10 Greatest Punk Bands Of All Time
3. Dead Kennedys
From day one, there was an underlying message in punk rock that went far beyond just the skinny jeans and leather jackets. For as much as the sound was meant to be abrasive, there were also poignant meanings behind the rough exterior. Nothing was off-limits in punk rock, and the Dead Kennedys were the ones to test that theory in any way they could.
Rather than writing songs about anarchy and rebellion, the Dead Kennedys turned their eye outward to point out the injustices in the world. Starting with Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, each track they put out stood out as something important, whether it was the challenging of the social norms on the song "Halloween" or taking an axe to the commercialization of rock and roll on "MTV (Get Off the Air)."
Even if you weren't that down with the message, these tunes were always fun to listen to, from the rolling riffs of East Bay Ray to the weirdness of frontman Jello Biafra, whose vocal tone could fluctuate within the span of a single song. Sure, the message of unjust apartheid on "Holiday in Cambodia" might go over your head, but when the riff is still driving, it doesn't even matter. Punk may have been growing out of its primitive beginnings, but the Dead Kennedys showed the entire rock community just how blunt the truth can often be.