I'd always wondered, "Why am I so into music?"

November 1, 2022 11:20 AM

"I don't think that would solve anything - running away... [y]ou can't run away, man. WE have got to do something."

D. H. Peligro the drummer for the Dead Kennedys since 1981, died on Friday October 28th at the age of 63. Peligro also briefly worked with many punk bands and also the Red Hot Chili Peppers as well as fronting his own band, Peligro. Flea from the RHCP called him "the truest rocker" He was outspoken about his experiences of racism as a Black drummer in a punk band. DK has put up a brief announcement on Facebook and Jello Biafra posted his own remembrance on the Alternative Tentacles website.
posted by jessamyn (34 comments total)

This news hits me hard. I just saw the DKs a few months ago with one of my best friends in my home town of Louisville, Kentucky, and they were all great.

♪
posted by Gelatin at 11:24 AM on November 1, 2022 [2 favorites]

I was lucky enough to meet him, and looking forward to a time when I could meet him again—he exuded positivity and focus, and for the few minutes we chatted (before a DK show, so not the best time, he was taking a break from doing pushups and practicing paradiddles), he was totally affable, seemed very wise and centered, and just a nice guy, you could tell immediately. I can see why so many people are saddened. We all lost him way too early.

May his memory be a loud, driving, and powerful blessing.
posted by not_on_display at 11:27 AM on November 1, 2022 [17 favorites]

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posted by Splunge at 11:35 AM on November 1, 2022

Sigh, the music of my early teens. I took that tape with "this side intentionally left blank" and dubbed the front onto the back so I wouldn't have to rewind the tape.

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posted by zengargoyle at 12:01 PM on November 1, 2022 [5 favorites]

Dude was a year younger than me. Shit. The music of my youth.

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posted by Thorzdad at 12:06 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by Lawn Beaver at 12:15 PM on November 1, 2022

🥁.
posted by adekllny at 12:21 PM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Seminal hardcore drummer, too great to explain. Stuff like "Hyperactive Child" positively grooves.
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posted by rhizome at 12:29 PM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

Part of the appeal of punk has always been that you don't have to be great at your instrument to make something worth hearing but the Kennedys were an example of what punk bands could be when everybody involved was at the top of their field. Rest in peace, DH.
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:50 PM on November 1, 2022 [4 favorites]

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posted by Kattullus at 12:55 PM on November 1, 2022

The Stereogum obit includes this awesome video of the DKs playing California Über Alles a few years back, focused almost entirely on Peligro throughout the entire song. It's a great look at him playing live.

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posted by Superilla at 1:12 PM on November 1, 2022 [11 favorites]

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posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:17 PM on November 1, 2022

This is not a sponsored post, but if people here on MeFi do not know the "My partner's biodad turned out to be Klaus Flouride" story, it's here in a Twitter thread.
posted by jessamyn at 1:24 PM on November 1, 2022 [21 favorites]

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posted by obloquy at 1:40 PM on November 1, 2022

My deepest condolences to all who knew and loved him.
posted by terrapin at 2:02 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by The Ardship of Cambry at 2:15 PM on November 1, 2022

Kennedys were an example of what punk bands could be when everybody involved was at the top of their field.

I was going to say something similar. They could go from hardcore to 'Viva Las Vegas,' or 'We've Got a Bigger Problem Now,' or 'Pull My Strings,' without even the appearance of effort.
posted by box at 2:23 PM on November 1, 2022 [6 favorites]

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posted by y2karl at 2:26 PM on November 1, 2022

As someone once said of their music, it would lose most of its appeal if you couldn't make out what they were playing and singing, just four guys banging away in front of microphones. It would've lost far more if we hadn't understood the why. That was something that these guys always understood.

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posted by delfin at 3:08 PM on November 1, 2022 [1 favorite]

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posted by AJaffe at 3:31 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by JoeXIII007 at 4:08 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by Katjusa Roquette at 4:17 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by Woodroar at 6:27 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 7:32 PM on November 1, 2022

Such surging power, crackling energy!

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posted by doctornemo at 7:47 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by riverlife at 7:59 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 9:28 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by gryphonlover at 9:59 PM on November 1, 2022

ah drat.

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posted by zenon at 10:20 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by talking leaf at 10:53 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by CostcoCultist at 11:27 PM on November 1, 2022

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posted by Bottlecap at 8:08 AM on November 2, 2022

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posted by evilDoug at 9:25 AM on November 2, 2022

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posted by luckynerd at 12:47 PM on November 2, 2022