Buzzbomb

Album: Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Not all Dead Kennedys songs are about politics or civil unrest. "Buzzbomb," a track from their second album, is about a car, a "macho-mobile" that can do some serious speed. The guy in the song gets it up to 110 on Highway 50 in Nevada before police come and shoot out the tires.
  • Dead Kennedys lead singer Jello Biafra wrote this with the group's guitarist, East Bay Ray, who describes it as a "California car song."

    "We were in California, we had cars and sunshine," he explained to Songfacts. "I guess that's kind of our tribute to California."

    Ray added that while there a shades of surf rock in the guitar part, the sound was most influenced by Scotty Moore, who was Elvis Presley's guitarist.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

Ian Gillan of Deep Purple

Ian Gillan of Deep PurpleSongwriter Interviews

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan explains the "few red lights" in "Smoke On The Water" and talks about songs from their 2020 album Whoosh!

Superman in Song

Superman in SongSong Writing

Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.