasons why — which I easily could, given how I consider Dead Kennedys near Rage Against The Machine and Chumbawamba in how left they are. You just need to listen to them play — incredible, right? (Many shout outs to the "Viva Las Vegas" cover they end the album with, too, by the way. Even besides my being an Elvis fan, I just love how wild it is. Goodness.) In case you couldn't tell: instant 5 from me. It's one of those albums I honestly could have written a review of months before my group got it 'coz I love it just that much. So, yeah, I'unno what else to say. Go dig this album if you somehow found this review without having done so already. POL POT

Great album

oh yeah this was very good it took me one song to get into them and now im on board lets kill the fucking poor am i right?

Perfect, surf-punk - right up my street - with biting and clever sardonic lyrics, adrenaline packed beats and pumping bass lines. Listening to this record, makes the contrast of American punk (and even British punk) that came after this feel so hollow and weak. This is the real thing - from intensely funny 'California Über Alles', to the poignant 'Kill the Poor', from 'Holiday in Cambodia' and even in the perfect madcap cover of 'Viva Las Vegas'. Love it - a true classic.

A bit rough but pretty fun otherwise. Absolutely love the guitar riffs and bass. I wish the songs were longer, but their length gives them their charm. Really creative album title, and really cool cover. Fave track(s): When Ya Get Drafted, Let's Lynch The Landlord

Good ole Punk Rock, how I've missed you.

Not really my thing, I didn’t find it entertaining and most songs weren’t good

Did not like :(

I hate this, everything about it.

gross

holiday in cambodia is the best song on this album and it still sucks

Awake at 5:30am and still buzzing from the Jays ALCS win. Fuck it, play Dead Kennedys

Raw, punchy, political, and energetic. Hints of surf rock sprinkled in there as well. There’s also some like horror rock in there too which was fun. I feel like sonically this is a very interesting sounding punk album for 1980. This type of music has been my jam all year so I was stoked to listen to this one today.

Nothing says Reaganomics more than the Dead Kennedys 1980 classic "Kill the Poor" with its Rocky Horror queer tones and Ramones rock rhythm... basically this album is the Ramones on crack for the win. I was 16 when this album came out and bought it immediately. No regrats, as they say, well, one in that I never saw them live.

Nazi Punks Fuck Off

not quite my taste, I rarely listen to music like this liked the guitar effects in Viva Las Vegas very much

INTERESTING SOUND 4.2 out 5

While musically this shows it's age, this is a classic of the genre. Sadly it's themes are still relevant today. Some of the guitar work is a leap forward from earlier punk records and you can see how much this influenced the later movement and hardcore scene.

This is a hardcore punk album in that it is political, it’s obscene, and it makes you angry. First time I listened to this I didn’t love it but having it come up on this list I listened to it a little more and it’s pretty decent. I didn’t grow up when punk was popular so some of the appeal is missed on me but some of these songs do rock hard. Some were familiar from guitar hero. Yikes. Overall though this is solid and I’d revisit maybe. 6.2/10

Nr. 46/1001 Kill the Poor 3/5 Forward to Death 2/5 When Ya Get Drafted 2/5 Let's Lynch The Landlord 3/5 Drug Me 1/5 Your Emotions 2/5 Chemical Warfare 2/5 California Uber Alles 2/5 I Kill Children 2/5 Stealing People's Mail 2/5 Funland At The Beach 2/5 III in the Head 1/5 Holiday In Cambodia 2/5 Viva Las Vegas 2/5 Average: 2,0 Not my kind of music

Whoever made this list must have had a hard-on for punk. The only redeeming factor of this shit music is how short the songs are. I hate it. Please no more punk. PS. The cover of "Viva Las Vegas" was almost OK.

Every song sounds the exact same, and that's not a good thing here. Favorite track: Holiday in Cambodia since it's the only one I've listened to more than once

No thanks Dead Kennedys.

Icky

45 years old and the angry, biting lyrics are just as relevant today as they were then. From worsening income inequality to progressive purity tests to people shooting up schools to bombing children, there’s a song here for everyone in 2025.

The cover of 'Viva Las Vegas' at the end is brilliant. They really didn't change much and they didn’t need to, turns out it's just a nightmarish song. This whole album rocks, it was a good choice for a day where the government is shut down and they’re literally tearing down the White House.

An undeniable classic. I still remember the thrill of lying in bed, listening to John Peel's radio show, and first hearing California Uber Alles. A real life changing moment. The whole album bristles with that post-punk energy, but there's a definite world-weary sensibility in the lyrics. Holiday in Cambodia is still the standout track. It's also the source of the urban legend that Jello voiced Barney The Dinosaur...the voices are that similar.

