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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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

Classic British punk

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

Fucking 5

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Great album

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.

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?

NAZI PUNKS FUUUUUUUUUUUCK OOOOOFF

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

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

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

I hate this, everything about it.

gross

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

Icky

I wish I could give this one 6 stars. There are few albums in my life more important to me or why I like and listen to the music I do. Ever since I heard this album in high school (20+ years ago), where it blew my mind, I have been chasing that same feeling. I'm don't think I even try to listen to all 1001 albums if it wasn't for hearing this one. The DKs mix punk and hardcore with lyrics that are funny with a powerful message. It's everything I like in music.

One of my favorite Punk Bands. Great variety for a Punk record and surprisingly dark lyrics. Can actually tell a difference between the songs!

Oh, to be a outrageous and overcompensating teenager again. The fun and the fury of the album will never get old for me

Amazing debut album and influential album. Though at time very poppy, kinda like a possessed Sha Na Na.

BRUH just yesterday i was wondering when i was going to get this album this is probably the greatest hardcore punk album i have ever heard, i even listened to it full five times

This is an album I've cooled on since my teenage years, but upon relisten and reflection, it's still a perfect punk album. I don't turn to this album the way that I did when I was 18, and I'm never going to return to it like I did then ever again, but I can't help but acknowledge its greatness. I might not want to eat cheesecake every day, but I can still acknowledge that it's delicious.

Fantastic classic punk.

Fuck yes

Если Холидей то ?

I shouldn't like this so much. I'm listening to Funland at the Beach with an embarrassed grin on my face. Holiday in Cambodia has everything that a song needs. Then we finish with the "reconstructed" Viva Las Vegas: "Got coke up my nose to dry up the snot." Truly wonderful/horrible.

Dead Kennedys at their finest. Brutal, foundational punk that not only defined a genre, but a generation.

A punk classic that has almost every classic track you can think of from DK. Jello and the boys are in full mayhem over fuzzy licks and well produced drums. There’s an odd catchiness to a ton of the tracks.

The first two punk albums I owned, Black Flag Damaged and this! Love it! "God told me to skin you alive"

Love this album. best version of 'Viva las Vegas' out there!

Fantastic Punk album. Pure Punk Raw energy at its best.

A certified punk classic from start to finish.

One of the best

Pol pot pol pot.

I've not listened to this album before, but I am familiar with many of the tracks. I'd give this 5 on the basis of California Uber Alles on its own. The rest of the album is pretty good too. Some genuinely interesting drumming on Drug Me. The vocals are great, but that tinny distorted kick drum and the snares are just fascinating. In fact, the drums are one of the best bits of this. Brilliant stuff.

Best American punk band.

5 One of my absolute favorite albums and my gateway into hardcore punk. I love the speed and cynicism that drenched this album. The bass is off the hook here, along with the drums. There was recently a new mix of this by Chris Lord-Alge and people hate it. Anyway we wouldn’t have so many awesome punk groups if it wasn’t for this album. Favorites: Kill the Poor, When Ya Get Drafted, Let’s Lynch the Landlord, Drug Me, Your Emotions, Chemical Warfare, California Über Alles, Holiday in Cambodia

4.6 - Awesome. Jello Biafra’s voice roils with sardonic fury painting demented cartoons with characters lifted from a nightmare. Here’s an album that redeems punk rock for me. Highlights: “Kill the Poor”, “Drug Me.”

Absolute punk rock classic

Amazing album. All great tracks and theres always room for jello. 5/5

I cannot overstate how much of a vibe this album is. Doesn't matter that it was made over 40 years ago.

Fuck yeah! I loved this record as a kid. I love this record as an adult. The combination of old-school punk, surf rock, and Jello Biafra's unhinged vocals is one of the most iconic sounds, and the occasional throw in of schizophrenic xylophone or Rhodes piano just puts the icing on the cake. Too bad the shit they were satirizing 43 years ago hasn't changed much...I'll just have to steal some mail to feel better about that I guess.

