DEAD KENNEDYS - Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death LP + Flexi 7'' 1987

When I say goodbye I wanna be buried with this record. Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death is the last amazing album by the brilliant Dead Kennedys, my favorite band from the States, which appeared on Jello's Alternative Tentacles label after their dissolution in 1986. And it's become a compilation with all their 7Inch tracks plus rare live goodies, an awesome farewell by a great band. I quote the wiki entry here because these are really fitting words for this album I think: "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 slab 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.

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."

In principle, there is only one word for this record: Masterpiece! In the file I have attached the booklet as pdf, if you prefer jpeg click on the orange button.

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GENOCIDE & M.I.A. - Last Rides For... 1982

Awesome split record from Smoke Seven Records with two great US hardcore/punk combos. Genocide was founded early 1980 in New Jersey by Bobby EBZ (vocals), Wheels (bass), Jet Screamer (guitars) and Damage (drums) and "they were a full-throttle, skull fucking rip-ride of hardcore sex, ghetto drugs and berserk violence, a supersonic nailgun of Aquanet and mascara and spikes and splatterpunk and slutmetal. And this was way before most of that shit was even invented, brother. Led by shadowy charlatan and full-bore suicidal egomaniac Bobby EBZ, for one very brief but blinding moment in the late 80’s, Genocide threatened to rip rockNroll’s heart right out of it’s leather-clad chest and eat it whole. Besides a fashion sense that suggested needle Nazis from outer space, and a disposition just this side of liquored-up junkyard dogs, Genocide really ought to be remembered as one of the first bands to realize that there wasn't a whole lot of difference between the punk rock riot of GBH and the hellfire spit metal of Venom. So they played both at once - M.I.A. were formed 1980 in Las Vegas by Mike (vocals), Nick (guitars), Paul (bass/piano) and Moon (drums) and they broke up and then reunited a few months later in Orange County/California, becoming part of the growing scene there. Shortly after recording a demo, songs were snapped up for two now-legendary 1982 punk compilations: American Youth Report and Not So Quiet On The Western Front. The rest of the demo was released as a split LP Last Rites for Genocide and M.I.A.- The band struck a deal with notorious punk label Alternative Tentacles and released Murder in A Foreign Place in June of 1984. That summer they embarked on a grueling three month tour of the United States & Canada. In 1985 they completed another U.S. tour and headed back into the studio to record the post-punk classic Notes From the Underground. In 1987 the band issued its final studio album on Flipside Rec., After The Fact. In 2001, Alternative Tentacles issued Lost Boys, a compilation of the first two albums plus extras; in 2017 Darla Records reissued Notes From the Underground and After The Fact digitally and on CD for the first time." Great Music!

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NOMEANSNO - Wrong 1989

It's time for a classic by a band that started in 1979 and thrilled me live several times with their sometimes jazzy and highly explosive sound. Wrong is the fourth album by NoMeansNo and was released through Alternative Tentacles. A bit info: Critic Martin Popoff described their music as "the mightiest merger between the hateful aggression of Punk and the discipline of Heavy Metal. Nomeansno's distinct hardcore punk sound, complex instrumentation, and dark, "savagely intelligent" lyrics inspired subsequent musicians. They are often considered foundational in the Punk Jazz and Post-Hardcore movements, and have been cited as a formative influence on the math rock and emo genres. This album is a blast from the first to the last note, powerful, dynamic, refreshing and hearty and shows the band in top form. Drummer John described it as the band's "most popular album by a country mile". When asked to speculate as to the reasons why Wrong enjoyed such relative success, John attributed it to the mainstream success of Nirvana and the rising popularity of alternative music:

"The kind of music we were playing, and then Nirvana before they got popular, and that kind of alternative...Punkrock was getting to that point where a lot of bands were just starting to get into that commercial breakthrough, and when Nirvana did, well of course that spelled the end of it all. But it sort of simmered to that point, and then people wanted to hear bands like Nirvana, which weren't Hardcore, not pop or rock, it was sort of more heartfelt music, and we were sort of caught up in that... In Europe especially, the music scene was just exploding. We completely attribute all of our success to going and playing in Europe. That's where all the buzz about us came from. We were touring throughout the States in the mid-80s, and we'd get a little bit of audience here and there, but after a couple of years in Europe, we started doing some big shows there, and all of a sudden, people in the States were coming out to our shows. And we went from getting paid $200 to getting paid $1000. It was just like that. You had to have the buzz, and then it all just kind of blew up. Every major label tried to sign every band, and then it became no longer an alternative, it sort of became co-opted by the mainstream and people moved on to hip hop and dub step and then everyone got sick of rock and roll and went to raves."

