Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Compilation album by | ||||
Released | June 1987 | |||
Recorded | 1979–87 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 51:26 | |||
Label | Alternative Tentacles | |||
Dead Kennedys chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AbsolutePunk | (87%) link |
AllMusic | link |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 4/10[1] |
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.
The image on its album cover is a composite of a 1950s shaving cream ad and a 1946 famine in Calcutta.
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
The album includes "Pull My Strings", recorded live, which they played only once on March 25, 1980 at the
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
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. | " 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 Indie Chart[3]
|
1 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[4] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[5] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Dead Kennedys (1980). "Pull My Strings". YouTube.
- ^ 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.