Frankenchrist is also noted for its relative lack of traditionally "hardcore" material, with most of the tracks being slower and longer than the majority of other Dead Kennedys songs.

− Get off the Air" is notable for its pointed slam of the music establishment and "Stars and Stripes of Corruption" for its exegesis of vocalist Jello Biafra's political philosophies.

Biafra said, "One of the main focal points of Frankenchrist is if we are going to rise above the need for cops and laws, we can quit using the old American work ethic of seeing how much you can get away with and how much you can scam and who cares whose back you stab.

The choice of the painting came as the result of a comment by Jello Biafra to his then-roommate and Dead Kennedys artist, Jayed Scotti, art partner of Winston Smith.

[5] Trouser Press wrote: "There are some bad tracks with forced, awkward lyrics, but the LP does contain two of the DKs’ finest moments: 'MTV — Get Off the Air' and 'Stars and Stripes of Corruption', one of the most powerful political statements ever committed to vinyl.