Brilliant, witty, daring and powerful, Dead Kennedys turn their ire on the powerful in society and really stick it to the man. Just half an hour long as all punk albums should be and one of the best cover versions of all time.

Really great punk album that sounds extremely British, so it's a bit of a surprise to know they're an American band. Super energetic and never a dull moment. I love this album honestly.

Still love this album after all these years.

First one I knew already. What a fucking opener! Plays with the variety of punk songwriting in its time... but spooky! It's cool how California Über Alles pulls no punches on a liberal politician. And that it got to express the sold out promise of California hippies and the dark potentials hidden behind a freedom loving, spiritual image before the Lukewarm Red Jalapenos beat that premise to death. ...Pol Pot!

I've listened to this so many times since I found it in high school. Holiday and California are still amazing songs.

This albums raw as hell

This was one of the first records that turned me onto the hardcore scene and quite literally changed my life forever. 100% manic high speed, this record careens barely under control from political to disturbing to silly. Holiday in Cambodia and California Uber Alles are classics, but this record screams relentlessly from start to finish with no duds.

Nothing like a trip back to my punk high school days, love dead Kennedys, a great album

This album was so foundational for me. Instant 5/5, holds up beautifully.

super political is how i like my punk and i hit the jackpot

I’m a sucker for these old punk albums. I get why folks would like it but they still give me the vibes of an old skate video. Also the lead singers name is jello and the dude who played guitars name is east bay ray. Top tier names

BANGER ALBUM WITH BANGER SONGS

Hell of an album, hell of a band. So sad what became of this bunch, when they had nothing to do than fight against each other because of some money for royalties.

Satirisch, hard, energiek en kritisch. Hoe punk hoort te zijn dus.

Rating: 10/10

Enjoyed this a lot!

Punk legends at the top of the game. Not much to review here. If you're into punk, then this is a Rushmore type album. If you're not into punk it probably sounds like all the other you punk you don't like... Just the way the universe intended.

Hahhahhah sooooo good! Pure anarchy. Metal and industrial were my first loves, so I encountered Jello Biafra via Lard initially. He sure is an acquired taste! Pure WTF delivery and voice at first listen, but it works so well that soon you think, how could it be otherwise? Fave track - "Holiday in Cambodia" stands head and shoulders above everything else - that intro is so damn moody! "California Über Alles" is also iconic....

Gonna kill, kill, kill, kill, kill the poor Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill the poor Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill the poor ton-ah-ah-ah-ight

Hardcore punk. ¡Vinilazo de los DK!

Great, with a couple of benchmark punk tracks and the others all very very good.

Great album, huge part of my personal punk renaissance of 2020-2022

Lovely British punk from San Francisco. What I like about Dead Kennedys is their variation in the songs and their playing. It's not just the same chords repeated again and again. They're actually talented and knows how to play which can not be said about all punk bands as some rely more on feeling and political message. Dead Kennedys is definitely my type of punk rock.

Listened Before? Y Ohhhh man. This is a scorcher! This is one of the greatest punk albums of all time - beginning to end, amazing. The Kennedys demonstrate their mastery of politics and music in short 2-4 minute bursts. Classic. Added to Library? Y Songs added to playlist: Kill the Poor, California Uber Alles

Short, punchy and to the point, with the only track significantly over three minutes being the marvellous Holiday In Cambodia (which is better here than the single version). Showing a heavy UK punk influence, but ahead of its time for most of the USA.

Fun Fast Fabulous Couldn’t stop bouncing to this. That little punk kid is still in there. It takes me back to the time when the magazine Smash Hits was still extant. I am standing at the bus stop after school reading the mag and memorising the lyrics to Holiday in Cambodia which were printed in there. I don’t think the album had even come out at that time, but I knew I loved the Dead Kennedys just from that song. And it still doesn’t disappoint. All the songs have a fierce energy and a blistering political stance - so full of social comment but laced with humour. I love that bite and edginess. But also tuneful with it. Who knew satire could be so catchy? I am all over this. Love love love!

