Customer Reviews

In the Grip of Official Treason

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In Australia, just for comedy, we sometimes watch the American Cable TV News, a thinly disguised propaganda campaign. Other times we have the comedy option of the American `Real Life' Police shows, also a hysterical option. We see the victimless `crimes' be treated like they matter. It's like the callous humour of watching an epileptic fit or an intellectually handicapped person be confused by a vending machine but, nonetheless, amusing. Like really, who would bother going to a Mardi gras where the Police want to enforce Draconian laws regarding `decency' in an environment and time set aside for consenting party behaviour or getting a plainclothed Police officer to solicit for prostitution (illegal out here) to trap `criminals' etc? As if bare skin or fun time public adult behaviour are more important issues than Homelessness, Education, Public Health, Aged Care, Soldiers blown to bits for the Corporate gain etc. From outside it looks like the land of the free to be repressed manipulated and degraded by those who would like to make the constituents a compliant subservient group of minions. Sadly we in Australia have a democracy where our current Head of State is nowadays referred to as `Bonsai' (a small Bush) so we are probably now the junior laughingstock by association.

It's a little harder to laugh at the US murder/suicide rate, the STD and pregnancy rate in the youth (as punishment for `wayward' youth kept ignorant in the hard line support of religious based values from a century or two ago) or the human cost of there not being a Society Sponsored Health or Housing minimum standard guaranteed for every citizen of the society. These are social responsibilities even many much poorer Countries provide their citizenship as basic Human Rights.

Thank God for Jello Biafra, he helps restore our faith that not all hope is lost. We here also suffer the problems of our Corporate manipulated Media, diet, lifestyle etc trying to dumb us down to the same level of stupidity and we are embarrassed by our Government trying to follow America's immoralities against the wishes of the majority, so we are not ready to laugh too hard.

The further removed one is from it all the more it's harder to distinguish Western culture from the cultures it demonizes. I can hardly tell the difference between our `righteous god fearing societies' and China, Afghanistan or Iraq. We are no different and every innocent life in one of our countries is as worthy and valuable as any innocent life in any other part of the world, none of our values deserve any more respect or adherence than any other value which does not interfere with any other's right to the same. I daresay kids are safer going to school in Beirut than many of our societies. We also did nothing about Chile. (Their problem was they had Olive Oil, not crude oil.) We also do nothing about Tibet, if the 2008 Olympics were to be held in Iraq would we send a team? etc

This is a great listen and it's good to hear someone willing to go on the record speaking facts. Many will not be comfortable with passion and facts, two traits they will find here-this is normal when one isn't accustomed to hearing them. In Australia we live in the shadow of much of what Jello Biafra speaks, we are not blameless and suffer much of the same shame and small mindedness. Happily we can also learn the same lessons and ultimately hopefully we will all work towards a Community, Society, Country and World where everyone can be who they are freely if it doesn't interfere with anyone else's right to the same and even if we violently disagree, we would all still fight to the death for the other's right to be, feel and believe whatever they want. Let's mobilize, let's wage Peace on everyone who would stand in our way!!

Cheers

Lloyd

Jello hits it right on yet again. His spoken word CD's should have titles like "Politics for dummies", "How not to fall under the corporate spell", and "How many dead people will be enough to quench the blood thirst of the Bush administration"... Sick of the religious right and other hypocrites are you? Interested in the truth? Want to destroy the decaying corrupt state? This one is for you. Great listen, as always.

Another great set from Jello, 3 discs of impassioned ranting-- as always, he offers SOLOUTIONS to the problems he talks about. I admire his thoughts and opinions greatly.

I've noticed many "drop-outs" on this set, instances where the audio just drops-out during a word. I don't know if this is present on the original/master tapes, or if I just have a faluty pressing, but be aware that this exists on at least one copy.

Overall if you are looking for a tonic to the ills that surround us daily, a soothing balm to the constant stream of bullsh** coming at us from both the White House and the 'official' media... give this a spin or two. Listening to this might just convince you that you're NOT alone, and NOT insane.

You know what you're getting here - more of Jello's elucidations, spiffed up and spruced up with the latest signs of the times*. If Michael Moore excels at bringing his ideas to the screen, Jello excels at bringing his passion and views to your ears. It's always a joy to hear him get pissed and to get pissed right along with him, and I will dearly miss his GWB impersonation when Bushie Junior is finally out of office. Let's hope he doesn't have to practice his Jeb impersonation anytime soon. An excellent album with great artwork, 5 stars. However! The guy playing the calliope during track 2 needs his nipples wired to a car battery, it's annoying as hay ell!

(* grains of salt not included)

Thanks Jello for continuing to spread the word good naturedly. I hope generations to come continue to listen intently with BS detectors firmly in place. If nothing else Jello is always entertaining, fair(not balanced); but has a grasp of how to treat an audience. No macho posturing contained herein; just satire(along the same vein as a Troubletown comic), and an interest in making the world a nicer place to live in. Not for those lacking an ironic sense of humor however. Please listeners and reviewers do not take every bit or line liternally.

All right, I love Biafra, I love his ranting. But this time around, I wasn't more than 20 minutes into the first disc when I started thinking hey, I've heard this before. Hell, I've thought this before. I mean the material created itself--Biafra just had to get the order and the delivery straight. I'm looking forward to the next spoken word (which hasn't been announced) that will (I hope) bridge the gaping maw between the topics covered on Treason to now.

Hi. I'm Jello Biafra, former Dead Kennedys frontman.

I haven't had many original musical ideas since "Frankenchrist," so I whine and harangue about evil Republicans for hours on end so that people will think I'm still important.