Happy Birthday to Jello Biafra (born Eric Reed Boucher) He turned the ripe old age of 52 yesterday. Perhaps the one band that scared my folks the most during my punk rock/ new wave angsty teenage years. Of course it could have been a number of posters hanging on my wall that freaked them out - kajagoogoo, bauhaus, x, devo, black flag, oingo boingo, joy division, new order, crass, xymox, ziggy stardust, public image ltd... ad nauseam. Since my folks both read this blog, I will have to let them speak to that.
I will say for the Dead Kennedys however, they not only had a clever name and logo but they also changed punk rock in this country. Their lyrics, well most of them, were thoughtful and political. They gave a specific, angry, smart, sarcastic, humorous voice to the frustrations many of us felt back then. His main criticism was the birth of the ME generation that was spawned after the death of the Kennedys.
Jello is now a spoken word artist and a green party activist, in the 2000 presidential race, he finished 2nd to Ralph Nader for the Green party's nomination.
My favorite album was the ahead of its time, "Plastic Surgery Disasters". So, have yourselves a nice weekend, I leave you with some lyrics from "Terminal Preppie".
No, I'm not here to learn
I just want to get drunk
And major in business
And be taught how to f&@k
woo!
I just want to get drunk
And major in business
And be taught how to f&@k
woo!
© James Worrell, circa 1985 in Omaha, NE