KIL KILL KILL KILL KILL THE POOR! CHEMICAL WARFARE CHEMICAL WARFARE CHEMICAL WARFARE!!!! STEALING PEOPLE'S MAIL STEALING PEOPLE'S MAIL STEALING PEOPLE'S MAIL STEALING PEOPLE'S MAIL STEALING PEOPLE'S MAIL CRUSHED LITTLE KIDS ADORN THE BOARDWALK!

🍚/day 😋

(100/100)

Fire

This stuff is badass. Unique, catchy, angsty, and a little annoying. Dead Kennedys are emblematic of a particular type of punk, and this is them at their best. Not everybody's cup of tea, but damn it works for me.

i've, of course, heard the name, but outside of 'holiday in cambodia' being in guitar hero 3, i have no experience with them. man this kind of blew me away. really fun punk album. really biting lyrics. politically conscious and still relevant after all these years. will definitely come back to this one.

One of the best punk albums ever made

IMO Dead Kennedy's is one the greatest American bands. I love the ironic and provocative nature of every song. I love how even though its simple punk (proto hardcore?) they play with genres and sounds in each song. I also love the give no fucks attitude of the lyrics and playing style. In 7th Grade, I was introduced to Dead Kennedy's the same day that I was introduced to The Clash. And as a kid who didn't want to disappoint his mother, I listened to way more of The Clash than DK. Something about the name, the songs, the lyrics I knew would upset my mom. So I always had to listen to this under cover. But when you look at the long lineage of punk, especially the culture, I would argue that DK has influenced the genre more than almost any band (including The Sex Pistols). They brought an element of levity to the genre and scene in a way that most bands hadn't quite tapped into yet. This record rocks. I can listen to it any time.

People like to say certain punk albums were influential or groundbreaking or important. This one really was. Loved it when I was14, loved it at 24, love it even more at 34.

Great album!

I wish I could give this 10 stars.

zoveelste debuutplaat in de lijst... zoveelste die er recht op is... goeie muziek met goeie teksten geleverd met een snauw van Jello...

"Say, I'm doubling your rent 'cause the building's condemned, you're gonna help me buy City Hall" Same as it ever was. Sensational stuff.

Well, it's hard for me to give this anything but a five, as it contains two tracks which were massive favourites in my youth. So I give it 5.

Haven’t managed to listen to the whole album yet. But this is great!

It’s aggressive and sarcastic, but also includes some whimsical humour in both lyrics and music. Holiday in Cambodia is a real banger! 5/5

These guys played at Barrington Hall. Another Bay Area W Never got into the Dead Kennedys before but this album got me recharged on punk all day! Some iconic songs on here and iconic song titles

Classic DKs and so apropos for its time.

The best of political punk

Really good stuff.

Fantastic

America is bitterly divided. A doddering celebrity president is weaponising the government to line his pockets while grinding down the poorest with militarised police actions. Foreign wars are used as handy distractions and the milquetoast democrats are worse than useless. Oh, wait, 1980 wasn’t all that different from now. Damn, I wish this album wasn’t relevant today but it bloody well is. Songs like Kill the Poor, Holiday in Cambodia and California Uber Alles still hit as hard as they ever did, backed with rock solid classic punk tunes. Fourteen songs in just over half an hour, no messing. Listen to this and then go and eat the rich.

The epitome of punk rock. Who needs speed with albums like this (lol)! Bleak perspective but an appropriate response to the political/social environment of the time (has it changed?).

Holy cow. I don’t remember this album being this killer!? Refreshingly un self conscious. Badass energetic riffs. Unrelenting pace. Fucked up lyrics for all the right reasons. Also now painfully aware of the obvious influence they had on billie joe armstrong. Never was big on green day but now I know why… they were just trying to be this. Unhinged Elvis cover to close it out clinched it for me. 5 knuckle sandwiches 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻

amazing album. essential punk. Craziest vocals ever. Iconic songwriting with California Uber Alles, the vegas cover and holiday in cambodia. Really fun/fast playing with lots of surf rock influence

Album exceeded my expectations by a lot! Thoroughly entertaining

Still pretty exciting stuff from Boulder High's own Jello Biafra and the rest of the gang.

Fantastičan album

There's something to be said for having a serious delivery of Let's Lynch The Landlord and a sarcastic delivery of Kill The Poor. The combo of punk, surf, horror themes, and topping it all off with Viva Las Vegas is great.

Maybe best in genre?

This LP got me through middle school. It should be in everyone's collection.

