Dead Kennedys 1980 Vintage Punk Rock Album “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables”
$
56
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Description
This is the Dead Kennedys' debut studio album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. It is a highly influential album in American punk rock.
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining bands of the American punk scene during its initial eight-year run.
Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing political figures and authority in general, as well as popular culture and even the punk movement itself. During their initial incarnation between 1978 and 1986, they attracted considerable controversy for their provocative lyrics and artwork. Several stores refused to stock their recordings, provoking debate about censorship in rock music; in the mid-1980s, vocalist and primary lyricist Jello Biafra became an active campaigner against the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). This culminated in an obscenity trial between 1985 and 1986, which resulted in a hung jury and also hastened the band's demise.
The album was originally released on September 2, 1980 with only a little over 700 produced.
The cover art features an image of burning police cars, taken from the "White Night Riots" in San Francisco in 1979. The riots occurred after former city supervisor Dan White received a light sentence for the murders of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.
The original back cover features a found photograph of an old lounge band called Sounds of Sunshine, with Dead Kennedys' logo pasted onto the drum kit and skulls and crossbones spliced onto their instruments.
The original photograph, as found by Flouride at a garage sale, had no identifying remarks on it whatsoever, and was used because the band thought it was "hilarious". Somehow, Warner Wilder, the former vocalist of the defunct lounge band, learned of the photo and threatened to sue Dead Kennedys.
The back cover was reprinted with the heads of the band members cut off, but this solution was found to be unsatisfactory to Sounds of Sunshine, forcing an entirely different photo of four old people in a living room. This album depicts the original photograph as identified above.
This album includes a mint condition poster with iconic printings. See photographs.
Great addition to any punk rock fan collection as this band was the true definition for punk rock music in the United States.
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