Now to totally shift gears and give a brutally honest music review that won't be sugarcoated with my usual rhetoric, I present to you "Frankenchrist", possibly the best worst Dead Kennedys album. Not that the Dead Kennedys have released a bad record, they just have had plenty of bad songs and on this album and "Bedtime For Democracy" they seem to have them in higher concentration. One thing on "Frankenchrist" that does get to me is that some of the arrangements on some of the songs seem slapped together, kinda like a poorly planned sleeve tattoo..."MTV Get Off The Air" and "Jock O Rama" are probably the most guilty of this. The music here is very "experimental" and while I give them credit for breaking away from the traditional hardcore mold and incorporating musically progressive traits, it doesn't work all the time and we are left with some very poorly executed songs...I fucking hated "At My Job" and the aforementioned two for this reason. I am not going to vomit up anything even remotely critical of Jello's lyrics. He always delivers the same scathing remarks critical of both punk and politics (both ends, even though he's a liberal). He's always had a knack for calling everyone out on their bullshit with his satirical, nasally and borderline annoying vocals. To sum everything up: good album with some bad songs. Some songs drag on forever and could have benefited with some massive trimming. I always thought it would be cool to do a one off crust band and make a cover album of this and call it "Frankencrust"...Kinda take the slower, sludgier appeal of Amebix and apply it here. If anyone is up to that, I'm down. Anyways, I'll shut up, everyone has a different opinion on this record. I love and hate it. Fuck it, just enjoy!
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1. Soup Is Good Food
2. Hellnation
3. This Could Be Anywhere
4. A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch
5. Chicken Farm
6. Jock O Rama
7. Goons Of Hazzard
8. MTV Get Off The Air
9. At My Job
10. Stars And Stripes Of Corruption
Click The Pic To Download:
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1 comment:
Thank you. I like this album a lot more now than when I first heard it in 1985. I agree it is their weakest, but it still has glimmers of excellence. I think the next album, Bedtime for Democracy was a pretty good album, but a lot of people gave up on the DKs after Frankenchrist and never bothered to check it out. Perhaps you should post Bedtime For Democracy next for those who never got around to it.
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