Track Listing

1. Kill The Poor
2. Forward To Death
3. When Ya Get Drafted
4. Let's Lynch The Landlord
5. Drug Me
6. Your Emotions
7. Chemical Warfare
8. California Uber Alles
9. I Kill Children
10. Stealing People's Mail
11. Funland At The Beach
12. Ill In The Head
13. Holiday In Cambodia
14. Viva Las Vegas

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17143 in Music
• Released on: 2002-11-04
• Number of discs: 1

CD Description
To followers of the early-'80s West Coast punk scene, few acts have greater import than the Dead Kennedys, and FRESH FRUIT FOR ROTTING VEGETABLES is their definitive work. Fueled by the hyperactive, paranoid rants of frontman Jello Biafra,the band lays out a blueprint for societal upheaval, preaching distrust of everything, and the eventual breakdown of the totalitarian police state in which we live. His disturbingworld view is propelled by the guitar stylings of East Bay Ray, who replaced punk's stereotypical volume assault with carefully chosen and flawlessly executed bursts of musical sarcasm and frightening sonic inventiveness. The album's opener, "Kill the Poor," is a jubilant excoriation of society's treatment of poverty. Songs like "Let's Lynch The Landlord" and "Stealing Peoples' Mail" provide detailed (and hysterically funny) plans for undermining society's oppression, as does "Chemical Warfare," which even goes so far as to act out the violent rebellion. This was rage of unprecedented intellect, vitriol whose eloquence only served to make it more effective. The politics of the classics "Holiday In Cambodia" and "California Uber Alles" are extreme and violent, but also expertly stated and brilliantly executed.

Customer Reviews

Jello's genius
This may be one of the finest debut albums ever made. The Dead Kennedys were without a doubt the finest political punk band and this album shows why. Every track is a killer from the anti-war anthems "Kill the Poor", "When Ya Get Drafted", "Chemical Warfare" and the masterpiece "Holiday In Cambodia" to the teenage authority hating "Forward To Death", "Let's Lynch The Landlord", and "California Uber Alles".
What makes this album special though is the sheer genius of the lyrics. Although the titles don't give much away (in fact they sound retarded) the lyrics are cleverly constructed and observed though sadly overlooked. The instrumentation is also superb. East Bay Ray has the weirdest guitar sound in punk and the drums and bass never miss a beat.
From the beginning right up to the fading guitar chord of "Viva Las Vegas" (their best cover) this is fascinating exhilerating and essential listening. And it isn't even their best album!

..it's a Holiday in Cambodia!
If you're not after an extreme, brilliant, political, classic punk album..stop reading now.

Ok, so for the rest of you .. this album is insane, literally, Jello Biafra (lead vocals) swaps between vicious snarling jabs and barely coherent mumbles...to great effect! He has the 'most punk' voice i've heard after Johnny Rotten(Sex Pistols) the guitar is uplifting but still highly distorted and the bass is perfectly brutal. The songs have some sincere politics in them ('Kill the Poor' is all about the upper class solution to paying welfare tax) and some are just good fun (..'Stealing peoples mail' and 'Let's lynch the landlord' come to mind) ...and the last track 'viva las vegas' is hilarious.
If you're after a really good punk album, or just want to hear the roots of modern day punk, get this..you won't be disappointed. If you want something slightly more modern, ignore all of the stuff you hear about in the charts and check out Mudhoney...they're far more 'punk' than most bands around at the moment.

The finest must brutal punk album
Listen to this album if you dare. Then listen to it again. If you can't stand it then never mind. You will be missing out on one of the most powerful, enlightened and influential bands punk America ever produced. Jello Biafa sings from the heart with a passion like no other. Holiday in Cambodia is one of the greatest songs ever written but very rarely heard on the radio because it's so intense and passionate. There is no other punk band to compare. Almost 30 years on the pure energy still makes you feel alive.