Dead Kennedys - Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death

Getting Death

Some people had a slogan for The Clash years ago: "The Only Band That Matters". I guess maybe for huge fans of The Clash in the late 70s that made sense. In terms of what bands matter most now, in the year 2008, there are only a few that still matter like Dead Kennedys. It's actually a sad comment on our society that many DK songs written 20+ years ago still pack such a punch. Sh** hasn't changed much has it? But at least you can still listen to some great music that expressed so well what a f----- up country we live in, I guess. Other than that I find America in the 21st Century in decline and as depressing as ever.
The reason Dead Kennedys was a great band is because of Jello Biafra's lyrics. Too bad they'll never play again.

"Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death" is required listening material for citizens in the declining American Empire of the post-Dick Cheney/Dubya Regime. April 16, 2008

My Favorite Album, Period

What's not to like? This has "hits" and B-side misses, lots of humor ("Rick Wakeman, eat your heart out!" for instance, referring to the Yes keyboardist who has a habit of making songs that go on forever), rednecks chasing down Jello Biafra with clubs, and a wire tap on a conversation that could begin WWIII. You'll be treated to recordings that just don't exist anywhere else. I don't care what label puts out the version you buy, but this is one of those gems that belongs in your music library. I always put it on when I need a good laugh or some other drive. March 18, 2008

Yep, its pull my strings you are buying this for.

Got to be one of the greatest songs ever written. Even all these years later it still rings true. To this day whenever I seen these fake punk bands on TV that song comes to mind. The rest of this album is still good to listen too, yeh a lot of the stuff you will find on other albums but there are still a few good tracks here that you need to pick up.

This ones for you Green Day.....

"I'm tired of self respect, cant afford a car, I wanna be a prefab super star" July 7, 2007

Give Me "Give Me Convenience..."

All the loose ends of the Dead Kennedys non-album singles, B-sides, and/or comp. tracks are compiled here for our convenience, which the title of the collection takes its name, twisting Patrick Henry's famous "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" line. "Give me Convenience or Give Me Death" was originally released in 1987 about a year after the band's demise. Though all these songs came together as a collection of leftovers, they coincidentally all work together as a solid album. This is one of my favorite releases by Dead Kennedys ranking on par with "Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables."

Everything here is indigenous to this album with even the single versions of "Holiday in Cambodia" and "California Uber Alles" being different recordings than what's found on the "Fresh Fruit..." album. "Police Truck" and "Too Drunk..." are also classics in their own right found on this and no other DK album. There's even a premonition of Jello's spoken word work on "Night of the Living Rednecks" as he stalls for time by telling one of his road stories during a live set while East Bay Ray changes a broken guitar string.

Being recorded at different points in the band's career, the tracks here jump around through different incarnations of the Kennedys' sound. Your always kept on your toes with each tune a little bit different than any of the others on the record as their sound thoroughly evolved from year to year. Some of Dead Kennedys' best gems can be found here from all its different eras.
March 26, 2007

To L. Scott:

You call yourself a REAL punk, but do you even know who the SEX PISTOLS ARE??? I was there, in those mosh pits! So, you have no right to say what punk is and isn't. As for this CD, GREEN DAY is more hardcore than this!!! Is this punk? Yes. Harcore? Hardly. Not the greatest band, but a solid one. If you want REAL hardcore, check out:
ADOLESCENTS
BLACK FLAG
SLAPPY-GREEN DAY February 4, 2007

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