Customer Reviews

Plastic Surgery Disasters / In God We Trust Inc.

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

This is my favorite Dead Kennedy's release. I will side-step the DK's current soap opera for a moment to review this disc. First of all, the Dead Kennedys were probably one of the most well-round, musically talented bands to emerge from the punk scene in the early '80's. East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride, and D.H. Peligro were some of the best musicians ever to be called punk rock. No one else sounded like the Dead Kennedys. The "In God We Trust, Inc." EP was the DK's nod to DC-style hardcore. Its filled with hyperspeed jams that, unlike much of the hardcore that was emerging, is filled with great riffs and, despite the speed, just a great sense of what makes a good song,not just simple 3 chord verses and sing-along chorus. The jazz into to "We Got A Bigger Problem Now". "Plastic Surgery Disasters" is again filled with hyperspeed thrash, but its also tempered with influences of surf (especially "Moon Over Marin") and spaghetti western music (just listen to "Winnebago Warrior"). The fact that the group wrote much of this album as a whole is probably to a big reason for that. All throughout, Jello Biafra's lyrics are smart and funny.

Please, people, don't kill yourself trying to find a used Alternative Tentacles version, it's just not worth the time. The music is still awesome, no matter WHAT label it's on. This is the 2nd best DK album, right behind Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables.

This is a really good album to get if you're new to the DKs. It's extremely diverse, ranging from long, slowed-down punk opuses ("Moon Over Marin", "I am the owl") to extreme hardcore 1-minute-or-less songs ("Religious Vomit", "Moral Majority"). As always, Jello's lyrics are absolutely divine, targeting everything from organized religion ("Moral Majority") to fear of self-expression ("Halloween"). If you're into punk/hardcore and you don't own any DK albums, you don't know what you're missing. Or, if you're into the DKs and you don't own this, you should definitely pick it up. The only DK record that tops this is Fresh Fruit.

The DKs are my favorite punk band of all time and I highly recommend this album.

Well, first I want to say that this whole thing with people saying not to buy this because it's not on Alternative Tentacles and because Jello was sued by the other 3 members is getting really annoying. I do feel for Jello, believe me, I do! I also think it's sleazy that the three ex-kennedys sued so they could put songs into a commercial and a video game. But please, try to be a little open-minded here. I have all the Dead Kennedys cd's on Manifesto. Why? Because I'm a corporate sellout who wants to destroy music? NO! Because the Alternative Tentacles versions are out of print and I don't see why I should have to search the globe for used copies when I can find perfectly good versions in a music store right across the street from where I work. It shouldn't matter what record label it's on, it's still the same great music. You still have the angry thrash fury of Government Flu, Well Paid Scientist, and Riot. You still have the venomous sarcasm of Bleed For Me, Halloween, and I Am The Owl. You still have the soaring beauty of Moon Over Marin. You also still have the fiery hardcore of the In God We Trust Inc. ep. So please quit being so whiny and self-righteous and let people buy whatever version they want or can of this Dead Kennedys cd and the others so they can still hear the greatness of this band without having to feel that it might be wrong because the version they bought was rereleased by...Uh oh! Sellouts!!! Oooh!(Notice my sarcasm)

A few months ago my friend introduced me to Dead Kennedys by showing me a few of their songs (Police Truck and Chemical Warfare to name a few). After hearing those that night, I had to run to my local used record store to pick me up some DK. Luckily I was able to find used copies of "Fresh Fruit" (on Cherry Red Records) and "Plastic Surgery Disasters/In God We Trust Inc" (on Alternative Tentacles). This one is my favorite of the 2 definately. My favorite songs on "Plastic Surgery" are Terminal Preppie, Buzzbomb, and Well Paid Scientist. Forest Fire is worth hearing too just for lead singer Jello Biafra's lyrics about eating weird berries in the woods and starting forest fires. In God We Trust Inc is DK at their fastest. Highlights are the anti-religion rant Religious Vomit, Nazi Punks [...] Off, and their shortest song yet Hyperactive Child. The reworking of California Uber Alles is very cool too. This and "Fresh Fruit" are both essential purchases. Buy them now if you haven't already.

Ok first off I am not interested in all the controversy about the ex band member.

I heard all the BS about them and know full well about their "Rock and Coke" festival in Turkey (Dead Kennedys rock and Coke....please) Though in saying that not much of a fan of post DK Jello churning out LP after LP saying the same boring meaningless rant for the kids (yeh he may go on about the ex band members milking the DK's name for profit but can he realy say he is doing any different with his endless Jello Biafra and the blah blah band albums?)

Anyway, rant over. DK were/are one of my all time favorite band from way back before any tv ad or whatever and this is one of my all time favorite LPs. DK were great because they could mix politics with good music and humour as well. They didnt rant but just took the p*** out of the powers that be. Some of these tracks (such as bleed for me, I am the owl) need to be heard by kids today.

Great to hear, never mind the BS over the ex band members. Leave them to fight it out amongst themselves. Me, I will just keep the memories of a great band.

Without question, the Dead Kennedy's define punk music. Granted, there are numerous other punk bands that helped define the genre,(CRASS, Flipper, Meat Puppets, and Minor Threat to name a few), but the Kennedy's belong in the history books. This collection of songs is virtually unrivaled.

