LET THEM EAT JELLYBEANS

In 1987 I was in the 7th grade and really in to Def Leppard. Then a friend let me borrow a tape his older brother had made for him. Side A had the first Dead Milkmen album on it and side B had Let The Eat Jellybeans written across the top. I thought that it was the name of the band. Needless to say, I was exposed for the first time to some of the most influential punk bands of the era and was quickly hooked to this thing they call the punk rock.

Let Them Eat Jellybeans!, subtitled "17 Extracts From Americas Darker Side", is a compilation album released by Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles in 1981. It was one of the earliest compilations of underground music in the United States and its original release included an insert of all of the punk bands known to be playing in the U.S. and Canada at that time. The first side of the LP features songs by a number of bands that formed the canon of American hardcore punk in the 1980s, while the second side features more of an art rock sound.

The album's title comes from the phrase "Let them eat cake" (supposedly said by Marie Antoinette). The use of the word jellybeans is in reference to Ronald Reagan, who was known to consider them his favorite candy.

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Let Them Eat Jellybeans

1. "Ha Ha Ha" - performed by Flipper
2. "The Prisoner" - performed by D.O.A.
3. "Police Story" - performed by Black Flag
4. "Pay to Cum" - performed by Bad Brains
5. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off!" - performed by Dead Kennedys
6. "Paid Vacation" - performed by Circle Jerks
7. "Prostitution" - performed by Really Red
8. "Jesus Entering from the Rear" - performed by The Feederz
9. "Slave to My Dick" - performed by Subhumans
10. "Isotope Soap" - performed by Geza X
11. "Persecution-That's My Song" - performed by BPeople
12. "An Object" - performed by Wounds
13. "Everyone's A Bigot" - performed by The Offs
14. "Corporate Food" - performed by Anonymous
15. "Fun Again" - performed by Half Japanese
16. "Joke's On You" - performed by Christian Lunch
17. "Sleep" - performed by Voice Farm