AMG Review of I Blow Minds for a Living

Stewart Mason
All Music Guide

Jello Biafra's third album of spoken word political invective is looser and funnier than the two that sprang up as a direct result of his mid-'80s obscenity trial. He's clearly regained the sense of absurdity and humor that made the Dead Kennedys more than your average hardcore band. In fact, much of I Blow Minds for a Living is downright hilarious; "Running for Mayor" is half standup routine and half shaggy dog story, detailing his media-baiting run for mayor of San Francisco in 1981 (he placed fourth out of ten candidates) with sly, self-deprecating wit that never quite hides the pointed political agenda at the heart of his campaign. Elsewhere, he rips into chicken hawks (pro-war politicians who conveniently dodged service in Vietnam and elsewhere), censorship, the war on drugs, and other juicy targets, backing up his barbs with thoughtful and cogent political analysis.