Menu
I was thumbing through a pile of back issues of the Chicago Reader
when this caught my eye. In an article entitled 'It's the Economics,
Stupid - What could Bruce Springsteen and the Dead Kennedys possibly
have in common?', by Monica Kendrick, the author reviews reissues of
'Born to Run' and 'Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables'. At one point
she says:
"If the passing decades have been kinder to one of these albums, it's
Fresh Fruit, probably because youthful bitterness ages better than
youthful romanticism. The DKs' music doesn't sound groundbreaking or
outre today--for Christ's sake, the guitar solo in "Let's Lynch the
Landlord" is pure surf--but the tunes have the timelessness of great
direct rock 'n' roll, in the tradition yet not bound by it. The
political themes in the lyrics are as relevant and urgent as ever, and
their snarky outrage still falls on fertile ground (You could make a
good case that "California Uber Alles" just keeps getting more dead-on
as the years go by.)"
Boy, what a lack of vision, huh? Can you imagine, being so non-outre
as to using a surf guitar solo in a song - for Christ's sake?!? Well,
I guess surf is just so passe....
Larry N
Surf Guitar Solos Uber Alles!!!
