Dead Kennedys – Bedtime For Democracy
(Alternative Tentacles Records 1986 VIRUS50)
Matrix No’s: A3/B3 Orlake – UK Pressing
“Porky Prime Cut” in dead wax
Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from a few light dust crackles)
Gatefold Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– a little wear to edges
Newspaper in Nr MINT condition
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1978. The band was one of the first American hardcore bands to make a significant impact in the United Kingdom.
Dead Kennedys’ lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing establishment political figures (both liberal and conservative) and authority in general, as well as popular culture and even the punk movement itself. During their initial incarnation between 1978 and 1986, they attracted considerable controversy for their provocative lyrics and artwork. Several stores refused to stock their recordings, provoking debate about censorship in rock music; in the mid 80s vocalist and primary lyricist Jello Biafra became an active campaigner against the Parents Music Resource Center. This culminated in an obscenity trial between 1985 and 1986, which resulted in a hung jury. They released a total of four studio albums and one EP before disbanding in 1986. Following the band’s dissolution, Biafra continued to collaborate and record with other artists including D.O.A., NoMeansNo and his own bands Lard and the Guantanamo School of Medicine, as well as releasing several spoken word performances.
In 2000 (upheld on appeal in 2003), Jello Biafra lost an acrimonious legal case initiated by his former Dead Kennedys band mates over songwriting credits and unpaid royalties. In 2001, the band reformed without Biafra; various singers have since been recruited for vocal duties.
Bedtime for Democracy is the fourth and final studio album released by Dead Kennedys. Songs on this album cover such common punk subjects as conformity, Reaganomics, the military, and even criticizing aspects of their own punk movement. The title of the album is a reference to the 1951 comedy film, Bedtime for Bonzo starring Ronald Reagan, and perhaps also reflects the weary band’s bitterness in the aftermath of the financially and emotionally draining trial they were being subjected to at the time over the controversial art included with their previous album. In fact, by the time recording began, they had already played what would be their last live concert with Jello Biafra and announced their breakup immediately after the record’s release. There is a typing error on the Manifesto CDs so that the time length for Gone with My Wind is printed “:43” when it should read “1:43”. On the original vinyl version, Side A was tracks 1-11 and Side B was tracks 12-21. It also came with a mock periodical in the form of a thin newspaper made up of collage art, called “Fuck Facts.”
The East Bay punk band Isocracy parodied the name in their 1988 EP, Bedtime for Isocracy. The cover art depicted the band together in a bed, accompanied by Jello Biafra.
Track listing
- All songs written by Jello Biafra except when stated.
- “Take This Job and Shove It” (David Allan Coe) – 1:25
- “Hop with the Jet Set” – 2:07
- “Dear Abby” – 1:09
- “Rambozo the Clown” – 2:25
- “Fleshdunce” – 1:29
- “The Great Wall” – 1:32
- “Shrink” – 1:44
- “Triumph of the Swill” – 2:17
- “Macho Insecurity” – 1:30
- “I Spy” (D.H. Peligro) – 2:30
- “Cesspools in Eden” – 5:56
- “One-Way Ticket to Pluto” – 1:38
- “Do the Slag” (East Bay Ray) – 1:36
- “A Commercial” – 1:33
- “Gone with My Wind” – 1:43
- “Anarchy for Sale” – 1:18
- “Chickenshit Conformist” – 5:58
- “Where Do Ya Draw the Line” – 2:39
- “Potshot Heard ‘Round the World” (East Bay Ray, Jello Biafra) – 2:10
- “D.M.S.O.” – 2:09
- “Lie Detector” (East Bay Ray, Jello Biafra) – 3:43
Credits
- Jello Biafra – lead vocals, producer, mixer
- East Bay Ray – guitar
- Klaus Fluoride – bass, backing vocals
- D.H. Peligro – drums, backing vocals
- Tim Jones – synthesizer
- Jayed Scotti – timbales
- Cal – backing vocals
- Andrew – backing vocals
- Blaze – backing vocals
- P. O’Pillage – backing vocals, artwork
- John Cuniberti – engineer, mixer
- Winston Smith – artwork
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