Dead Kennedysformed in in 1978 when vocalist Jello Biafra(né Eric Boucher) and bassist Klaus Flourideresponded to a magazine ad placed by guitarist East Bay Ray. The three joined with drummer Tedand formed one of the most successful hardcore punkbands of the 80s. The band played hard and fast punk that matched the raw energy of the West-coast scene with twists such as Ray's surf-guitar influences and Jello's nasal machine-gun vocals and political fervor. They released their first single, "California Über Alles", in 1979 and first album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, in 1980 on Jello's own Alternative Tentacles record label. Fresh Fruitis considered a punk classic.
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Potshot Heard Around The World Lyrics
Dead Kennedys
Jello Biafra/East Bay Ray)
Hey!
Yo!
We're the United States Marines
We know you've all been killing each other
For at least two thousand years
But we're here now
To protect the family
Of Christian heroin warlords
Most friendly to the West
So you knock off this fighting
Or we'll tell Mom
Ever notice news
Is taged like TV wrestling shows
With Reagans and Khaddafis cast
As cartoon villains and heroes
Or those wildlife "documentaries"
Where a lion from a zoo
Kills a deer tied down ahead of time
At the perfect camera angle
When lemmings balk at dying for Disney
They're just hurled off the cliff...
We are gathered here today
To take photos of the President
Pretending to mourn these brave young me
Who came home from Beirut
Gift-wrapped in body bags-
A truck bomb blew them to bits
We knew they were sitting ducks
We sacrificed 'em, Aztec style
So we could use their dead meat
To cook up war fever back home
So make sure you take lots of pictures
And slant your news our way
Just like in Wild Kingdom
We first tied down the prey
We want people boiling for revenge
In their living rooms
So we can go play shoot-em-up
Anywhere we choose
And our backers can cash in
Without the public asking questions
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