They released ten albums by 2016, I only know their first five, but NoMenasNo were one of the most extraordinary combos I was able to experience and are still worth listening to and always a good reason to buy a record. 👍

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V/A - SF Underground EP 1979

First release by Subterranean Records and this nice EP came with a foldover sleeve and lyric insert, 2000 copies. Subterranean and fellow punk/alt/underground San Francisco label Alternative Tentacles both sprang forth from the D.I.Y. punk movement in 1979, and were quite successful on college and community radio stations in the US. These labels helped define the San Francisco punk movement. Subterranean was the more avant garde of the two. While originally just focused on documenting and promoting the SF area, over the years Subterranean has released records by artists from many areas and genres, this a little label backinfo. For your ears: four solid numbers, something for every taste.

1.Johnny Got His Gun - NO ALTERNATIVE

2.Earthworm - FLIPPER

3.Asexuality In The 80's - THE TOOLS

4.Ballad Of Pincushion Smith - VKTMS

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V/A - Not So Quiet On The Western Front 2LP 1982

Let's start the church service with a terrific compilation and I'm glad I wasn't allowed to rip it because such a mammoth work requires a lot of time and a comfortable chair, especially when there's a nice booklet with lots of information within. The material is not unknown in Blogland and I already had a copy, but this rip here is excellent, no wonder, because I know where it comes from. Released by Maximum RockNRoll (one of the best sources for objective reviews and band infos) on Alternative Tentacles as double album and features forty-seven Northern California and Nevada bands (a few known elsewhere, most not), and ranges from punk to hardcore and comes with 48-page zine on the bands. Since I'm lazy to write and I'm not a good reviewer anyway, you can find a fitting one on punknews and before I close, a quick footnote: the link runs through zippy and you have to activate your VPN. Finally, a metaphysical sentence from the back cover: "If Punk Is Dead, What The Hell Is This?" In this sense, enjoy the music!

1.Intensified Chaos - INTENSIFIED CHAOS

2.Their Mistakes - SOCIAL UNREST

3.Dan With The Mellow Hair - NAKED LADY WRESTLERS

4.Holocaust - M.A.D.

5.Rich Plastic People - KILLJOY

6.Fun With Acid - FANG

7.El Salvador - CAPITOL PUNISHMENT

8.Collapse - RIBSY

9.Annihilation - CRUCIFIX

10.I Don't Wanna Die For My Country - SQUARE COOLS

11.Pay Salvation - LOS OLVIDADOS

12.What Price Will You Pay? - CODE OF HONOR

13.Fuck Your Amerika - 7 SECONDS

14.Race War - UNAWARE

15.Turmoil - FRIGIDETTES

16.Don't Conform - 5TH COLUMN

17.Shrunken Heads - GHOST DANCE

18.A Child And His Lawn Mower - DEAD KENNEDYS

19.All I Know - REBEL TRUTH

20.Learning Process - PARIAH

21.Reagum - LENNONBURGER

22.Praise The Lord / Pass The Ammunition - IMPATIENT YOUTH

23.GDMFSOB - BAD POSTURE

24.Assassination Attempt - DEMENTED YOUTH

25.The Only Good Cop. . . - MDC

26.The Few, The Proud, The Dead - KARNAGE

27.Scare - DOMINO THEORY

28.Dead Porker - NBJ

29.Human Farm - WHIPPING BOY

30.Worker Bee - ANGST

31.Premature Enlistment - FREE BEER

32.Sacrifice - FLIPPER

33.No One Listens - VENGEANCE

34.S/M Nightmare - JUVINEL JUSTICE

35.Fat, Drunk, & Stupid - SECTION 8

36.Libyan Hit Squad - TONGUE AVULSION

37.Off To War - MANIAX

38.Strike Out - VICIOUS CIRCLE

39.Breakout - UXB

40.Shitcan - SCAPEGOATS

41.The Oven Is My Friend - CHURCH POLICE

42.Systems Suck - DEADLY REIGN

43.Dead Men Tell No Lies - NO ALTERNATIVE

44.Punk Is An Attitude - WRECKS

45.SLT - URBAN ASSAULT

46.No More Riots - BENT NAILS

47.New Left - M.I.A.

