Jello Biafra and Shepard Fairey Spoof Obama 'Hope' Image
- Posted on Nov 20th 2009 4:00PM by Dan Reilly
- Comments (302)
Any album with a title that openly mocks President Obama needs a cover that's equally subversive, and Jello Biafra's artwork for 'The Audacity of Hype' certainly delivers. The former Dead Kennedys frontman opted for a version of Shepard Fairey's famous "HOPE" picture and replace Obama's image with a demonic version of himself, fangs and horns included.Rather than just get an artist to spoof the picture like so many others have done, Biafra went to Fairey himself. "We've known each other for years, at least by phone and being fans of each other's work. He'd done another album cover for me after the Seattle protests," Biafra tells Spinner, referring to a show he did with the No WTO Combo with Nirvana's Krist Novoselic and Soundgarden's Kim Thayil. "I'd seen a variation of Shepard's hand about to strangle the Earth on the cover of one of Seattle's weekly magazines and thought 'This is perfect.' The in-house Art Director of [Biafra's record label] Alternative Tentacles put me in touch with Shepard, so we tweaked the picture to get it ready for the album cover and we went on from there."
When it came time for the 'Audacity of Hype' cover, Biafra wasn't sure whether his vision would work. "I didn't know whether he would dig making fun of his iconic work or not, so I called him first to see how he felt about it," he says. "Much to my pleasant surprise, he said 'Yeah, I want to do the picture.' I thought 'Great, this couldn't have worked out better.'"
'The Audacity of Hype' is out now.





Reader Comments(1 of 16)
mikeat 11-27-2009
You want to hurt someone because you think he might have racist views. Obama and his minister have made overtly racist statements through the years and you think that's just fine. I would not be surprised to find that you have some racist views yourself.....why don't you start there.
Normat 11-27-2009
Biafra and Fairey? Never heard of them and doubt most intelligent people would care about an album that no one will buy!
my opinionat 11-27-2009
and there is the perfect example of what I meant ...
OU812? .... are you really so ignorant that if you do not agree with someone you have to fantasize make believe stories about them? YOU KNOW NOTHING about mckenz707 ... yet you make rude insulting statements about him/her ... Fact is what YOU wrote about mckenz707 is exactly how I feel about YOU!!
Go get a life and stop being a cyber bully and posting such STUPID HATEFUL posts!!!
ednyouat 11-27-2009
Ha ha ha ... this is great stuff. Last week it was Saturday Night Live, then the White House gate crashers and now this. I guess the honeymoon is over. Campaign promise to end the war leads to expanding it. Campaign promise to reduce the deficit leads to increasing it by a trillion dollars. Campaign promise to a bi partisan government leads to 2000 page health care bill developed behind locked doors by democrats. Hope and change leads to hopeless and no real change. Feeling safe America?
Micheleat 11-27-2009
Alschrod,
If Jello's poking fun of President Obama upsets you, I suggest you don't listen to him. Biafra has been controversial for almost 30 years. You don't want to know what he has said about other presidents. He's particularly fond of Reagan. In fact, it was Jello Biafra that first started using the term New World Order to criticize the Republicans many years ago. Look, Biafra is protected by the First Amendment. The cover is in no way a racist comment on Obama. Biafra is entitled to his opinion, just like you.
Jeanneat 11-27-2009
McKen = typical radical fool - It is exactly this type of moron who's mental distortion is of no value to the American people. There is medication, therapy and straight jackets for individuals like this...yet they roam our streets and threaten our healthy American families in this country. Now that is scary.
my opinionat 11-27-2009
I happen to agree with him ...
I think you should take your advise and use it on yourself!!!
it is one thing to disagree with someone and post!
It is something totally different to attack someone you do not know because of their believes ... it makes you look small and ignorant and PETTY!
I suppose that being the cyber bully that you are I can expect you to print nasty ugly stuff about me next!
