Welcome to a new section in Happy House, one in fact were I get the opportunity to indulge one of my long time hobbies - collecting records. Blast From the Past is the result and a chance for me to leaf through some of my favourite albums and singles that I have bought over the years and yabber on about how great I think they are. If anyone fancies contributing something to this section please feel free to do so. Anyway to start the ball rolling the first slab of wax from the past is by probably one of my favourite bands of all time the Dead Kennedys. Jello Biafra, East Bay Ray, Klaus Flouride and DH Peligro for me is the archetypal line up. The DKs were one of the first US hardcore punk bands that I came across - well they were hardcore in those days in the early 80s. The Dead Kennedys were a major influence on the Californian Scene from the late 70s and their unique style and astute lyrics made them shine head and shoulders above the masses. I really love every release by the Kennedys but I think that Plastic Surgery Disasters has to be one of my favourites of all and this is the album that is going to form the first instalment of Blast From The Past. I first came across this album at the tender age of 15 as a swap for some Exploited singles some three years after its release in 1982. My copy is the UK release which despite being release on Alternative Records in the States as Virus 27 was released in the UK through Static Records and has a Catalogue no. of STAT LP 11. The packaging by the Kennedys was always well thought out and the cover artwork is a Biafra concept that's sheer class I remember thinking how cool it was when I first saw it. It depicts an alien hand held by a human hand with the Dead Kennedys wording in pink at the top left. The cover was the photography work of Mike Wells. With the album came a 28 page black and white booklet that have some collage work of a younger Winston Smith and Biafra's news clippings of insane American culture and the all important lyrics full of sardonic wit and extreme sarcasm while retaining very discerning observations and political integrity. On to the music itself and the album kicks of with Melisa Webber as the voice of Christmas past who opens the album with so much attitude - "Why are you such a stoopid asshole would you really like to know ? Well here you'll see, remove your clothes and that will show you how. You went to school where you were taught to fear and to obey. Be cheerful, fit in or someone might think you're weird! Life can be perfect, people can be trusted. Someday I'll fall in love with a nice quiet home of my very own, free from all pain, happy and having fun all the time. It never happened DID IT ?!" over the cacophonic sea of pick scraping guitars and cymbals. Then the whole thing turns into overdrive as the first song blast out in the form of Government Flu. As the first track comes to a close the next number fires up and jumps straight into an attack on college jocks - "I'm not here to learn, I just want to get drunk and major business is to be taught how to fuck.." Terminal Preppie just characterises the US college life to a tee. The whole album just rocks from start to finish and with speed fuelled tracks like Trust Your Mechanic, Buzzbomb and Well Paid Scientist. Before dropping in some finely unique and sardonic ditties like Forest Fire, Bleed For Me, Halloween, Riot, I am The Owl and Moon Over Marin which are sheer DK classics. Plastic Surgery Disasters is an awesome attack on US attitudes, class and cultural idiosyncrasies and possess a trait of sarcastic humour that made the Kennedys lyrics some of the finest punk lyrics ever written. This is one album that I have never lost interest in even some 14 years after I first got a copy. It's also amazing how some of the lyrics are still as relevant today as then - actually I guess that's quite sad. "…A magazine says you face don't look quite right, unless you wear our brand new cream tonight, never look right again, unless you grease your skin, again and again and again and again… Gonna Rip You Off!!!" Trust Your Mechanic - Dead Kennedys