Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death

Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
Compilation album by Dead Kennedys
Released	June 1987
Recorded	1979–87
Genre	Hardcore punk; punk rock;
Length	51:26
Label	Alternative Tentacles
Dead Kennedys chronology

Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (stylized as Give me convenience OR give me death) is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. It was released in June 1987 through front man Jello Biafra's record label Alternative Tentacles.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	(87%) link
AllMusic	link
Spin Alternative Record Guide	4/10^[1]

The image on its album cover is a composite of a 1950s Barbasol shaving cream ad and a 1946 famine in Calcutta.^[2]

Overview

The album consists of songs (or in some cases, different versions of songs) that were not released on the band's studio albums. The original vinyl version had tracks 16 and 17 on an extra flexi disc. The album was certified gold by both BPI and the RIAA in December 2007. The title is a play on the ultimatum by Patrick Henry, "Give me liberty, or give me death!", and is intended as a commentary on American consumerism. Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death was the last Dead Kennedys album that Biafra approved the production of, and the last album released through Alternative Tentacles.

The album includes "Pull My Strings", recorded live, which they played only once on March 25, 1980, at the Bay Area Music Awards ("BAMMIES") in front of music industry bigwigs to give the event some "new wave credibility". The band spent the day of the show practicing their increasingly popular "California Über Alles", the song they were asked to play. About 15 seconds into the song Jello Biafra said, "Hold it! We've gotta prove that we're adults now. We're not a punk rock band, we're a new wave band."

The band, who all wore white shirts with a big, black S painted on the front, pulled black ties from around the backs of their necks to form a dollar sign, then started playing "Pull My Strings", a satirical attack on the ethics of the mainstream music industry. The song also referenced the Knack's biggest hit, "My Sharona". The song was never recorded in the studio but this performance, the only time the song was ever performed, was included in the album.^[3]

Also included is "Night of the Living Rednecks", which was recorded during a show in Portland, Oregon in 1979 when East Bay Ray snapped a guitar string as the band finished their song "Chemical Warfare". While the guitar string was being replaced, Biafra vamped for time by telling a story, backed by Ted and Flouride performing a jazz-style instrumental, about how on the last trip the band made to Portland, where he had a confrontation with some "dumb rich kids" in a "life-size Hot Wheels car" that involved him throwing a rock at their vehicle after they sprayed water on him and later trapping himself in a telephone booth when they retaliated.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original appearance	Length
1.	"Police Truck"	Jello Biafra, East Bay Ray	"Holiday in Cambodia"	2:27
2.	"Too Drunk to Fuck"	Biafra	"Too Drunk to Fuck"	2:42
3.	"California über alles" (single version)	Biafra, John Greenway	"California über alles"	3:28
4.	"The Man with the Dogs"	Biafra	"California über alles"	3:04
5.	"Insight"	Biafra	"Kill the Poor"	1:42
6.	"Life Sentence"	Biafra	"Bleed for Me"	2:41
7.	"A Child and His Lawnmower"	Biafra	Not So Quiet on the Western Front	0:57
8.	"Holiday in Cambodia" (single version)	Dead Kennedys	"Holiday in Cambodia"	3:46
9.	"I Fought the Law"	Sonny Curtis, new lyrics: Biafra	Play New Rose for Me – Rose 100	2:21
10.	"Saturday Night Holocaust"	Dead Kennedys	"Halloween"	4:21
11.	"Pull My Strings" (live)	Biafra, Ted	March 25, 1980 – Bay Area Music Awards	5:47
12.	"Short Songs" (live)	6025	Can You Hear Me? Music from the Deaf Club	0:29
13.	"Straight A's" (live)	Biafra, 6025	Can You Hear Me? Music from the Deaf Club	2:15
14.	"Kinky Sex Makes the World Go 'Round"	Dead Kennedys	Wargasm	4:17
15.	"The Prey"	Biafra, Ray	"Too Drunk to Fuck"	3:50
16.	"Night of the Living Rednecks" (live)	Biafra, Flouride, Ted	November 19, 1979 – Earth Tavern, Portland, OR	5:14
17.	"Buzzbomb from Pasadena"	Biafra, Ray	N/A	2:22

Personnel

Jello Biafra – vocals, producer, artwork, compiler
East Bay Ray – guitar, echoplex, producer, mixer
Klaus Flouride – bass, backing vocals
Ted – drums (tracks 1-5, 8, 11-13, 16), artwork
D.H. Peligro – drums, backing vocals (tracks 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17)
6025 – rhythm guitar (tracks 12, 13)

Additional Performers

Ninotchka (Therese Soder) – backing vocals on "Insight"

Production

Thom Wilson – producer
Geza X – producer, backing vocals
Norm – producer
Elliot Mazer – producer
Jim Keylor – engineer
John Cuniberti – producer, engineer
Oliver Dicicco – mixer, engineer
Pippin Youth – mixer
Dee Dee Graves – artwork
Winston Smith – artwork
Jayed Scotti - artwork

Charts

Chart (1987)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)^[4]	84
UK Independent Albums (OCC)^[5]	1

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[6]	Silver	60,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[7]	Gold	500,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ Arnold, Gina (1995). "Dead Kennedys". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 106–107. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
^ Harper, April (November 18, 2022). "This Just In: Punk Flyers of the Bay Area". Letterform Archive. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
^ Dead Kennedys (1980). "Pull My Strings". YouTube.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
^ Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
^ "British album certifications – Dead Kennedys – Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death". British Phonographic Industry.
^ "American album certifications – Dead Kennedys – Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death". Recording Industry Association of America.

[1] Arnold, Gina (1995). "Dead Kennedys". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 106–107. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.

[Harper-2] Harper, April (November 18, 2022). "This Just In: Punk Flyers of the Bay Area". Letterform Archive. Retrieved November 12, 2024.

[3] Dead Kennedys (1980). "Pull My Strings". YouTube.

[ac_UK2_-4] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 30, 2024.

[5] Lazell, Barry (1997). Indie Hits 1980–1989. Cherry Red Books. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved September 5, 2014.

[United_KingdomDead_KennedysGive_Me_Convenience_or_Give_Me_DeathalbumCertRef-6] "British album certifications – Dead Kennedys – Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death". British Phonographic Industry.

[United_StatesDead_KennedysGive_Me_Convenience_or_Give_Me_DeathalbumCertRef-7] "American album certifications – Dead Kennedys – Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death". Recording Industry Association of America.

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