Praising the Dead

There can't be many albums known purely by their catalogue number, but to mark the ocassion of their one hundredth release, Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles Records decided to announce that fact to the world, so this compilation of Dead Kennedys' tracks by a stunning array of various artists became simply titled Virus 100.

But no mere sampler or greatest hits this, no, this varied and eclectic collection of interpretations of Dead Kennedys' songs is all homage; an extremely worthy celebration and fitting tribute to a greatly influential band; and collectively, the band's have really done 'em proud.

Interestingly, it's the tracks that move furthest away from the original genre that are the real stand out numbers: Faith No More's cajun take on 'Let's Lynch the Landlord'; No Means No's a capella rendition of 'Forward to Death'; Napalm Death's nasty, nasty version of 'Nazi Punks'; Kramer's downbeat take on 'Insight'; and Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy's transformation of 'California Uber Alles' into a classic piece of agit-prop hip hop.

But truthfully, there's not a weak track on here.
I mean, how could there be?
They're all Dead Kennedys' tracks.
Nuff said.

Various Artists - Virus 100 (1992)

Police Truck - Didjits
Too Drunk to Fuck - Evan Jones & His H-Bombs
Halloween - Alice Donut
Let's Lynch the Landlord - Faith No More
Nazi Punks Fuck Off - Napalm Death
Forward to Death - No Means No
Chemical Warfare - Steel Pole Bath Tub
Saturday Night Holocaust - Neurosis
Moon Over Marin - Les Thugs
Ill in the Head - Victims Family
California Uber Alles - Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
Winnebago Warrior - Mojo Nixon & the Toadliquors
Drug Me - Sepultura
Insight - Kramer
Let's Lynch the Landlord - L7
Holiday in Cambodia - Sister Double Happiness

Excellent vinyl rip @320kbs
Celebrate a dynasty here

Raising the Dead

One of the most appalling omissions of my earlier life was not to have caught Dead Kennedys live.

An associate had seen them performing one time in London, supported by Bad Brains!
Man, I hated him for that!
Lucky bastard!

Of course the only time Dead Kennedys get together nowadays - not that I think they should reunite, or do a tour or something; shit, that would be awful - no, the only time they come together now is due to litigation; choosing American court rooms to perform in.
Rock stars, eh?
Despite my connection and alliance in the 1980s with the British Anarcho-Punk scene; occasionally, ideologically, we did fall out.
And despite a distance of near five and a half thousand miles between my place in the world and San Francisco, I far more readily connected with where Biafra was coming from.
His attitude, politics, cynicism, wit and frankness I immediately empathised with.
Provocative rather than preachy; and essentially that was what I really liked; I wasn't being told how to think by Biafra: I was being encouraged to think.

And as a consequence, I think Dead Kennedys were one of the greatest bands to ever have come out of North America.
Still.

I played Plastic Surgery Disasters just a couple of days ago (the inspiration for this post); boy, it didn't half make my Sunday morning go with a bang.
The perfect way to start the day.

So, just felt I had to post some.

Most of the Kennedys' official catalogue is available in one form or another; but this recording is a little obscure.

Originally ripped from a VHS release from 1985 (not by me, although I do still have my own precious copy of the video), the sound quality is pretty good (considerably better - in performance terms as well - than the Decay Records release Mutiny on the Bay from 2001), and it's a set to die for; capturing them at a time before the release of Frankenchrist or Bedtime For Democracy, but a few of the tracks are already there: 'MTV Get Off the Air', 'Macho Rama' and 'Goons of Hazzard' from Frankenchrist, and 'Hop With the Jet Set' and 'Do the Slag' from Bedtime; these snuggle up perfectly with the older DK classics.

The sound does drop out somewhat during the end of 'Bleed For Me' and unfortunately throughout 'Nazi Punks', but does make a recovery for the excellent finale 'We've Got a Bigger Problem Now', their lounge/hardcore version of 'California Uber Alles'.

But despite that two minutes of poor sound quality, this is still a great recording; capturing a band who had just been waiting for 1984 to come along; a band created ultimately for that time; that paranoia; that fear; and they really made the most of it.

Dead Kennedys - Never Been on MTV. Live in San Francisco 1984.

Police Truck
Hop With the Jet Set
A Child and His Lawnmower
Religious Vomit
Do the Slag
Moral Majority
MTV Get Off the Air
Live Sentence
Macho Rama
Goons of Hazzard
Riot
Bleed For Me
Nazi Punks Fuck Off
We've Got a Bigger Problem Now

CD rip to mp3s
Get down with the Dead here