The DK's sang about what they thought was wrong with their country and tried to do their bit to change it. The cynic in me would now say that this is, indeed, very American, but America also has a great history of protests and interest in social change. 'Patrotism' has become a really idiotic word after 9/11- it's now synonymous with 'following your government blindly and beating everyone up who disagrees'.

alex in mainhattan September 11th, 2002 I always heard their music more as punk than as c&w. What you're thinking of is 'anti American', which the DK's weren't, either (unless you think disapproving of Reaganomics is anti American, in which case Springsteen is anti-American, too.)Īll right then Daniel, but you must admit that they are not a band you would associate with American patriotism, American consumer society and American roots music. How so? They sang almost exclusively about America, and their sound is based firmly on Garage Rock and Rockabilly, American music. The most Un-American band would probably be The Dead Kennedys, I guess.

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