FEATURE:
Second Spin
Dead Kennedys – Bedtime for Democracy
__________
THE final album…
from the San Francisco band, I wanted to shed light on Bedtime for Democracy. Released in November 1986, the album deals with themes such as conformity, Reaganomics, the U.S. military, and critique of the hardcore Punk movement. Maybe not ranked alongside classics such as Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (the band’s debut), I feel Bedtime for Democracy is an album that deserves new light and appreciation. The band split up as the record was released. Even though Bedtime for Democracy is the last album from the band, they did reform in 2001. The new line-up consists of East Bay Ray, Ron ‘Skip’ Greer, D. H. Peligro and Klaus Flouride. Their former lead, Jello Biafra, split from the band following the release of Bedtime for Democracy. It is like looking back at the former life of a band. I am not sure whether they are going to release another album, but it is encouraging to see there is still life in them! Bedtime for Democracy arrived at a moment in the U.S. when Ronald Regan was President; there was a lot of anger towards his foreign and domestic policies. Whilst some applaud his term as President (between 1981 and 1989), there were many more who felt he caused more harm than good. It is unspringing that artists reacted with albums that were quite political and angry. Dead Kennedys’ Bedtime for Democracy still has relevance today. I want to explore a couple of reviews for an album that definitely requires fresh ears and some new appreciation.
In their review, AllMusic had this to say about one of the strongest albums of 1986. They note how, whilst not their strongest album, the band do go out with a bang and sense of purpose and anger:
“The Dead Kennedys go out in a blaze of snarling, defiant glory in their final studio release. They drub a bushel basket's worth of entrenched interests, including scientists, the military, the power hungry, macho attitudes, classicism, lie detectors, Reagan and his economic policies, the press, the entertainment industry, and the commercialization of rock and revolutionary attitudes. The album's manic speed punk style recalls In God We Trust Inc., particularly on the frenetic cover of Johnny Paycheck's hit "Take This Job and Shove It." When the tempo slows, a few songs resemble frantic rockabilly; of these, "Hop With the Jetset" lampoons the privileged classes, "I Spy" savages government agents, and "Where Do Ya Draw the Line" is a plea in favor of anarchy. The quiet, furtive "D.M.S.O." is a highly atypical number strongly resembling the theme to The Pink Panther. The lengthy, anthemic "Cesspools in Eden" is a hard rock number with unusual chord changes and lyrics railing against toxic waste; similarly, "Chickenshit Conformist" alternates slow and hyperfast sections and sports wide-ranging verses that constitute a scathing indictment of the rock music industry. As usual, the rushed hardcore numbers often garble or swallow up the well-written lyrics (if you want people to follow you into revolution, your ideas need to be intelligible). The album cover sports witheringly disparaging artwork; also included in this release are two muckraking newspapers, one containing clip art, and the other written articles about the obscenity trial embroiling the band at that point. While it's not totally successful, at least the Dead Kennedys had the satisfaction of going out on their own terms. It's all well worth hearing”.
I think Bedtime for Democracy is an album people should spend a bit of time with. This is Punk News’ tale on a fitting and fierce final studio album (or is it?) from Dead Kennedys:
“By the time their final studio album, Bedtime for Democracy, was released in November 1986, the Dead Kennedys were no longer a band. They announced their breakup in January, and played their final show (at least with Jello on vocals) in February. The title of the album was a play on the 1951 Ronald Reagan film, Bedtime for Bonzo. The album expanded on musical and lyrical themes the band had previously worked in, and would do so successfully.
The opening song, was a cover, of the David Allen Coe song “Take This Job and Shove It” which given the bands dissolution at the start of year, was likely a not so tongue in cheek nod to their decision to no longer be a band. While the song was, and still is, unlikely to appeal to David Allen Coe’s core audience; it was able to become a favorite for some Dead Kennedy’s fans and they certainly were able to show how elements of outlaw country and punk rock can make solid bed fellows. Given the breakdown that occurred between Jello Biafra and the other members of the band in the decades to come, the song now reads like a tongue in cheek statement on Jello’s behalf.
Coming off a trial for obscene album art, for the H.R. Giger insert for Frankenchrist, some may have wondered what the band was getting at with the song “Rambozo the Clown.” As it was a critique of the violent imagery found in many 1980’s action films. This is where the band walked the fine line between punk rock outrage and a more intellectual outlook on issues such as this. The band wasn’t saying these films should not exist, but rather stating films that suggest over the top violent action films being used to help define masculinity were dangerous. As was, and still is, the case with many Dead Kennedys songs the songs would come to reflect the culture and remain relevant in conversations of not only modern punk society, but American society as a whole. And while the term “toxic masculinity” is likely unsettling to some, in contemporary terms that’s what this song was about, when violent or otherwise harmful behavior becomes interchangeable with the term masculine.
The band would also begin to examine punk culture as they made their exit from it. Songs like “Chickenshit Conformist” along with “Anarchy for Sale” would not only touch on the punk scene becoming more intellectually mainstream but also the tourist nature some people coming into the punk scene were taking on. It would be easy to simplify this down to a simple word, such as poser, but that wouldn’t be doing the songs justice. The scene had begun to attract the attention of people who would have previously been at odds with the punks. This isn’t to say jocks, but definitely people who were drawn to the scene not because it challenged societal norms. But, rather they were drawn to the scene because of the nihilism and violence that came with those challenges, without any of the intellectual sacrifices that fueled those feelings.
Jello also goes after his normal targets in the form of Ronald Reagan, Reaganomics, the government as a whole, citizen’s privacy rights, and machismo. Given how accurate the predictive nature of his lyrics were, and the tinges of psychedelia, metal, rockabilly, surf rock, and straight ahead hardcore the band delved into on this album, the fact it ended up being their last proper album, truly is a shame. While Jello Biafra would continue to make strong albums both inside and outside the umbrella of punk, neither Jello nor the band would ever recapture the magic they had when they were playing together.
Even with all that heaping praise in mind, the measure of classic album is that album’s lasting influence and not the band that produced it. Nobody will ever be able to dispute the influence this band had, but when you ask people to name their favorite Dead Kennedys’ songs or you see a band cover one of their songs live. You’ll find those songs are rarely off of this album. Perhaps that’s because the band’s previous albums garnered so much attention. Perhaps, it was a band getting their last gasp of life in and using it to try as many things as they could. Whatever caused, Dead Kennedys will always be a classic punk rock band, however that did not and does not make this a classic punk rock album”.
If you are new to Dead Kennedys or have not heard Bedtime for Democracy, I would urge you to give it a listen. It did not get the strong reviews that it should have (not from everyone at least). Although the band did produce stronger albums earlier in their career, the magnificent Bedtime for Democracy is…
A really solid album.