The lyrics are compelling. There's humor. There's anger. The DK's have a sublime intelligence that can't be ignored. They challenge; they assault. One can have meaningful conversations about many of their songs. In this respect, the DK's were more socially/politically dangerous than CRASS. As much as I appreciate CRASS, overall the DK's were just better at their art. As much as they attacked, they still blended into the fringes of society. More often than not, subtlety is a far more powerful sledge hammer than pure outrage. One might open the door for the DK's, but, for bands like CRASS, the door would be dead bolted and the cops called.

Then, one must address the musical talent. These guys can play. The arrangements may not be complex, but they certainly deviate from the norm of punk music.

A must have purchase for any collector of punk music...

Alright I don't understand why this doesn't get better reviews. First off the sound is a lot better, now I'm necessarily that fussy about production values but the noise these guys make on this album is phenominal (check out the sound of the guitar on well paid scientist and compare that to california uber alles).

The songs are also more varied, more intelligent and for more technically supreme. There's riot, a 6 minute long song that grips you from erie start to exhausted end and with the addition of In God We Trust inc. you have some of the best h/c tracks ever laid down. IGWTinc also includes a reworking of California Uber Alles which I personally think is an improvement (I was never quite settled with the "you'll look nice as a draw string lamp" lyric in the original).

Don't get me wrong, I think the other albums are amazing. It's just this one is something else, one of the best records of all time.

Dead Kennedy's was one of the first american punk band's I got into. Before that I was into all the british oi and more poppy groups like Buzzcocks, Sex Pistols, Clash, etc. I picked up my copy of Plastic Surgury Distaster's/In God We Trust Inc. at Sam Goody when I was 14. Honestly, I bought it because of the picture on the cover. That is one of the best images of famine ever captured. When I put it in my cd player & let the music pour into my ears, I got so hyped up. When I showed it to my friends, we all started fighting each other in my room. Pure agression. The music was that powerful for me. Jello, even though he has become a bloated sack of ego (by the way does anyone else agree that Jello destroyed The Melvins?), added unmatched humor to this release, only equaled by Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. One of my favorite DK songs is on this being Moon Over Marin. It's not really the topic of the song, pollution, which makes it my choice. No, it's the guitar's ambience and beauty that almost brings me to tears at times. East Bay Ray was on top of his game for this record. In fact they were all at their artistic peak during this record and inbetweeen making Frankenchrist. This release reminds me of when I was young, definately. If you want a memorable, amusing punk album this is it.

..and one of the only punk albums from anywhere to really seem as if it's taking chances. PLASTIC SURGERY DISASTERS is an absolute juggernaut of a record -- Dead Kennedys sound angrier here than on any of their other releases, the songs are more vicious in their assessment of American society and international interactions, and the stakes seem higher than on pretty much any other protest album I can think of offhand. Which to some extent makes sense -- this was a fiercely leftist band dealing with the election of a president who had NONE of their interests in mind, and who in many ways threatened the security of the rights the band and its fans held dear. Rather than release a cliched-from-the-start album, preaching to the choir as so many political punk bands have, the DKs raised the stakes, talking about actual issues and fears and producing a record as paranoid as it is angry as it is funny as it is catchy. Every song on PLASTIC SURGERY DISASTERS hits the mark, from "Bleed For Me" and "I am the Owl" (both very timely in these USA-PATRIOT days of diminished rights) to "Well Paid Scientist"'s questioning of people who take high-paying jobs they're opposed to morally, to "Riot"'s warning of the futility of violent revolution without genuine motive and planning. "Halloween" alone is worth the price -- a catchy punk-rock song with a propulsive bass riff, which brags and laughs about dressing up for Halloween, only to change gears and chastise the listener for being too cowardly to express themselves the other 364 days of the year. This song is the closest punk has come to genuine subversion.

As for the whole reissue-issue, I would rather buy an edition of this album from a label which actually pays its musicians a decent wage. Biafra, a long-time hero to me, treated his own bandmates as badly as Greg Ginn treated many bands on SST in the 80s and 90s. I would have saddened me to hear a DK song on a commercial, but it also saddened me to know that the other musicians who produced this, a record which truly changed my life, were not getting their fair publishing rights. I've got my old A-T vinyl for the .... FACTS inserts, but these CDs are worth the money, and I feel morally justified in buying them as well. Jello, ripping off the people you create with is the exact OPPOSITE of what punk/DIY releases are supposed to be about.

If you only buy one Dead Kennedys album, it's gotta be 'Plastic Surgery Disasters', which captured this legendary San Francisco punk band at the top of their game. It now includes 'In God We Trust, Inc.', a short collection of DK gems, making it nearly impossible to pack more energy onto a single CD. Right out of the gate, this album is raw, explosive, and relentlessly confrontational. The band's unmistakeable sound is as "in your face" as Jello Biafra's scathing lyrics, which damn American society in hilarious fashion. No one is spared, as each song takes aim and fires away at one type of fraud or another. The government, religion, materialism, violence, cops, doctors, the rich, elitists, racists, homophobes, posers, jocks, science, and politicians- all face the firing squad of Biafra's scorn.
Somewhere in the fray, there's a bullet or two aimed at every one of us, and when we're hit, it's just as easy to laugh at ourselves. The lyrics are cynical and often sarcastic, but extremely smart and at times, even prophetic. They're as relevant today as they were then- if not more so. Musically, Plastic Surgery Disasters is, in my opinion, DK's most adventurous and technically brilliant work. It's also their most "refined" album, production-wise, but it stops well short of commercial glossiness. It's a true punk classic... my all-time favorite.