Police Truck
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2010) |
| "Police Truck" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
surf punk | ||||
| Length | 2:24 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Dead Kennedys | |||
| Dead Kennedys singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Police Truck" is a song by the American
B-side of the "Holiday in Cambodia" single and later released in June 1987 as the opening track on the band's compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
.
The song is a satirical attack on the actions of two police officers and takes a first-person view from the authorities themselves.
"Police Truck" was one of the Kennedys' early popular songs. The song is built around a
surf rock beat (similar to ones heard in the early instrumental surf singles such as the Chantays' "Pipeline"), and highlighted by East Bay Ray
's echoed guitar leads and the descending chorus "ride, ride, how we ride." "Police Truck", like many of the band's songs, serves as an example of the Dead Kennedys' ability to portray a disturbing scenario through humorous lyrics.
In popular culture
The song appeared in the soundtrack of the popular skateboarding video game California über alles" and "Holiday in Cambodia" for the Rock Band video game series as downloadable content.
In 2021, the band Punk Rock Karaoke and actor Wil Wheaton covered the track.[5]
References
- ^ a b AV Club (2009). Inventory: 16 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls, 10 Great Songs Nearly Ruined by Saxophone, and 100 More Obsessively Specific Pop-Culture Lists. Simon and Schuster. p. 198.
- ^ What Would Jello Do? Part 78: What Happens When The Government Riots? (Part 2). YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
- ^ Ruggles, Brock (2008). Not So Quiet on the Western Front: Punk Politics During the Conservative Ascendancy in the United States, 1980--2000. p164
- ^ "Letter from Alternative Tentacles".
- ^ Gentile, John (April 9, 2021). "Wil Wheaton and Punk Rock Karaoke cover Dead Kennedys". Punknews.org. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
