Frankenchrist
Encyclopedia
Frankenchrist is the third album released by the American hardcore punk
band Dead Kennedys
in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles
.
The album was a subject of controversy because of a poster inserted in the original record sleeve. The poster, H. R. Giger
's Landscape #XX, or Penis Landscape
, was a painting depicting rows of penises and vulvas. The band was brought to trial for distributing harmful matter to minors, and though the case did not result in a conviction, Jello Biafra
's Alternative Tentacles
was driven almost to bankruptcy. Only through the support of fans was the label able to stay alive. Biafra gained attention as a champion of free speech, and was subsequently one of the most active opponents of the Parents Music Resource Center
. The cover itself depicts a Shriners parade.
The album is an example of the progressive, psychedelic side of the Kennedys' musical personality. The spaghetti western
soundtrack influence is also noticeable in the horn parts and in East Bay Ray
's atmospheric guitar work. Frankenchrist is noted for its relative lack of traditionally 'hardcore' material. Most of the songs are slower and longer than the majority of other Dead Kennedys songs. "M.T.V. − Get off the Air" is notable for its pointed slam of the music establishment and "Stars and Stripes of Corruption" for its exegesis of Biafra's political philosophies.
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band became part of the American hardcore punk movement of the early 1980s. They gained a large underground fanbase in the international punk music scene....
in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
.
The album was a subject of controversy because of a poster inserted in the original record sleeve. The poster, H. R. Giger
H. R. Giger
Hans Rudolf "Ruedi" Giger is a Swiss surrealist painter, sculptor, and set designer. He won an Academy Award for Best Achievement for Visual Effects for his design work on the film Alien.-Early life:...
's Landscape #XX, or Penis Landscape
Penis Landscape
Penis Landscape, or Work 219: Landscape XX is a painting by H. R. Giger. Created in 1973, airbrushed acrylic on paper-covered wood, it measures 70 x 100 centimetres. It depicts a number of penises entering vaginas. One is wearing a condom...
, was a painting depicting rows of penises and vulvas. The band was brought to trial for distributing harmful matter to minors, and though the case did not result in a conviction, Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
's Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles
Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...
was driven almost to bankruptcy. Only through the support of fans was the label able to stay alive. Biafra gained attention as a champion of free speech, and was subsequently one of the most active opponents of the Parents Music Resource Center
Parents Music Resource Center
The Parents Music Resource Center was an American committee formed in 1985 with the goal of increasing parental control over the access of children to music deemed to be violent, have drug use or be sexual.The committee was founded by four women: Tipper Gore, wife of Senator and later Vice...
. The cover itself depicts a Shriners parade.
The album is an example of the progressive, psychedelic side of the Kennedys' musical personality. The spaghetti western
Spaghetti Western
Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
soundtrack influence is also noticeable in the horn parts and in East Bay Ray
East Bay Ray
Raymond John Pepperell , better known by his stage name East Bay Ray is a guitarist best-known for his membership in the San Francisco Bay area-based punk band Dead Kennedys...
's atmospheric guitar work. Frankenchrist is noted for its relative lack of traditionally 'hardcore' material. Most of the songs are slower and longer than the majority of other Dead Kennedys songs. "M.T.V. − Get off the Air" is notable for its pointed slam of the music establishment and "Stars and Stripes of Corruption" for its exegesis of Biafra's political philosophies.
Track listing
- All songs written by Jello BiafraJello BiafraJello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
except when stated.
- "Soup Is Good Food" – 4:18
- "Hellnation" (D.H. Peligro) – 2:22
- "This Could Be Anywhere (This Could Be Everywhere)" – 5:24
- "A Growing Boy Needs His LunchA Growing Boy Needs His Lunch"A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch" is track four of Dead Kennedys' 1985 album Frankenchrist. Jello Biafra's lyrics present an America more interested in the purchase of garish knick-knacks and celebrity worship than in solving actual problems, which Biafra uses as a springboard to criticise the...
" – 5:50 - "Chicken Farm" – 5:06
- "Jock-O-Rama (Invasion of the Beef Patrol)Jock-O-Rama (Invasion of the Beef Patrol)"Jock-O-Rama" is Track 6 of the 1985 Dead Kennedys album Frankenchrist. With lyrics by lead singer Jello Biafra, it is an indictment of high school organized sports, focusing specifically on the win-at-all-costs mentality placed upon the players of American football...
" – 4:06 - "Goons of Hazzard" (East Bay RayEast Bay RayRaymond John Pepperell , better known by his stage name East Bay Ray is a guitarist best-known for his membership in the San Francisco Bay area-based punk band Dead Kennedys...
, Jello Biafra) – 4:25 - "M.T.V. - Get off the Air" – 3:37
- "At My Job" (East Bay Ray) – 3:41
- "Stars and Stripes of Corruption" – 6:23
Credits
- Jello BiafraJello BiafraJello Biafra is an American musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party of the United States. Biafra first gained attention as the lead singer and songwriter for San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys...
- lead vocals, producer, mixer - East Bay RayEast Bay RayRaymond John Pepperell , better known by his stage name East Bay Ray is a guitarist best-known for his membership in the San Francisco Bay area-based punk band Dead Kennedys...
- guitar, synthesizer, bellzouki, acoustic guitar in "MTV - Get off the Air" - Klaus FlourideKlaus FlourideGeoffrey Lyall , better known as Klaus Flouride, is best known as the bassist for the San Francisco, California, punk rock band Dead Kennedys from the group's inception in June 1978 until the band's break-up in December 1986, although he also produced four solo albums during the 1980s and...
- bass, backing vocals - D.H. Peligro - drums, backing vocals
- John Leib - trumpet on "MTV - Get Off The Air"
- Tim Jones - keyboards on "A Growing Boy Needs His Lunch"
- Nina T.R. Stapleton - backing vocals
- Laura T.R. Muetz - backing vocals
- Julie Hoffman - backing vocals
- Susan Caldwell - backing vocals
- Danielle Dunlap - backing vocals
- Robyn Lutz - backing vocals
- Kris Carleson - backing vocals
- Steve DePace - backing vocals
- Wild Bill - backing vocals
- Sweet - backing vocals
- Wee Willy Lipat - backing vocals
- Microwave - backing vocals
- Gary Floyd - backing vocals
- Eugene Robinson - backing vocals
- Jeff Davis - backing vocals
- John Cuniberti - engineer, mixer
- Winston SmithWinston Smith (artist)Winston Smith is an artist who primarily uses the medium of collage. He is probably best known for the artwork he has produced for the American punk rock group Dead Kennedys...
- artwork