DEAD KENNEDYS:
Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death: LP
Can’t say much about the Dead Kennedys that hasn’t said before. The packaging sure as hell is nice (LP-size, glossy, many-paged booklet), and it’s nice to be replacing my warped, fucked-up cassette with the weak little cover that I cut the UPC out of to get a free Alternative Tentacles catalog back in 1987. Convenience was basically a singles collection – it’s got a lot of the hits that people associate with the Dead Kennedys, like “California über Alles,” “Holiday in Cambodia,” and “Too Drunk to Fuck” – with several more songs and tidbits to sweeten the deal for a long play. (The spoken word piece, “Kinky Sex Makes the World Go ‘Round” still annoys me, yet I still know all the words.) Looking back, what amazes me is that when I first listened to this I couldn’t believe how fast it was. Now it sounds mid-paced to what full-on thrash and hardcore has evolved into. I also can’t get over how surfy, inventive, and balanced the songs are. This LP’s something that gets pulled out on regular occasion and played. It definitely holds its own. –Todd Taylor (Manifesto)