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Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is the debut album by Dead Kennedys, released in 1980 through Jello Biafra's own Alternative Tentacles record label in the US, and Cherry Red Records in the UK. The best selling, certainly the best known, and generally the most critically aclaimed album by the Dead Kennedys, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables has become a major staple of American punk, a starting point for political punk. Although musical categories are difficult to define, many music historians also believe this to be the first hardcore punk album.

Although the raw production and strident assault have dated slightly, Jello Biafra's strong leftist statements on songs such as "Kill the Poor" and "California Über Alles", launched the Dead Kennedys into the political arena. It has been widely reported that this caused right-wing Christians and politicians to consider the Dead Kennedys "the most dangerous band in the world", although whether this is a direct quote is debatable.

Musically, Fresh Fruit laid the blueprint for future Kennedy's releases: loud, noisy, fast, but with a sense of dynamics and musical individualism. The surf and rockabilly-inspired riffs owe something to the Ramones' most influential recordings, drawing from early American AM pop and rehashing it in the immediate, aggressive context of punk rock. The lyrics lend a significant bite to the breakthrough of the already strident (yet suprisingly catchy) musical assault.

Track listing

1. "Kill the Poor" (Biafra/Ray) - 3:07
2. "Forward to Death" (6025) - 1:23
3. "When Ya Get Drafted" (Biafra) - 1:23
4. "Let's Lynch the Landlord" (Biafra) - 2:13
5. "Drug Me" (Biafra) - 1:56
6. "Your Emotions" (Ray) - 1:20
7. "Chemical Warfare" (Biafra) - 2:58
8. "California Über Alles" (Biafra/Greenway) - 3:03
9. "I Kill Children" (Biafra) - 2:04
10. "Stealing People's Mail" (Biafra) - 1:34
11. "Funland at the Beach" (Biafra) - 1:49
12. "Ill in the Head" (6025/Biafra) - 2:46
13. "Holiday in Cambodia" (Dead Kennedys) - 4:37
14. "Viva Las Vegas" (Pomus/Schuman) - 2:42

Personnel

• 6025 - Guitar on "Ill in the Head"
• Oliver Dicicco - Engineer
• East Bay Ray - Guitar, Production Assistance
• Jello Biafra - Vocals
• Klaüs Fluoride - Bass, Vocals
• Ninotchka - Keyboard on Drug Me
• Norm - Producer
• Porky - Mastering
• Paul Roessler - Keyboards on "Drug Me" and "Stealing Peoples' Mail"
• Rocky Mountain Arsenal Choir - Clubhouse Scene on "Chemical Warfare"
• Ted - Drums

External links

• Lyrics for Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

• Dead Kennedys albums
• 1980 albums
• Alternative Tentacles albums
• Debut albums