I was going to open this post with a fan-made video of this song with a lot of videos of police brutality.
Unfortunately, those videos are age-restricted and can't be embedded here.
This song began life as the B-side to "Holiday In Cambodia", a song with a similar feel, in 1980. The surf guitar riffs kind of hide the fact that this song is told from the story of a two awful police officers who are brutalizing people and abusing their power.
The song was actually written in direct response to a real 1970's incident in Oakland, CA, but, let's face it - it is more broadly applicable. Written by Jello Biafra and East Bay Ray (who is responsible for the fantastic surf guitar riffs), the song experienced a resurgence in popularity after the George Floyd murder. And yeah. It was a murder. That's how I feel about that.
Back in the day, when the band performed live a lot, they brought even more energy than they did in the studio.
SO what about more recently?
Jello is still angry and energetic.
Jello is still angry and energetic.
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