Holiday in Cambodia

"Holiday in Cambodia" is the second single off American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys' debut studio album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables. The song was released in May 1980. 

The cover art for the song was taken during the Thammasat University massacre on 6 October 1976 in Thailand. It shows a member of a right-wing crowd beating the corpse of a student protester with a chair. The song is against both Eastern totalitarianism and Western complacency. The original version of the song features the satirically quoted word "niggers", later performances of the song by the Dead Kennedys, as well as other artists have replaced the word with "brothers". Biafra, however, has often replaced the word with "blacks".

Lead singer Jello Biafra was sued by the other members of Dead Kennedy because he would not allow the song to be used in a Levi's Dockers commercial. Biafra opposed Levi's because he believes they use unfair business practices and sweatshop labor. The other members of the band said that they had had their royalties defrauded. "The record industry has been skimming royalties owed artists since the beginning," according to Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray. "This case is no different from blues musicians being taken advantage of in the twenties and thirties. Many people doubted the claims we made against our former record label back in 1998 but with this announcement there is no denying we were the victims here."

References

Category:1980 songs
Category:Hard rock songs
Category:Dead Kennedys songs