History YMMV / DeadKennedys

* FaceOfTheBand: Jello Biafra.

* SignatureSong: "Holiday in Cambodia" or "California Über Alles". "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" also became this in recent years for not just punk fans, but for metal heads as a rally cry against actual neo-Nazis in the scenes.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: "KillThePoor" is a scathing satire of those among the elite who would rather eliminate poverty by [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin killing poor people]] than educating them or helping them in any way. It is ''not'' meant to be taken literally. This is a particularly contentious PoesLaw misconception due to a PeripheryDemographic of neo-Nazis turning up at Dead Kennedys' concerts in TheEighties in support of their "advocating" killing poor people, infuriating the fans and band members alike.

* OvershadowedByControversy: "Kill the Poor" is difficult to talk about without mentioning the PeripheryDemographic of neo-Nazis who turned up at Dead Kennedys' concerts back in TheEighties as a result of [[PoesLaw missing the song's satirical nature]] and thinking the band members were actually advocating killing poor people as the ideal "solution" to poverty, much to the anger of both the fans and band members, as the song is a scathing satire of those among the elite who think so, and is therefore advocating the complete opposite of that. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was written in direct response to make it clear that neo-Nazis are not welcome at their concerts, and to this day taking "Kill the Poor" literally is a major FandomEnragingMisconception.

* SignatureSong: "Holiday in Cambodia" or "California Über Alles". "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" also became this in recent years for not just punk fans, but for metal heads as a rally cry against actual Nazis in the scenes.

** Also, now that Jerry Brown became Governor of California again from 2011 to 2019, "California Über Alles" actually became relevant for the first time in 30 years. Ironically, by that point Biafra had disavowed the song, saying he's come around to appreciate Brown as a better politician than most, or at the very least that he had overexaggerated about him.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: "KillThePoor" is a scathing satire of those among the elite who would rather eliminate poverty by [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin killing poor people]] than educating them. It is ''not'' meant to be taken literally. This is a particularly contentious PoesLaw misconception due to a PeripheryDemographic of neo-Nazis turning up at Dead Kennedys' concerts in TheEighties in support of their "advocating" killing poor people, infuriating the fans and band members alike.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: "KillThePoor" is a scathing satire of those among the elite who would rather eliminate poverty by killing poor people than educating them. It is ''not'' meant to be taken literally. This is a particularly contentious PoesLaw misconception due to a PeripheryDemographic of neo-Nazis turning up at Dead Kennedys' concerts in TheEighties in support of their "advocating" killing poor people, infuriating the fans and band members alike.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Some listeners would like Music/JelloBiafra and crew better if they didn't punch you in the face with their messages. For other listeners this falls into SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped.

* OvershadowedByControversy: "Kill the Poor" is difficult to talk about without mentioning the PeripheryDemographic of neo-Nazis who turned up at Dead Kennedys' concerts back in TheEighties as a result of [[PoesLaw missing the song's satirical nature]] and thinking the band members were actually advocating killing poor people as the ideal "solution" to poverty, much to the anger of both the fans and band members, as the song is a scathing satire of the elite and is therefore advocating the complete opposite of that. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was written in direct response to make it clear that neo-Nazis are not welcome at their concerts, and to this day taking "Kill the Poor" literally is a major FandomEnragingMisconception.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: "KillThePoor" is a satire of those among the elite who would rather eliminate poverty by killing poor people than educating them. It is ''not'' meant to be taken literally. This is a particularly contentious misconception due to a PeripheryDemographic of neo-Nazis turning up at Dead Kennedys' concerts in TheEighties in support of their "advocating" killing poor people, infuriating the fans and band members alike.

* OvershadowedByControversy: "KillThePoor" is difficult to talk about without mentioning the PeripheryDemographic of neo-Nazis who turned up at Dead Kennedys' concerts back in TheEighties as a result of [[PoesLaw missing the song's satirical nature]] and thinking the band members were actually advocating killing poor people as the ideal "solution" to poverty, much to the anger of both the fans and band members, as the song is a scathing satire of the elite and is therefore advocating the complete opposite of that. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was written in direct response to make it clear that neo-Nazis are not welcome at their concerts, and to this day taking "Kill the Poor" literally is a major FandomEnragingMisconception.

* MisaimedFandom: There were quite a few neo-Nazi fans who [[PoesLaw didn't realize "Kill the Poor" was supposed to be a sarcastic song]]. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was the direct result and was their way of telling the neo-Nazis and boneheads to get the fuck out of their shows. This succeeded not only at this goal but in making Nazi punk as a whole basically a DiscreditedTrope. Although depending on differing accounts, it arguably made Nazi Punk (and by an extent [[BlackMetal NSBM]]) a much more continuing force due to said response.

** Considering [[NetworkDecay the direction]] [[Creator/{{MTV}} the subject in question]] [[NetworkDecay is going to]], you'd be more and more rooting for their song "Creator/{{MTV}} - Get off the Air".
** Also, now that Jerry Brown is Governor of California again, "California Über Alles" is actually relevant for the first time in 30 years.
*** Ironically, Biafra has since disavowed the song, saying he's come around to appreciate Brown as a better politician than most.
* MisaimedFandom: There were quite a few neo-Nazi fans who [[PoesLaw didn't realize "Kill The Poor" was supposed to be a sarcastic song]]. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was the direct result and was their way of telling the neo-Nazis and boneheads to get the fuck out of their shows. This succeeded not only at this goal but in making Nazi punk as a whole basically a DiscreditedTrope. Although depending on differing accounts, it arguably made Nazi Punk (and by an extent [[Main/BlackMetal NSBM]]) a much more continuing force due to said response.

