Jello Biafra - Become The Media (2001)

Depending on your political, social and/or cultural perspective, former Dead Kennedy's frontman Jello Biafra is a punk icon, a rock star sell-out, a hacker hero, a radical leftist, a media gadfly or a pain in the ass. Truth is, he's a little of most of these things (tho' the rock star bit is stretching it a bit, don't ya think?), which is part of his charm. A guerilla artist, Biafra has been working on the fringes of pop culture for years now, the modern equivalent of Diogenes searching for an honest man or perhaps Paul Revere, sounding the call of a corrupt society and cultural impoverishment.

Become The Media is Biafra's sixth massive collection of spoken word performances, a three-CD set that delivers almost four hours of material at the price of little more than a single CD. Culled from performances and speeches made by Jello during the millennial year, Become The Media provides listeners not just with "food for thought" but an entire nine-course meal for the intellect. Some of Biafra's observations are continuations of those from previous spoken word collections, such as his thoughts on the growing corporate domination of the media and society ("Frankenfood Landscape," "K.O. the W.T.O.") or his satirical damning of vacuous mainstream culture ("Become The Media").

Biafra was busy on the campaign trail last year, as well. A Green Party candidate for President, Biafra gave his support and endorsement to Green nominee Ralph Nader. "The Green Wedge" explains the Green Party's role and a legitimate third party and an alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties. Biafra was also at the two party conventions in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, offering his observations on what really happened and what the media didn't tell us. "Hack The Planet" was a speech given to the H2K hacker convention in New York City and tackles everything from "hacktivist" political protests to Napster. Biafra also addresses the recent split between he and his former Dead Kennedys bandmates over royalties and song licensing.

As usual, Become The Media showcases Biafra's keen eye and quick wit as a social commentator. Biafra's observations and comments are insightful, often humorous and always intelligent. Over the course of a decade and six albums, Jello Biafra has become an integral part of the counter-culture. An alternative populist and proud voice of the unheard political left, his role is to educate us, infuriate us and hopefully shock us into action. To that end, Become The Media succeeds, stimulating the listener's intellect, sneaking serious and dangerous ideas into your brain in the guise of entertainment. (Alternative Tentacles)

(Click on the CD cover to buy Become The Media from Amazon.com)