The Dead Kennedys were finished as a band by this point. A combination of legal troubles, interband tensions and the dying Hardcore Punk scene meant that the once powerful unit of the Dead Kennedys was rapidly falling apart. Still, they issued this album as a final goodbye to their long-term fans and played their last concert with their main vocalist, Jello Biafra, shortly before this was released. It seems that all good things come to an end. The album title was ironically inspired by a Ronald Reagan film released in 1951 that he acted in, named Bedtime for Bonzo. Yes, Ronald Reagan was famous as an actor before he became the USA President during the 1980s. In any case, the album was produced by Jello Biafra and was issued on the Alternative Tentacles label on 19 November 1986. The Dead Kennedys were: Jello Biafra (vocals); East Bay Ray (guitar); Klaus Flouride (bass guitar and backing vocals and D.H. Peligro (drums and backing vocals). The album itself runs for nearly 49 minutes. Let’s listen to this album, and we shall see where it takes us.

1. Take This Job and Shove It is a super fast and blistering cover song that is hilarious and upbeat throughout. This is an excellent pastiche of noise, variation and speed in terms of tempo. It does sound very hilarious and abrasive, all the same. An excellent listen by the group. Very witty and clever throughout. A winner in its own way.

2. Hop With the Jet Set begins with some intricate drumming and launches into another solidly fast, pounding and good song that has some excellent Punk Music appeal. A real winner of a listen, this does sound really top and amazing. Definitely a step up from their previous album, the Dead Kennedys do some great, punchy and speedy justice throughout. Cool, calm and clever, this is music for those with ADHD and who like loud, powerful Punk Music to be inspired by. Very cool and abrasive. A winner. A great Punk song.

3. Dear Abby is another fast, powerful and destructive song that sounds absolutely brilliant to hear. A loud, quick and interesting song that is clearly a mockery of things, this sounds bizarre, cool and inspired. It’s also very short, at only a minute long. Gold and essential listening.

4. Rambozo the Clown is a fast and blistering listen. More melodic and songlike than before, Jello Biafra puts 100% into this one. Sure, this music is not going to appeal to most, but its pure sonic excellence and consistency throughout make it a real winner of a tune. One of the greatest Dead Kennedys albums, it proves that even on their last legs, the group had some power and energy that was unmatched by anyone else at the time. A true winner with some sarcastic anti-war statements throughout, the Dead Kennedys were very left-wing. Super cool to hear. Awesome tune. It has a weird outro that is also hilarious.

5. Fleshdunce begins with some percussive bass guitar riffing, drum rolls and wailing by Jello Biafra. It launches into a super-fast and powerful tune that again, sounds like a brilliant mockery of society and mainstream USA culture. Hilariously absurd, this is definitely a cool listen. Awesome, punchy and amazing, this sounds extremely cool to hear. It is over after a minute and a half in length.

6. The Great Wall is, of course, a piece of music about the historical background of China. This is raging and powerful, and it sounds hilariously essential to listen to. An awesome listen, even if you know nothing about China and Chinese history. Nonetheless, witty and brilliant, once again. A great song.

7. Shrink is a supercharged and good song about the nature of society and such, especially about the nature of psychology. Again, this sounds wonderfully powerful and brutally amazing to listen to. Another joyous listening experience with wit, humour and intelligence throughout. This music is some of the best Hardcore Punk Music made to date. Absolutely brilliant.

8. Triumph of the Swill begins with a spoken word piece detailing a family suicide by gunshot whilst listening to Ozzy Osbourne’s music, and quickly launches into a super aggressive and wonderful sounding tune. Maybe Trent Reznor got his ideas from this song? All the same, this is a cool tune which is hard, fast and brutal throughout. Absolutely awesome, this song is another solid gold winner throughout that is very Dead Kennedys to listen to. A top and electrifying tune, this is some amazing and aggressive Punk Music, like a punch in your face. Nice to hear.

9. Macho Insecurity has a loud and aggressive bass guitar part lead straight into a mockery of jocks and jock culture in particular. Extremely cool, this music is so fast and blindingly punchy that it is a wake-up call to listeners out there. A cool railing against those who take narcissism far too seriously.

10. I Spy begins with a slower pace and some bass guitar, intricate drumming, and Surf Rock style guitar playing. It quickly enters into a fast-paced tune which sounds gloriously wonderful. Most people won’t be able to hear what Jello Biafra is singing about, but again, this is a fantastic listening experience regardless. It is a joyous blur of a listen, and this is no doubt one of the Dead Kennedys’ better albums to listen to. A fast, quirky and interesting tune that has a great deal of quality to it. Great to hear from start to finish. If you like supercharged, this is your music. It ends with a reprise of the intro music before concluding.

11. Cesspools In Eden begins with an overdriven, strummed guitar part and sounds very much like doom and gloom. It is faded out and slowed down, followed by loud bass guitar riffing. This quickly enters into a chaotic and slower sounding song that sounds awesome, yet again. A very good listen from the get-go. Jello Biafra sings about more social ills in a more straightforward way. Remember, these guys were very much radical leftists who were out to cause chaos. Even so, this lengthy six-minute-long piece is genuine proof that the Dead Kennedys had skill, musicianship and variety throughout their own music more than others thought. This is a great tune to listen to, all the same. A really top song to listen to, regardless, this definitely sounds really great and groovy throughout. Jello Biafra sounds invincible throughout, and he sings with power, fury and energy. A killer tune, even if it is deliberately slower. It proves that, even with their inevitable end, the Dead Kennedys could still make some brilliant music to listen to. This song is a great example of what this band was brilliant and wonderful at making music for. If humanity is doomed in the 21st century, the Dead Kennedys likely predicted it all. This does sound really great, all the same. Nice for a change on this album. It concludes with Jello Biafra mockingly stating, “Have a nice day!” followed by a guitar fill conclusion.

