dead kennedys - bedtime for democracy

[neutral knieval]

seems like a pretty universally shit on album but i still like it. despite ridiculousness like rambozo the clown. lie detector, one way ticket to pluto, shrink, cesspools in eden, theres some good stuff on it

[lewdd]

it has its moments but nowhere near the first EP and LP

[xxxMidgexxx]

I'd rather listen to Dio

[patient_ot]

Haven't heard it in a long, long time. I've met people that say they really like it, but yeah, a lot of people do not.

I don't remember liking it too much the last time I heard it over 20 years ago.

My favorite DKs album is Plastic Surgery Disasters.

[JGJR]

I've always liked it, even though I think it's by far their weakest Lp. Part of it is nostalgia, sure, but especially lyrically, it was very on point and ahead of its time just like the rest of their catalog. Favorite DKs album: that is tough, could easily pick any of the 1st 3. I've always loved Frankenchrist and thought it was super underrated.

[version sound]

I don’t think I’ve ever heard it. I stopped buying their records with Plastic Surgery Disasters (in the 80s, at least. I bought a used copy of Frankenchrist 10+ years ago). Plastic Surgery is robably my favorite, but everything before it was pretty great too.

[FormerLurker]

It's not a bad album at all. They really didn't put out any stinkers.

[SamDBL]

It's not a bad album at all. They really didn't put out any stinkers.

[FormerLurker]

I also feel like adding, I've come to have great respect for bands that end it before the whole thing gets old. Put out a few great records and then just stop before they tarnish their body of work. Models for this: Dead Kennedys, Big Boys, Husker Du (just in time), fIREHOSE, Minor Threat

Countermodels include: Black Flag, Bad Religion, COC, the Cure, the Ramones, Slayer.

[lewdd]

I think you could add the Sex Pistols to the first list and The Clash to the second one.

[FormerLurker]

Agreed.

[lewdd]

I am also not a fan of Frankenchrist. Maybe it was because it was such a difference in style for me comparative to the prior releases. Bedtime was at least pretty up tempo hardcore sounding on most songs that I liked.

[the mean]

I love this record.

[jaybird]

I think I listened to this once like 30 years ago and never bothered to revisit... I vaguely remember it being mostly looooooong Jello political rants over fairly forgettable riffs. Based on the comments in this thread, I guess maybe I should revisit....

IIRC, this was a "post-humous" release wasn't it? Like, it actually came out after they had already been broken up for about a year, right?

[SamDBL]

The first song always makes me laugh. I think it’s really good, but it is peak thespian Jello. The whole vibe of it sounds like an aside in some bootleg, amateur community theater musical. Very Waiting For Guffman-esque. Reminds me of this scene, in particular:

[FormerLurker]

I think I listened to this once like 30 years ago and never bothered to revisit... I vaguely remember it being mostly looooooong Jello political rants over fairly forgettable riffs. Based on the comments in this thread, I guess maybe I should revisit....

IIRC, this was a "post-humous" release wasn't it? Like, it actually came out after they had already been broken up for about a year, right?

They decided to break up before recording this. They recorded it, then broke up and never toured behind it. You are correct.

[JGJR]

I am also not a fan of Frankenchrist. Maybe it was because it was such a difference in style for me comparative to the prior releases. Bedtime was at least pretty up tempo hardcore sounding on most songs that I liked.

I get that (and that's partly why it's slept on even now, I think), but I think you can hear where they were going on some of the Plastic Surgery Disasters tunes. It seems like a pretty logical progression to me.

[SamDBL]

The first song always makes me laugh. I think it’s really good, but it is peak thespian Jello. The whole vibe of it sounds like an aside in some bootleg, amateur community theater musical. Very Waiting For Guffman-esque. Reminds me of this scene, in particular:

Fuck. I'm thinking of the first song on Frankenchrist. What a poser. DW,IKWTD.

[version sound]

After relistening to all of the DK LPs today, I have a pretty radical revision of my rankings:

1. Plastic Surgery Disasters - clearly the best
2. Frankenchrist - a logical follow-up of their best record makes it their second best
3. Fresh Fruit/Bedtime For Democracy (TIE) - both have some great songs and a few that are kind of half-baked. BFD gets almost too thrashy at points and FFFRV gets a little too whimsical.

In the end, they are all very good records, so being in the bottom spot by no means indicates that they are bad or substandard, they just aren’t quite as good as the top two.

[FormerLurker]

The first song always makes me laugh. I think it’s really good, but it is peak thespian Jello. The whole vibe of it sounds like an aside in some bootleg, amateur community theater musical. Very Waiting For Guffman-esque. Reminds me of this scene, in particular:

Fuck. I'm thinking of the first song on Frankenchrist. What a poser. DW,IKWTD.

I was wondering WTF you were talking about.

[SamDBL]

The first song always makes me laugh. I think it’s really good, but it is peak thespian Jello. The whole vibe of it sounds like an aside in some bootleg, amateur community theater musical. Very Waiting For Guffman-esque. Reminds me of this scene, in particular:

Fuck. I'm thinking of the first song on Frankenchrist. What a poser. DW,IKWTD.

I was wondering WTF you were talking about.

I have been such a fool.