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I often credit Jello Biafra as a major influence in my life. I grew up listening to punk, back when punk actually meant something: Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, Butthole Surfers, the Sex Pistols, the Clash -- they were the chorus that sang the pages of my life as I went about my adolescent trek through suburbia, with its stupid burning hoops to jump through and meaningless rituals to attend.
If it wasn't for the Kennedys, I'd have probably joined the Air Force to nuke Commies for Jesus. Instead I joined the Anti-Censorship forces to nuke Tipper Gore for Frank Zappa. And that made all the difference. I don't always agree with Biafra's political positions, especially in the wake of 9/11, but there's no denying that his heart's in the right place, and his middle finger is (usually) pointed at the right people.
So, in the theory that there's always room for more Jello, he has a new band together! The band is called The Guantanamo School of Medicine, the album -- due out in October -- will be called "The Audacity of Hype" (yeah, laugh it up you Obama haters). And here's a sample of the album.
Musically, it reminds me of later Dead Kennedys, and it's good to see that Jello's still got his singing chops. I fully expect he will be stomping through 'Holiday in Cambodia' at the ripe old age of 134, having long-outlived his malefactors and targets, and singing to kids who have no idea where Cambodia was, who Pol Pot was, or who that Tipper Gore lady was, but can't deny that the music makes them want to go make crazy collage art and put it up all over their schools.
