Douglas Laman Gets A Tune-Up (Entry #7): Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys

DOUGLAS LAMAN GETS A TUNE-UP

ENTRY #7:  Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables by Dead Kennedys

Douglas Laman Gets A Tune-Up is a series of essays wherein Douglas Laman listens to an album of music he's never fully listened to before (though he may have heard one or two songs from it) and writes up his brief thoughts on it.

Like any human being whose lived on planet of Earth in the past few decades, I've been aware of the punk music scene for most of my life but I had minimal exposure to actual pieces of music belonging to that genre until this was decided as the next entry in this column. Considering how much acclaim the Dead Kennedys have received over the years, they seemed like as good of an entry point to the punk music scene as any potential band. Plus, the album's title, Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, certainly caught my eye, and luckily,  it isn't just the title of this album that is likely to call your attention as the tracks contained within have plenty that'll capture your eye and mind.


In my last entry in this column that covered The Clash by The Clash, I extensively covered how The Clash's music was very much an extended dedication to the concept of rebellion. Dead Kennedys isn't just in keeping with that theme, it basically takes the entire notion of rebelling against authority and any semblance of restraint to a whole new level. Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables is nothing short of a rage-soaked middle finger to society itself with its song titles alone begging passerby's to be overcome in shocked anger. Track titles like Kill The Poor, Let's Lynch The Landlord and I Kill Children may sound like songs belonging to a band that epitomizes the concept of trying too hard edginess, but in fact, they're merely the monikers given to some incredibly engaging music.

Right from the get-go with Kill The Poor, the vocals of Jello Biafra (who also wrote the majority of the songs on the album) come roaring in a quick as lightning fashion as Biafra's unleashes a steady stream of unbridled rage and frustration onto the listener with an instrumental accompaniment that matches all of that vexation in Biafra's vocals. Oh man, there's such amazing moments in this song where the instrumental accompaniment and vocals work in beautiful harmony, most notably in the final chorus where the raging guitar and Biafra's frantic delivery of "KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL THE POOR" synchronize to create a fusion of high-octane angst.

The next song on the album, Forward To Death, continues the albums pervasive sense of anger at the world by having Biafra bellows twice about how "I don't need this fucking world". This track establishes a recurring trait throughout the album that finds many of these songs being short in length, with Forward To Death running 83 seconds in total. It's an intriguing and bold decision (one that apparently is common in the world of punk music) that works to the album's favor as a steady vibe of indignation that might have lost its impact in a longer tune is instead successfully maintained over the course of these bite-size tastes of anarchic rebelliousness.

While the album certainly contains songs whose runtimes are similar as well as a universal theme of raging against the standards society, Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables is by no means a repetitive album on an auditory level. Actually, one of the best things about this collection of tunes is how much variety in the types of vocals or instrumental accompaniments can be found in individual tracks. For instance, one of the standout tunes, Drug Me, has Biafra engaging in extremely speedy vocals that make him sound like Road Runner got addicted to the punk scene. These hyperactive vocals successful convey an omnipresent frantic nature that feels appropriate for the subject of the song who only finds solace in the constant use of drugs.

The Dead Kennedys sure do know how to keep things unpredictable so their music constantly packs a wallop. Even a song like Chemical Warfare whose anxiety-soaked vocals feel akin to Drug Me still very much carry their own personality. The same can be said for their button-pushing music, which avoids falling into the trap of becoming something like Family Guy where there's no real point to this "edgy" material beyond it just being edgy for edgy sake. Instead, a tune about murdering children (boy, between this and Rick & Morty, what is it with all the kids dying in my pop culture lately??) becomes bizarrely enjoyable to listen to thanks to smart and well-crafted vocals that, upon doing research on the song, have a satirical bent to them meant as a criticism of the United States and some incredibly talented instrumental accompaniment. The point is clear here; The Dead Kennedys are taking up the chance to harmonize about taboo and heinous acts in order to find a channel through which they can filter their own music-encased rage at certain real-life problems, a rage that is felt by so many across the planet.

By the time we come to the end as The Dead Kennedys put their own unique spin on Elvis Presley's Viva Las Vegas (great reindition of that song too, by the way) it's become clear what kind of musicians these guys are. The Dead Kennedys are a punk band who know no boundaries either in what topics they cover in their music nor in what kind of new artistic frontiers their music may soar to next. It's an incredible album to experience, one that fills your head with sharply written lyrics and unforgettable guitar playing. Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables is a great introduction to the punk scene for yours truly as well as just an amazing album for any genre of music.