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List Price: $10.98 | | Label: Alternative Tentacle
Salesrank: 170979
Released: October 25, 1990 |
| Our Price: $93.41 |
| Used Price: $2.99 |
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| Media: Audio CD |
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Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death Track Listing:
1. Police Truck
2. Too Drunk to Fuck
3. California �ber Alles
4. Man With the Dogs
5. In-Sight
6. Life Sentence
7. Child and His Lawn Mower
8. Holiday in Cambodia
9. I Fought the Law
10. Saturday Night Holocaust
11. Pull My Strings
12. Short Songs
13. Straight A's
14. Kinky Sex (Makes the World Go Around)
15. Prey
16. Night of the Living Rednecks
17. Buzzbomb from Pasadena
Editorial Review:
This Manifesto reissue of 'Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death' release has been digitally remastered (by the original sound engineer), features 17 tracks, a new lavish CD booklet with tons of photos & newspapers clippings!
Description of Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death:
Track for track and album after album, the Dead Kennedys were the most relentlessly political and controversial stateside punk rock band to gain much public notoriety. Originally released in 1987, Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death collects 17 of the band's singles, compilation tracks, and rarities spanning the eight years they played together. This is a wide and deep collection of favorites like "California Über Alles" and "Holiday in Cambodia," but the real reason to pick up this disc is the more obscure and rare material. From 1979, "Night of the Living Rednecks" has hyperactive mouthpiece Jello Biafra relating a tale of being chased by irate rednecks while the rhythm sections jams. Their version of "I Fought the Law" rewrites it into a true-to-life murder ballad, while rippers like "Life Sentence," "Insight," "Pull My Strings" and "Straight A's" are off the map unless you were lucky enough to pick up the original singles or compilations that they're pulled from. And "Kinky Sex Makes the World Go 'Round" is Biafra at his sarcastic best, as he tells of one corporate head instructing another on the economic necessity of a new war. The DKs were a truly important and relevant band, and Give Me Convenience provides 17 livid reasons why. Boy, could we use them now. --Carl Hanni
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death Reviews:
A nice collection of b-sides and rarities 
2009-09-25 - I wouldn't recommend this one for starters, but if you are a true DK fan, this is definitely a keeper, as it some of the most memorable outtakes and re-makes of their biggest hits. It has the original, slower version of California Uber Alles and Holiday In Cambodia, plus the hilarious I Fought the Law and I Won. And btw, for the longest time I got fooled into believing that was the title of the original song, but discovered I was wrong when it appeared as a question on the Who Wants to be a Millionaire show! Saturday Night Holocaust is quite scary, but it sure blew my mind. It also contains remakes of previous DK hits, including Kinky Sex Makes the World Go Round, with the music to Bleed For Me in the background. Night of the Living Rednecks is more stand-up comedy improv by Jello, which is hilarious but unprofessional, considering that Ray had to re-string his guitar in the middle of a set. He could have brought a spare guitar with him, but I guess we're thankful he didn't, otherwise we wouldn't have had time to hear this 5-minute story, and it never would have appeared on this album. Buzzbomb From Pasadena is also quite hilarious, how nice of such a great band to lampoon their own song. I would hope they consider touring with Jello again in the future, but this is a great farewell album.
Not as good as their other records. 
2009-09-05 - This was the one record of the dead kennedys that didn't impress me as much as their other records, but worth checking out any ways.
Green Day wannabes 
2009-06-05 - Ugh, where to start with Pudding Biafra. Pudding thinks it's acceptable to steal Green Day's riffs and steal their idea of political punk. Well, hey Pudding, Green Day started the genre of political punk! The Dead Kennedys tried to become popular and get MTV airplay by wearing eyeliner and singing about how much they hate the government in their '40s, but it failed. They even tried to incorporate hot booty-shaking girls in their music videos, but they still didn't get on MTV. Check out "American Idiot" by the punk messiahs Green Day for some TRUE political punk.
Getting Death 
2008-04-16 - 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.
My Favorite Album, Period
2008-03-18 - 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.
