What Jello Biafra has brought to punk is the idea that whining about the general ills of society will get nobody anywhere: you've got to pick your targets, choose your battles, and gather your facts. From the beginning ("Holiday in Cambodia"), he stressed that lip service is perhaps the greatest evil of all. And on this sprawling three-disc recording, in a series of spoken-word pieces, Biafra carries the torch of activism.

Surprisingly, his style isn't difficult to get into. His voice is rough, his speaking style is unpolished, but his strong personality carries it all. Even when he descends into a harsh harangue, you can't turn it off: every word he says is important. I heard Biafra's spoken-word material before I heard any of his work with the Dead Kennedys, and I still think it's more accessible and altogether more intelligent. (Not that I don't love the Dead Kennedys, mind you!)

As far as I can tell, this recording was pieced together from various talks he delivered around the country. Occasionally the volume levels change, or applause is abruptly cut off. This doesn't detract from the content to any extent. The pieces vary in length - ranging from three minutes to nearly an hour.

This is one of his more recent recordings, and so it doesn't suffer from the problems of some of the others: Biafra's references to various political entities are easier to understand, as they're more timely. Here there's not as much of the vague rhetoric of his previous work. The concise cynicism of his Dead Kennedys recordings, and the apocalyptic visions of "No More Cocoons" and "If Evolution Is Outlawed", have given way to precise dissections of world affairs.

The theme of this album is of course "becoming the media". I have to confess that I find rather grating people's perceptions of this idea. Biafra's concept of "becoming the media" encompasses more than putting out 'zines and capturing on video the corruption of corporations. If you can explain, person-to-person, the overlooke issues that impact us, you've achieved exactly what's intended in theory by "become the media": you've fostered awareness in others. Direct action, in the form of amusingly undermining the system, or protests, isn't always the best route - and it doesn't make you apolitical to recognize that. I know people who go around chanting like disciples - "don't hate the media, become the media!" Well, yes, it's a good catchphrase, but you should also put it into action.

That said - on this album, Biafra focuses on both ways to create change. Starting with "The Green Wedge", where he focuses exclusively on using "the green wedge" to introduce your political opposites into more liberal politics, by appealing to their sense of common decency and justice, Biafra quickly moves into "K.O. the WTO", a crash course in the World Trade Organization's foundations, politics and policies.

Then comes one of the most brilliant and poignant pieces of Biafra's career: "Hellburbia". Biafra discusses the Columbine killings and related school shootings, and with ingenious satire, he debunks the ideas that some have proposed to explain why the shootings happened. Talking of how schools sap energy and encourage nothing but conformity, he goes off on tangents about Misty Bernall's hideous mongering of her daughter's death, rants in outrage about bizarre school security measures, and ultimately presents a case which - as full of emotion as it is - remains quite compelling.

"Hack the Planet", though it goes on for almost an hour, is one of the more interesting pieces here. Filling his talk with anecdotes, spicing it all up with an attitude of punkish defiance, Biafra sets forth the notion that infiltrating wrongdoing companies as an employee, and wreaking havoc, can be fun as well as effective. You didn't hear it from me.

The only problem I might name with this album is that some of the topics Biafra discusses here certainly aren't the most interesting. In spite of his verbal flair, discussions of the complex webs of treaties and policies that underlie organizations like the WTO can still become mindnumbing. Thankfully, he only lays out the bare facts in such cases, encouraging listeners to find out more for themselves. And say what you will about him - he's surely done his homework. For somebody who claims never to have used the Internet, Biafra is amazingly well-informed.

But don't think, because of that, that he solely focuses on ponderous technical discussions. There's also stuff here like "Philadelphia Stories", where Biafra talks of how he crashed the national conventions of the Republicans and the Democrats ("Republicrats", in his parlance) - light humor balances the heavier material of the album, and it's much the better for it.

Although this album is "preaching to the choir" at its finest, I fail to see how even those violently opposed to the ideas that Jello Biafra espouses couldn't find it at least interesting. This is anything but mainstream - who, after all, really has the disposition to sit through nearly four hours of lectures like this? - nonetheless, it's another fine example in Biafra's long series of quality spoken-word releases. Furthermore, I don't see how anybody, liberal or conservative, could disagree with the core of Biafra's message: that participation in a true democracy necessitates being informed. Here he expresses that idea with vigor, intensity and humor.

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: At Work