One of the most tragic things in the evolution of "punk" music is the villianization of Jello Biafra in the 90's, which culminated in his beating at Gilman a few years ago. What today's elitist MRR types seem to forget is that Jello and his troupe of mad musicians were responsible for originally pushing an envelope or two back in the true formative years of punk. Too many punks seem to think punk is a lifestyle where either you are blitzed all the time or a ever-vague collection of ethics and ideals that apply to whatever situation at hand. Jello, on the other hand, is one who talked and talk and (most importantly) walked the walk. Though DK's music isn't something that has always appealed to me in the same way as other bands of the era, it's the fact that Jello had something to say and was not afraid to knock down all the walls in his way, whether they be political or paradigms of the times. When these two albums came out, they were definitely on the edge, as were many of bands of the era (Minutemen, Black Flag, Husker Du, Meat Puppets). Why Jello was singled out by the cultural fascists at MRR and cast as a "sell-out" is beyond me. Listening to these two albums along with his more recent output with Lard shows that while he has matured over the past two decades, his insights and knowledge are just that much more evident.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 07/1998

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