California Über Alles by Dead Kennedys

You can only imagine how much fuss this band’s satirical name stirred up at the time. There were Boston shows where police lined the walls, and it was standard for their shows to be advertised only as “the DKs.”

Irreverent political satire was the stuff of singer Jello Biafra’s lyrics, and this 1980 song pokes disrespectful fun at California governor Jerry Brown’s run for president that year. Brown was known for his hippie tendencies, which are skewered here (but hey, he got to date Linda Ronstadt).

When that election went to Ronald Reagan instead, the band promptly released a new version of the song with different lyrics and title, “We’ve Got a Bigger Problem Now.”

The Dead Kennedys did a reunion in 2001, after falling out with Biafra. His place was taken by former child actor Brandon Cruz.

This is a punk song requiring high-speed dexterity. On guitar you’ll be dealing with a lot of rapid-fire 16th notes that seldom let up over four minutes.

The drum part requires a lot of hand/foot coordination, especially during the first verse and chorus where you’re keeping time with the right hand and accenting alternate beats with the left hand and foot. Patterns become more regular in the second verse, but in the breakdown there’s a lot of fast military snare, which will fail you within seconds if you fall off the beat.

If you’re singing, try not to jump into the crowd and get into people's faces—Biafra sometimes got himself hurt that way.

The band is defunct again but Biafra stays busy, alternating between musical projects and politically-themed spoken word tours. He has run the indie label Alternative Tentacles for more than two decades.

"California Uber Alles" as performed by Dead Kennedys courtesy of Manifesto
Written by Jello Biafra, East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride, John Greenway and Dead Kennedys
published by DECAY MUSIC (BMI), administered by Bug