Just a superb album, I love everything about it. Dead Kennedys are the kings of satirical punk music and I love it. Holiday in Cambodia is my favourite, all about stupid american students who thinks they have gone to college and are now all worldly so they go on a holiday in cambodia knowing nothing about the atrocities that were occurring there.

"Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables" is the debut album by the California punk band Dead Kennedys. And punk it is. Comparisons were made to The Sex Pistols" Never Mind the Bollocks." Members of the band include Jello Biafra (vocals), East Bay Ray (guitar), Klaus Flouride (bass) and Ted (drums). Great names! The lyrics are satirical and Jello takes aim at big business, conservatism, society, media, fascism, parents, the elite, democrats, western society, violence and the poor. I probably missed five to ten other areas. The album cover sets the stage as it shows police cars in fire during the 1979 White Night Riots in 1979 from the light sentencing of San Francisco mayor Dan White for the murder former mayor George Moscone and associate Harvey Milk. "Kill the Poor" starts out slow and goes straight to punk. A 60's sounding chorus. Jello's unique wobbly vocals. Nice tuneful guitar. A satire of the rich who would wipe out the poor with a bomb. "Let's Lynch the Landlord" is almost danceable. More anthemic and the guitar is more surf rock which is heard throughout the album. The mob is going to kill the bastard landlord. Let's singalong everyone: "Let's Kill the Landlord. Kill the Landlord." The second side begins with their famous "California Über Alles." More surf guitar and military drums. Very catchy. Slows down. Speeds up. An attack on then California governor Jerry Brown and his fascist vision of America. "Holiday in Cambodia" was written after the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia and contrasts western college students that with Cambodia. That scratchy, Creep guitar open and melody. Great bass line. Finally...what we need in the world is more punk covers of Elvis Presley songs and we get "Viva Las Vegas" Jello goes Elvis. This pretty hilarious. Now, he's attacking the poor for gambling and using drugs. For the most part, this album totally rocks. Most songs are in the two-minute maximum range making The Jesus and Mary Chain look like their performing The Allman Brothers' live version of "Mountain Jam." The surf guitar sound works great here. Never a dull moment.

Classic punk. Heavily political and full of protest without ever not feeling fun. Makes me wanna drive through a brick wall.

Love this, though took a while to get used to JB voice again.

I really liked this, I like his voice. Loved viva Las Vegas.

This was the most punk rock album I've ever heard.

Amazing American punk band. Their influence on the West Coast and punk scene in general are huge. This album influenced my own music tastes and Jello Biafra is a legend. A solid banger after banger.

Great album. Haven’t listened to this in years.

Classic

Was pretty sure I'd like this but it was so much better than I expected. Clearly very influential on all the pop punk I like (particularly green day) but it was interesting, witty and weird in its own right. One of the best so far.

This is an incredibly energetic and engaging album that tackles social issues with focus in poverty and the gap between the rich and the poor. Musically, this is just great driving punk with an eye forward to hardcore. Interestingly enough I hear in the music, especially the rhythm section, the seeds of what would later become thrash metal, another Bay Area subgenre. Though some of the language is objectionable, this album was really helpful in understanding the progression of the Bay Area music scene after the psychedelic hangover had long worn off.

Went with the recent reissue and gotta say the slickened production is much more revelatory than off-putting.

Quality punk album

I just knew a lot of song from this album and I loved it.

A debut that is fast and hard with a lot of humor and bite. What more could you ask for out of hardcore punk?

Smashing

Hits you like a whirlwind. When the first song is "kill the poor" you know you're in for a trip and it doesn't let up.. up there with the best of punk for speaking to rebellious teenagers, which all music should really. 5