When it reached the Top 40, presenter Tony Blackburn referred to it simply as "a record by a group calling themselves The Dead Kennedys".

[citation needed] Dead Kennedys supplied a sticker for some record stores who took offense to the title which said, "Caution: You are the victim of yet another stodgy retailer afraid to warp your mind by revealing the title of this record so peel slowly and see..." The song features satirical lyrics by Jello Biafra that paint a trenchant picture of an outrageous, moronic party, set to a heavy surf rock/garage rock riff by guitarist East Bay Ray.

"A very difficult riff to play… very, very fast," observed comedian Bill Bailey, who covered the song with his punk band Beergut 100.

After the rest of the band were awarded the rights to the Dead Kennedys material, they licensed "Too Drunk to Fuck" for use in the 2007 film Planet Terror.

Almost immediately, Biafra criticized his former bandmates, specifically citing the song (a cover by Nouvelle Vague) being used in a rape scene in the movie, saying, "Some people will do anything for money.