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
Bedtime for Democracy (1986) Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death (1987) Mutiny on the Bay (2001)

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Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	(87%) link
AllMusic	link

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.

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, which also led to it being the last album released through Alternative Tentacles.

The album includes "Pull My Strings", which was played only once on March 25, 1980, when Dead Kennedys were invited to perform at the Bay Area Music Awards in front of music industry bigwigs to give the event some "new wave credibility". The band spent the day of the show practicing "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 on the album.^[1]

Also included is "Night of the Living Rednecks", which was recorded during a show in Portland, Oregon in 1979. East Bay Ray snapped a string on his guitar as the band finished their song "Chemical Warfare", and to pass the time Jello decided to tell a story, with an accompanying bebop-style instrumental from the rest of the band, about how on the last trip the band made to Portland, 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.^[2]

Track listing[]

Personnel[]

• Jello Biafra – vocals, producer, artwork, compiler
• East Bay Ray – guitar, echoplex, producer, mixer
• Klaus Flouride – bass, backing vocals
• Ted – drums (tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 12, 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 – 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

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