There's always room for Jello Biafra

So I stumbled across a cache of mp3s that were on my family's computer from my younger days, and I see "California über alles". At first I assumed it was the original Dead Kennedys version, but then I realized it was actually a cover from this tribute comp called Dread Kennedys, In Dub We Trust.

For the uninitiated, the cover is a takeoff on the Dead Kennedys' In God We Trust, INC.

This particular track is done by the London duo Sheep on Drugs. Honestly, I really don't know much about these clowns. According to allmusic, they apparently enjoyed some very mild success in the early to mid 90s. That being said, if you saw this compilation and thought it was going to be a cool Jamaican dub treatment of some punk rock songs, you were mislead. The dub they meant was more of the electronic variety I suppose, even though this track barely falls in that category. I'm not really that good at classifying techno, but I'd call this jungle. Anyways, check it out for yourself.

"California über alles" by Sheep On Drugs

Now listen to how it's not really so much a cover, as much as it's a repitition of the title and some incomprehensible lyrics over the beat.


"California über alles" by the Dead Kennedys

Apparently they also cover "I'm Waiting For the Man", but I wasn't crafty enough to snag a copy of that ditty. I think I'll live without it.

peace.