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- The Byrds, “He Was a Friend of Mine” (1965) From: Turn! Turn! (No. 17 in March 1966) Key lines: “He was in Dallas town/ He was in Dallas town/ From a sixth-floor window, a gunner shot him down/ He died in Dallas town/ … Leader of a nation for such a precious time/ He was a friend of mine.”
- Dion, “Abraham, Martin and John” (1968) Hot 100 peak: No. 4 in December 1968. From: Dion (No. 128 in February 1969) Key lines: “Anybody here seen my old friend John?/
- The Rolling Stones, “Sympathy for the Devil” (1968) From: Beggars Banquet (No. 5 in January 1969) Key lines: “I shouted out/ ‘Who killed the Kennedys?’/ When after all/ It was you and me.”
- John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, ‘God’ (1970) From: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (No. 6 in January 1971) Key lines: “I don’t believe in Kennedy…I don’t believe in Elvis/ I don’t believe in Zimmerman.
- ‘California Über Alles’
- ‘Holiday in Cambodia’
- ‘Pull My Strings’
- ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off!’
- ‘Soup Is Good Food’
- ‘Cesspools in Eden’
With the inimitable Jello Biafra leading your band, you are always in good hands, and the band must have realised they were on to something special with this undeniably potent debut. ‘California Über Alles’ is a song that was always designed to get under the skin of the political class. Comparing America to the Nazis, even in a punk rock song, was ...
Following on from their debut single, the band never looked like slowing up in their political discourse nor their artistic evolution with ‘Holiday in Cambodia’. The harrowing bassline that opens the track only adds more atmosphere to what’s about to come. The song gathers pace like a runaway freight train and doesn’t stop until it hits the midnigh...
Of course, trying to suggest that ‘Pull My Strings’ is one of Dead Kennedy’s best songs is a bit tricky. The rest of the group’s canon is rich in punk rock moments that drip with intensity. But perhaps no song sums up the group better than ‘Pull My Strings’. The track was performed for the first time in curious circumstances. Dead Kennedys had set ...
Much like Britain’s punk bands had struggled to keep order within their shows and had been left frustrated by the staunch right-wingers of the cities and the adoption of their sound, Dead Kennedys decided to fight back against the infiltration with a more than obvious song. ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off!’ is undoubtedly one of the songs that define the Dead...
The band’s 1985 Frankenchrist album was destined to be derailed from the very beginning. This time though, it wasn’t their songs getting them in hot water but their artwork. The record contained a poster of HR Giger’s Penis Landscapewhich depicts rows of penises and vulvae. They’re just lucky that Biafra didn’t get his wish for it to be the album’s...
1986 came around real fast for the Dead Kennedys. With four albums under their belts, they soon decided that the music industry as a whole sickened them. It was a disdain no longer reserved for the mainstream; now, they aimed at the punk rock scene. They announced their split shortly after the release of their final record, Bedtime for Democracy. T...
Jun 5, 2024 · Overall, “Police Truck” by Dead Kennedys is a powerful anthem that critiques police brutality and the abuse of power. With its politically charged lyrics and aggressive instrumentation, the song serves as a reminder to challenge authority and fight for justice in the face of social injustice.
Jan 15, 2024 · Dead Kennedys’ ‘Police Truck’ is more than just a punk song; it’s a siren alerting society to the creeping normality of an authoritarian presence. This song remains a timeless reminder of the human consequence when authority is wielded without accountability.
- Terminal Preppie (1982) It would only make sense that a punk rock band isn’t terribly fond of someone who can be seen as a preppie, right? If there was ever any doubt, this tune should clear it up for you.
- I Am the Owl (1982) Some listeners have traditionally been confused about the meaning of this song. For the most part, it’s generally agreed that the song is about realizing when someone else is trying to pull the wool over your eyes.
- Winnebago Warrior (1982) What would it be like to live in a WInnebago and travel all over the place? For some, it would probably be a dream come true.
- Government Flu (1982) It should be rather obvious by now that the group was never terribly fond of the government. This song also perpetuates that theme.
The Dead Kennedys merged revolutionary politics with hardcore punk music and, in the process, became one of the defining hardcore bands. Often, they were more notable for their politics than their music, but that was part of ...
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Dead Kennedys are widely considered to be one of the most influential punk bands of all time. The first incarnation of the band formed in San Francisco in the late 70s, flipping.
