Song of the Day: Dead Kennedys “Kinky Sex Makes The World Go Round”

Right or wrong my world view was shaped by bands like the Dead Kennedys. Without addressing the elephant in the room I will just say I have a very pessimistic view of politics. True, in my older years I have come to believe that maybe not everything about the world news isn’t some nefarious plot against humanity. That maybe many politicians are just humans in places of power, guilty of falling to the whims of the defects of character that we all have: self-centeredness, ignorance, arrogance, etc. But then again… here’s a punk rock song.

Dead Kennedys were founded in San Francisco, CA in 1978. The band were one of the first American hardcore bands and courted both a committed fan base and controversy through their initial run, which concluded in 1986. The band revolved around the access of songwriter/surf-guitar aficionado East Bay Ray and the vocalist/ lyricist/ provocateur in chief Jello Biafra, along with the rhythm section of Klaus Fluoride and D.H. Peligro. The band fused played incredibly hard and incredible fast punk rock with a strong political edge, with songs dealing with everything from class politics, Yuppies, current events in California and the wider context of Reagan’s America. Always willing to insert themselves into controversy, the group was the target of multiple obscenity trials (including one around album art that proved particularly notorious). Internal tensions within the band eventually soared between Biafra and the other members, resulting in Biafra staking out a solo career in both music and spoken word recordings. The remaining members of Dead Kennedys eventually reformed the group (sans Biafra) reformed the group and have toured consistently since 2001.