Just remember ... people have been sued for false statements made on the internet before ... so do not think you are safe and can not be found out!!!
lolabullat 11-27-2009
Give it a rest already "old man". There is no problem with dissent. You and your ilk love to use race as an crutch, an answer if you will to anything and everything when you know what the real truth is, and in this case it's simply a matter of dissention for a man who should never have been elected to office based on the FACT that he had not then nor has any experience now for the position he's so cluelessly been elected to hold. Remember all the disdain and disgust for George Bush.........? Same thing, different guy, get over it nutjob.
crazycreekat 11-27-2009
YES !! Obama should be treated just as Bush was , but the media will never allow that to happen
FDRat 11-27-2009
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) says Democrats are "trying on every front to increase the role of government."
Thank god for the Obama and the democrat party. Soon we will have one party and then things will get done. No more arguments, no more dissent, and no more fighting. We will all agree on whatever the democrats say because they know what is best for the country.
Two party rule is antiquated One party rule is the way to go. The majority of the American people voted for it and they all know best.
Obama is in complete agreement with Castro and Chavez because they have one party rule.
Obama has collected a cadre of communist who know how well one party rule works.
The cadre system was also the embodiment of the ‘vanguard party’ which Lenin believed was made necessary by the inability of the working class to achieve class consciousness spontaneously.
Cells (acorn) were established in all neighborhoods, work places, and social organizations, and their cadres owed their entire loyalty not to the members of the organization within which they worked, but to the Party cadres at the level above.
The control from above of appointments and postings of the cadre force was the basis of Stalin's rise to power. and Obama knows that it works so well.
2BuckChuckat 11-27-2009
Before I let loose, are you just being facetious or are you just spreading illiterate crap?
lolabullat 11-27-2009
You are a fool, sir. A very confused and irrational fool.
mahowenat 11-27-2009
This is great stuff! You all are giving me good laughs this afternoon. Mike is schooling us all on using spellcheck but he misspelled the word "misspelled"! How rich is that?! It's not mispelled, it's misspelled. My spellcheck picked it up. How come Mike's didn't?
mckenz707at 11-27-2009
HEY, OUT812, YES WE CAN!!!!!!!
spideylizzieat 11-27-2009
Get REAL!
Rodeoat 11-27-2009
People need to stop playing the old race card...It is not because he is black!!!! How many times has people laughed and joked about George W. ? and now Sarah Palin. ALOT ! So Please STOP playing that old race card!!! How are we ever going to move forward if people like you continue to play that ugly race card? Happy Holidays !
dad2xgr8at 11-27-2009
We ABSOLUTELY MUST pay attention to what this man does in office. HE is the one representing US around the world, and he is a tragedy in office, MUCH worse than Carter ever was, and Carter wasn't even trying to be an idiot. Obama KNOWS what he is doing and he is doing it in spite of being told NO WE DO NOT WANT what he is shoving down the collective throats of this great country. YES, my friend we MUST ABSOLUTELY oppose his agenda that is clearly an effort to kill the individual ambition in this country.
my opinionat 11-27-2009
I agree with Mike ...
I might add that I am sick and tired of the "you are a racist" card that is dragged out every time someone does not agree with Obama!!! And speaking of racist ... the problem has never been so bad in years as it is with obama in the office ... I think he is one of the biggest racist around!!!!
Frankly IF I were to have a problem with obama, it would NOT be because he is black ... it would be because he is only ONE HALF AMERICAN!!!!
Why can you people not grasp this ... his wife and children are african americans ... but obama is ONE HALF AMERICAN and one half AFRICAN ... The two are NOT THE SAME!!!! HE IS NOT A FULL AMERICAN CITIZEN ... that is if he is still an American citizen at all ... there are still a LOT of unanswered questions about what happened during his mother's second marriage and whether he was adopted and gave up all rites to his American citizenship!!! This should bother people MORE than the color of his skin!!!
builderat 11-27-2009
GEE AL , THIS IS STILL AMERICA, OPINIONS ARE ALLOWED, YOU DONT HAVE TO AGREE. THE MAN SAYS WHAT HE SEE'S AND FEELS.
stargzrat 11-27-2009
I guess Hillybilly hog .... you are what your name says. HBHF.. you really should go back to where you crawled out of, because you have no idea what the hell your saying.. must be all of those hogs.. they've lowered you already low IQ...