Man I must have been in a bad mood to give this a 3 back in 2022. This rocks. Blasting it going 90 on the freeway on the way to work is the way to listen.

Maybe it is that they couldn't imagine what a Nation run by Reagan would look like. Maybe it was being safely nestled in a punk club full of capital A "aritists" in the East Village that allowed the Ramones to pay homage to Buddy Holly and pre-Beatles rock with every hurried drumbeat and twangy strum. The Dead Kennedys were afforded no such luxury, and as such, surpass their counterparts as co-pioneers of United States punk rock. Whether it is the thrashing riffs and nihilistic lyrics of "Forward to Death", the experimental sounds in "Drug Me" and "Chemical Warfare", or the quintessential punk listening of "California Uber Alles" and "Holliday in Cambodia", Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is a foundational punk album that would shape the genre for the next decade at least. Unlike the Ramones who never seemed to escape the trajectory they had set for themselves to be firmly rooted in a style that paid homage to Rockabilly, the Dead Kennedys seem to acknowledge the Surf music so associated with California just enough to say "fuck you, we're not playing that". Nowhere is their contempt for any style but their own shown as well as in the last track where they cover "Viva Las Vegas". Blasting drums, feverish bass, twangy guitar, and Jello playfully mimicking the kings accent with a deadpan flair showcases the horror of Vegas: a place that turns "...day into nighttime / [Turns] night into daytime" in a sick inversion of time. Though Elvis' original lyrics hold as much darkness as the cover, his jovial melodies throughout highlight that whatever the outcome, what is important is that the singer "had a swinging time". In contrast, DK's rendition removes the jaunty vocals of the King to unearth the song's darker tones about consumerism and losing every last dime. The cover encapsulates a perfect artistic choice for a bad concerned that in a California run by Jerry Brown the "suede denim secret police...will come for your uncool niece". Lastly, I have to admit I have never been a Dead Kennedys fan, and have mostly dismissed their music when I heard it. But giving this album a few re-listens and seeing that it was released in 1980, I have to admit DK's impact. Would there be bands I love--Flipper, Circle Jerks, Agent Orange, or Black Flag--without them? Probably, but I'd be willing to bet the scene might have not been there to meet them without DK paving the way. I have to unfortunately kowtow to this album's supremacy, and rate it accordingly.

some of the best punk there is Will I listen to again: 100%

Snelle inhaal review #3: Quintessential hardcore punk album, gaat heel hard, neemt geen blad voor de mond, meer van dit.

It's a great album, with such a nice listening. It is short, but has many good tracks on it. As a debut album, it's a really strong proposal.

As relevant now as it was 45 years or so ago. Everything that the sex pistols were and more. Incredible.

Awesome. I already knew and loved this. Favorite song: holiday in cambodia

>>>>> the Beatles Fuck yeah

This is the perfect punk album. The lyrics, the production, the message, etc everything is absolutely perfect!!! This is a must listen album!!!

god bless punk

Political punk automatic 5/5

Very good!

I had heard of the name Dead Kennedys before but had never heard any of their stuff. I listened to the top song and was digging the punk sounds. And saw it was 80s. So I was like oooo this seems cool. So then I sat down and full-screened Spotify on my laptop. And brought up the lyrics. And then listened to the entire album while reading through the lyrics and doing noting else. AND OMGGGGG IT IS SOOOOOO GOOOOD. LIKE HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THIS BEFORE INSTANT 5/5 I LOVE IT SO MUCH

Kill kill kill the poor 😀

5 stars on attitude and politics alone, but the influence, variety, and performance clinches it. 5.0/5.0: Iconic

i've never really cared for jello's vocal delivery but this album is a classic

Nice subtle commentary

Love this album. Early punk had such a nasty raw sound that you’d expect to hear at the dive bars they played. And there has to be someone picking these albums, with how topical it is.

💀💀💀💀💀

I couldn’t stop kicking flipping when I listened to this

Finally some bona fide punk rock. Listening here in June 2025, tracks like Kill the Poor and Let’s Lynch the Landlord resonate more than I’d like as we are still dealing with unprecedented wealth inequality, state-sponsored genocide, and literal secret police by the name of ICE in the US. I’m thankful for bands like RATM and these guys using music as a vehicle for this message. And I gotta say outside of the political statements, this album absolutely whips and Biafra’s sarcastic and over the top performance is perfect. (also Jello Biafra is an incredible stage name) ((also also this cover art goes HARD))

14 songs in 33 minutes... Punk at it's best

Crucial in my radicalization in my youth. Angry enough to kick ass. Satirical enough to still be fun.