* {{Anvilicious}}: Some listeners would like Biafra and crew better if they didn't punch you in the face with their messages. For other listeners this falls into SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped.

* ChorusOnlySong - "I Like Short Songs". Justified, since it's literally not long enough to contain anything but a chorus.

* FaceOfTheBand - Jello Biafra.
* FanonDiscontinuity - No Dead Kennedys without Jello Biafra. It just can't be!

* HilariousInHindsight - considering [[NetworkDecay the direction]] [[Creator/{{MTV}} the subject in question]] [[NetworkDecay is going to]], you'd be more and more rooting for their song "Creator/{{MTV}} - Get off the Air".

* MisaimedFandom - There were quite a few neo-Nazi fans who [[PoesLaw didn't realize "Kill The Poor" was supposed to be a sarcastic song]]. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was the direct result and was their way of telling the neo-Nazis and boneheads to get the fuck out of their shows. This succeeded not only at this goal but in making Nazi punk as a whole basically a DiscreditedTrope. Although depending on differing accounts, it arguably made Nazi Punk (and by an extent [[Main/BlackMetal NSBM]]) a much more continuing force due to said response.

* SignatureSong - "Holiday in Cambodia" or "California Über Alles". "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" also became this in recent years for not just punk fans, but for metal heads as a rally cry against actual Nazis in the scenes.

* SignatureSong - "Holiday in Cambodia" or "California Über Alles". "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" also became this in recent years for not just punk fans, but for ([[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement depending on differing opinions]]) metal heads as a rally cry against actual Nazis in the scenes.

* MisaimedFandom - There were quite a few neo-Nazi fans who [[PoesLaw didn't realize "Kill The Poor" was supposed to be a sarcastic song]]. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was the direct result and was their way of telling the neo-Nazis and boneheads to get the fuck out of their shows. This succeeded not only at this goal but in making Nazi punk as a whole basically a DiscreditedTrope. Although depending on differing accounts, it arguably made Nazi Punk (and by an extent [[Main/BlackMetal NSBM]] a much more continuing force due to said response.

* MisaimedFandom - There were quite a few neo-Nazi fans who [[PoesLaw didn't realize "Kill The Poor" was supposed to be a sarcastic song]]. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" was the direct result and was their way of telling the neo-Nazis and boneheads to get the fuck out of their shows. This succeeded not only at this goal but in making Nazi punk as a whole basically a DiscreditedTrope.

* SignatureSong - "Holiday in Cambodia" or "California Über Alles".

* EarWorm: As biting as their material is, it wouldn't have made the impact it did if it weren't so damn catchy.

* PainfulRhyme: "I am Emperor UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan/Born again with fascist cravings" (from "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now", TheRemake of "California Über Alles").
** JustifiedTrope: ''You'' try finding a good rhyme with "Reagan". (Protip: All the genuine rhymes are other names, which would fall under PainfulRhyme for different reasons; the only prominent person even involved in politics at the time was Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin, who would be pretty irrelevant to a song criticising the United States president. Other rhymes include "Megan", "Kagan", and "Fagen", as in [[Music/SteelyDan Donald]]). Jello would use rhymes a lot less frequently in some of his later songs, perhaps seeking to avoid this trope.

* AwesomeMusic: Basically, everything the band released before UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan left office. Particular highlights include "California Über Alles", which has become so iconic that it's been rewritten dozens of times by various artists (its remake, "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now", also counts); "HolidayInCambodia"; "Police Truck"; "Stars and Stripes of Corruption"; "Moral Majority", an utterly scathing (and thoroughly deserved) attack on the MoralGuardians of the time; "Life Sentence"; "Lie Detector"; "Chickenshit Conformist"; "Riot"; "Terminal Preppie"; "Moon Over Marin"; "MTV - Get Off the Air"; "Soup Is Good Food"; "KillThePoor"; "Let's Lynch the Landlord"; and "Nazi Punks Fuck Off", which almost singlehandedly turned Nazi punk into a DiscreditedTrope. There are many, many others, though.

* AwesomeMusic: Basically, everything the band released before UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan left office. Particular highlights include "California Über Alles", which has become so iconic that it's been rewritten dozens of times by various artists (its remake, "We've Got a Bigger Problem Now", also counts); "Holiday in Cambodia"; "Police Truck"; "Stars and Stripes of Corruption"; "Moral Majority", an utterly scathing (and thoroughly deserved) attack on the MoralGuardians of the time; "Life Sentence"; "Lie Detector"; "Chickenshit Conformist"; "Riot"; "Terminal Preppie"; "Moon Over Marin"; "MTV - Get Off the Air"; "Soup Is Good Food"; "KillThePoor"; "Let's Lynch the Landlord"; and "Nazi Punks Fuck Off", which almost singlehandedly turned Nazi punk into a DiscreditedTrope. There are many, many others, though.