A friend posted a video on Facebook of a string sextet playing the Dead Kennedy's "California Über Alles". Just the thought of it made me want to hate it. I did not. There's a few reasons for that. First off, I've never been all that into the Dead Kennedys. Jello Biafra's voice just ain't my thing. I don't know what it is. It has nothing to do with a string sextet, but hear me out. Biafra's voice has become less grating to me over the years, and I know they were a good (perhaps great) band and all of that, but I still can only take his voice in small doses.
Now, about this video. It reinforced what I really already knew, but made it much more obvious. The Dead Kennedys were tight, thought provoking at times, and good at getting you all kinds of riled up. But this cover really shows what the other elements distract from. The Dead Kennedys were good at making really good songs. If you know the song you will hear, amplified, the one part of the song that often gets missed. It sounds sinister with strings, like the soundtrack to some sinister movie. And it's not the strings. Listen again to the Dead Kennedy's version and see if you don't hear all of the sinisterishness.
Now, about this video. It reinforced what I really already knew, but made it much more obvious. The Dead Kennedys were tight, thought provoking at times, and good at getting you all kinds of riled up. But this cover really shows what the other elements distract from. The Dead Kennedys were good at making really good songs. If you know the song you will hear, amplified, the one part of the song that often gets missed. It sounds sinister with strings, like the soundtrack to some sinister movie. And it's not the strings. Listen again to the Dead Kennedy's version and see if you don't hear all of the sinisterishness.
There's another video linked below, but before we get to that, one more thing about the version above. These guys are not from the UK, or the US. They're from Brazil. WTF, right? The other video below is even more WTF. A school orchestra, comprised of primary and secondary students playing "California Über Alles" at a benefit for two ill students. Weird enough in and of itself. The kicker? The school is in Subotica, Serbia, and the audience has more than it's share of seniors and middle age people.
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Listen:Dead Kennedys - California Über Alles mp3 at Margauxville
Surf Manchu - Pipeline Über Alles mp3 at Internet Archive Surf mash-up, because why the fuck not?
Video:
Serbian school orchestra - California Über Alles at YouTube
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