In the year 2000, Green Americans had a difficult choice to make. They could either nominate a tireless consumer advocate like Ralph Nader as their candidate for president, or they could go a little crazy and support Jello Biafra, the controversial prankster, spoken-word artist, and former Dead Kennedys frontman who had become famous for defending his First Amendment rights with a barrage of four-letter words. Unfortunately for everyone involved, the Greens went with Nader, who was generally viewed as being more electable. Nader lost, but not before robbing Al Gore of thousands of votes and the American people of an opportunity to hear Biafra riff hilariously and obscenely on the self-defeating nature of American politics.
Oh well, as Biafra once famously noted, “Every prohibition creates an underground,” and anybody still interested in hearing what the State of the Union might have sounded like delivered by the man behind such alternative classics as “Holiday in Cambodia” and “Terminal Preppy” can visit the Media Co-op on Tuesday, March 6th, for an up-close-and-personal visit with the punk-turned-politico. Since much of Biafra’s political thought can be boiled down to the simple notion that “You either spend money on housing for poor people or you spend it on a football stadium,” his visit to Memphis couldn’t be more timely. Maybe he’s planning to run for mayor.
Jello Biafra, Tuesday, March 6th, Media Co-op Theater, First Congregational Church. Seating is extremely limited, and advance tickets are available at Black Lodge Video and Goner Records.