12. One Way Ticket to Pluto launches back into the hardcore nature of the album with a fast and punchy tune that is super quick. This is likely a mockery of the Hippie movement, which was long gone at this point. This does sound really fantastic for what it is, having said that. A really hard, fast and exciting listening experience, this is really great proof, yet again, of this album’s consistency. Cool to hear.

13. Do the Slag is another slow starter, which launches into a quirky and wicked-sounding piece about the nature of sexuality. An interesting listening experience that sounds electric, eclectic and exciting, this music is very hard to beat in its own way. It sounds great nonetheless, with a wicked guitar solo to match it. An awesome song to hear. Great, once again.

14. A Commercial begins with an expressive guitar lead and makes a direct mockery of the TV personalities on MTV of the day. A wacky and interesting listen, and it is very hilarious. It is a complete mockery of the societal ills of the 1980s back in the USA. Hilarious and clever, this sounds really cool and gold. Fantastic.

15. Gone With My Mind is another very, very fast tune about…well, being mindless. This is an extremely passionate and aggressive-sounding piece of music that works wonderfully, yet again. It sounds very full on and punchy, and it works wonders throughout. Short, brutal and different, this music is very different to anything else out there to this very day. Absolutely awesome.

16. Anarchy for Sale begins with a joke promotional line, “Step right up, folks! Anarchy is for sale!” and enters into a powerful and quick tune that is obviously mocking the very nature of anarchy itself. Once again, this is a solid gold slice of music. It sounds loud, fast and brilliant throughout. A really wonderful listen, and it is over before you know it.

17. Chickenshit Conformist is an interesting song name. It begins with a slower and more melodic guitar riff, and has Jello Biafra singing about the death of Punk Music at hand. This is a six-minute-long piece about Punk being sold out to the corporations, and this is an intelligent, articulate critique of their own genre of music. It quickly launches into a loud and energetic tune that sounds really sweet and brilliant throughout. The pounding drums, fast guitars and blistering pace are a critique of what Punk Music had become at this stage. Sadly, Punk Music was not going terribly well by this point. All the same, this is a good song about the ills of society in life caused by the facts of what happens when one gets older, and drug-related crimes as well. This song is difficult to take super seriously, all the same, even though it is obviously an angry rant at hand. Still, this is yet another solidly fantastic and interesting listen throughout. A wacky and different tune with both slower and faster sections, aiming critiques at music cultures of different kinds. Very intellectually pointed and clever, this is a stab at Hair Metal groups and others as well. Basically, the Dead Kennedys ask the listener to think outside of the box. All in all, the group also points out that history repeats itself, and the music is absolutely insane.

18. Where Do Ya Draw the Line is a midtempo and crunchy sounding number that continues the aggressive Punk fury of the album. This music sounds continuously fantastic throughout, and this is surely one of the most underrated albums in the history of music. It is an aggressive attack on what people do, and this music is uplifting and enjoyable throughout. All in all, this is another winner of a listen. The guitars and drums in particular are menacing throughout. The Dead Kennedys sound brutal and honest throughout, showcasing a very intense and aggressive approach in a musical sense. Definitely, again, worth hearing.

19. Potshot Heard ‘Round The World begins with a sort of slowish and melodic groove that sounds quirky and fantastic throughout. It dramatically changes into loud Punk Rock riffing that is super fast, once again. Again, this is Hardcore Punk Music at its very best. The song itself is raging, roaring and different, launching in between the two main sections of music at hand. This is very bizarre and different to listen to. A neat listen in two minutes or so of furious glory. Absolutely awesome to hear, yet again.

20. D.M.S.O. is a continuation, more or less, of the previous song, which sounds like a freaky adaptation of an old TV theme. It is obviously a mockery of things in this song. Very, very weird to listen to. A really weird and cool listening experience, about a potential drug that eliminates arthritis and other ongoing issues throughout. A weird listen, but it sounds excellent, once again. Quirky, humourous and hilarious, this is a gold skit sort of song. Nice one, guys.

21. Lie Detector is the final song on this album, and it begins with some descending doom and gloom chords, launching into a fast, hard and pounding tune to hear. This sounds very musically accomplished and sounds really great throughout. This is a more serious and straightforward listening experience that sounds just as good as what came before it on the album. An electrifying and powerful tune to finish off a brilliant album, this is quite honestly something one can enjoy to the full. A driven and different listen, this does sound extremely good to hear. Worth listening to, all the same. This is a wacky and deep listen throughout. The music and energy throughout this music are surprisingly and consistently good to listen to. A great conclusion to a very underrated album from start to finish. Definitely worth every moment of listening. Excellent.

Believe it or not, this is an amazing album that has power, energy and consistency to this very day. A nice and entertaining listen that should make a vast impression on those of you who enjoy a fast and wacky listen. Even for non-Hardcore Punk fans, this album should have some genuine appeal upon listening to it. It’s a fun album to hear. Should you listen to this album? Definitely give it a go, the music, sounds, and playing are out of this world. However, fans of other styles of music may not necessarily like this album. Still, it’s awesome.

A great satirical stab at society in a consistent music package.

9/10