Stars and Stripes of Corruption
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for themselves rather than obediently follow the dictates of the church and the
government. The band was conspiracy-obsessed to a fault, but in so doing, posed
vexing questions about governmental abuse of authority and clandestine activities
involving America’s presence in Central America, the Middle East, and elsewhere
in the world. And probably more so than any other punk rock band, Dead
Kennedys was brutally fank about the growing chasm between the haves and
have-nots of society—a gap that reflected the urgent need to dismantle a corrupt
and unjust system of Darwinistic capitalism and replace it with a system of
humane socialism.
Despite the fact that the punk rock movement ultimately unraveled and
three members of Dead Kennedys ended up suing Jello Biafra for allegedly
shortchanging them on royalties and mismanaging record sales (Chandler,
Arizona Tribune, 1998, D2), the group left behind a body of political protest
songs that represented a direct challenge to status quo America and established
their reputation as this country’s foremost “thinking person’s” punk band.
University Affiliation
Dennis Russell
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