Classic Album of late 70s Punk Social Commentary

 Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables 

by Michael Steward Foley

Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables by Brett Jordan CC BY 2.0

Gilui, CC BY-SA 2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons

I really enjoyed this exploration of the Dead Kennedys’ first album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. When I was younger, just the name The Dead Kennedys was so shocking, but once I started listening to their music, I absolutely loved it. While the themes are punk rock and some of the songs are punk, DK had such a unique sound, blending surf rock reverb guitars with lead singer Jello Biafria’s witty and acerbic social commentary. They were such a unique take on music, and I’m glad that 33 1/3 explored one of their albums. I’m not sure if I would have done this one—maybe Frankenchrist, especially with the controversy surrounding HR Geiger’s painting, or my personal favorite Plastic Surgery Disasters. Regardless, Foley’s book and research are excellent and help readers better understand the context in which this album arose, musically, socially, and politically. I think that Foley’s book is one that examines multiple elements of the album’s creation, and doesn’t merely examine the technical aspects of the album. Rather, we get a real sense of what San Francisco was like in the late 1970s, including the racial and economic tensions that arose and gave rise to many of the themes in Fresh Fruit’s songs (“Let’s Lynch the Landlord”, “Kill the Poor”, “California Uber Alles”). It was interesting to learn that Diane Fienstein was the mayor of San Fran during the time that the album was made, and that many of her policies and practices were regressive and oppressive. Foley’s research and analysis of the historical and political context of the Bay Area of this time provides great insight into DK’s music and lyrical content, as well as understanding how punk music from the Bay Area arose and differed from the So Cal punk of Black Flag. I also really enjoyed learning more about the kind of artistic vision and thinking that went into the band and its album design. Beyond their music, the DK’s artwork and visual design, whether its their iconic logo, collages, flyers or posters, heavily contributed to their voice and message. This book explores some of the band’s thinking about the images and fonts used in their design, as well as Jello Biafria’s use of collage to convey some of their messages. This book is a great text to understanding an exceptional and important album, as well as better understanding the time period that helped to inform the punk movement and birthed one of its unique voices.