Last week here at Dangerous Minds, we had a post discussing the fact that we’ll never “run out of stuff” to feature. That post, “The world will never run out of “newly uncovered” David Bowie videos,” pointed out that the Internet is constantly making new discoveries, or rediscoveries, and eventually everything bubbles to the surface. There’s just so much to be unearthed and always some fan out there who makes it a labor of love to share “the good shit” with the rest of the world.
In today’s edition of “the world will never run out of ‘newly uncovered’ _____ videos,” we’ll be taking a look at some incredible, recently uploaded, Dead Kennedys footage. I thought I’d seen everything out there on the Dead Kennedys, one of my life-long favorite bands, having done decades worth of tape trading in the pre-Internet, pre-DVD era, but nope: the Internet provides and, as we’ve said, “the world will never run out…”
Man, this fucking video. Captured at the height of their musical intensity, this 1982 show was recorded in Austria between the releases of In God We Trust, Inc. and Plastic Surgery Disasters. Arguably the group’s creative peak, they were still writing excellent songs, as opposed to diatribes, and pushing the speed envelope to keep up with the punk zeitgeist’s transition to hardcore. The band is absolutely raging here in this Vienna squat. Perhaps it had something to do with the differences between European and American audiences, but Jello’s propensity for edging into goofiness is dialed back and the anger is turned way up. His performance is mesmerizing.
Despite a couple of brief volume drop-outs and interference by crazy Austrian punks grabbing the microphone, this professionally shot and edited document has incredibly clear audio quality. The video is only a little over fifteen minutes long, leaving us wanting so much more, but this is what we’re thrilled to get:
1) Nazi Punks Fuck Off
2) California Uber Alles
3) Police Truck
4) Interview excerpt (Jello & Klaus)
5) Let’s Lynch The Landlord
6) Chemical Warfare
7) Interview excerpt (Jello & Klaus)
This is a song about fascists.
If you’re a punk, you’re not a fascist.
If you’re a fascist, you’re not a punk.
This is called “Nazi punks fuck off!”
You’ll be the first to go, unless you think!
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
In God We Trust, Inc: Amazing footage of Dead Kennedys in the studio, 1981