Holy shit. I just heard Pull My Strings by the Dead Kennedys a minute ago. I never really had much of an appreciation for these guys, but... damn what a great stunt to pull. For those of you who don't know the story:
"The Dead Kennedy's (From Wikipedia)
Dead Kennedys formed in June 1978, after guitarist East Bay Ray advertised for band mates.
The original DK lineup consisted of Jello Biafra on vocals, East Bay Ray and 6025 on guitars,
Klaus Flouride on bass, and Ted (Bruce Slesinger) on drums. The band was initially known as
"The Sharks" before changing to Dead Kennedys. They played numerous shows at local venues,
and in October of 1979, released their first single, "California Über Alles", on Alternative
Tentacles. They followed with a well received east-coast tour. 6025 quit after this for unknown reasons.
Prior to the release of their debut album, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, Dead Kennedys
were invited to perform at the Bay Area Music Awards in front of music industry big-wigs to
give the event some "new wave credibility" in the words of the organizers. The day of the show
was spent practicing the song they were asked to play, the underground hit "California Über Alles".
In typically subversive, perverse style, the band became the talking point of the ceremony when
after about 10 seconds into the song, Biafra said, "Hold it! We've gotta prove that we're adults
now. We're not a punk rock band, we're a new wave band." The band, who all wore white shirts with
a big, black S painted on the front, pulled black ties from around the backs of their necks, to
form a dollar sign, then tore into the previously unheard "Pull My Strings", a barbed, satirical
attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry. As well as containing the lyrics "Is my cock
big enough, is my brain small enough, for you to make me a star", the song also sent-up The Knack's
biggest new wave hit, "My Sharona". The song was never recorded in the studio but this performance,
the first and only time the song was ever performed, was released on the posthumous compilation album
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death... and the band was never invited to play the awards show ever again."
The Twenty Inch Solution |
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