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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JELLO BIAFRA with NOMEANSNO - The Sky Is Falling And I Want My Mommy 1991

Kick off March and to a record which is still fresh after more than thirty years and revitalizes the Punk in you when it's a little rusty. Well, when I bought the album in Hamburg back then, I was of course very excited and wanted to know if Jello Biafra, who had two years before jammed with D.O.A. and conjured up a superb album, would top this with his second trip to Canada, this time to Victoria where NoMeansNo was at home back then. And the result is one more musical and optical highlight in all respects. Eight energetic songs plus Jello's cynically apocalyptic words, that sums up this brilliant record. I would particularly like to mention the artwork, which was again designed by Winston Smith and connects the history with reality and let us see that not much has changed and mankind is stagnating in its actions and thinking, profit-oriented and without regard for losses, especially nature and minorities suffer vehemently and all the generations that will follow can be happy. When man entered this planet, the earth was doomed. Nevertheless, I want to close with an apt review from my favorite site for this, because they can do that:

"After working with Canada's D.O.A. on his previous collaboration album, Jello hooked up with fellow Canucks and Alternative Tentacles signees NoMeansNo for an abrasive, brilliantly skewed thrash of a record, The Sky Is Falling & I Want My Mommy. NoMeansNo, with their angular art aggression, makes for a more distinct vehicle for Jello than D.O.A., bursting with power and screwy inventiveness both. The title track alone is worth the price of admission; Jello's rant about nuclear satellites and paranoia perfectly is matched by the music, and in ways the track serves as the missing link between an older style of Punk and the work of underground '90s acts like Unwound. White-hot guitar lines scrape and snarl over the stuttering rhythm while Jello rages through as only he can. "Chew" starts with minimal guitar snarls and whines floating around a low-key rhythm before fully springing to life, alternating between epic explosions and low-key tension over the song's length. Other tracks have a more straightforward, thrash feeling but still kick along very nicely, often throwing in odd solos or other touches to prevent sound-alike disease. Jello's pithy way around any number of subjects doesn't fail him here, with everything from recontextualized religion ("Jesus Was A Terrorist") to the joys of white-knuckle trips down mountain rivers ("Ride The Flume" with its lyrics "forget log rides in amusement parks, this one's 50 miles long!"). NoMeansNo's Ramones-worshipping alter egos, the Hanson Brothers, sneak in for the song "Bad," which is delivered in appropriately quick time, though Jello avoids sounding like Joey Ramone. The album wraps up with two great stormers, "Sharks In The Gene Pool", which constantly shifts tempos and feels over its length, and "The Myth Is Real-Let's Eat", with a wickedly snarling bassline that helps carry it along. Jello lets go in full effect over both, with all of the energy that fans would come to expect." (Ned Raggett)

One note before you ask, my copy doesn't have a lyric sheet for some fucking reason... well, I think more words aren't needed. In the same year, one more short group therapy convened, Tumor Circus, and is one more pleasure at own risk.

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V/A - Terminal City Ricochet 1989

Well, it's October and I sit at home and rip a few records and while I listen to this splendid album I thought it it the right post for today. This is a soundtrack record with excellent suff. The bands/songs here are damn great and on it one of my absolute favourite tunes, 'Madhouse' from Evan Johns & The H-Bombs, can listen to it everytime, I sit in it namely, brilliant guitars,  driving rhythm, perfect voice and with 6 minutes a really smasher, check it on youtube. The rest is also varied and brings me really in a good mood. Since when Jello has his fingers inside this can's be no shit. A few words about the film: Terminal City Ricochet is a 1990 film by director Zale Dalen. The name was taken from a hockey team called the Terminal City Ricochets. Starring Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys), Terminal City Ricochet is a dystopian comedy critical of television and its collusion with government and consumerism. Terminal City Ricochet is well known in cult film circles, but it has only been shown at film festivals, and a few times on pay-TV. The DVD of the film and a CD of the movie soundtrack is available through Alternative Tentacles. OK, let's see if I still post more today, but first further with ripping vinyl. Enjoy this great record!

1.Behind The Smile - D.O.A.
2.Television - THE BEATNIGS
3.Falling Space Junk (Hold The Anchovies) - JELLO BIAFRA with NOMEANSNO
4.Modern Man - I, BRAINEATER
5.Living With The Lies - GERRY HANNAH
6.War Party - ART BERGMANN
7.That's Progress - JELLO BIAFRA with D.O.A.
8.Madhouse - EVAN JOHNS & THE H-BOMBS
9.It's Catching Up - NOMEANSNO
10.Pull The Trigger, Sunshine! - THE GROOVAHOLICS
11.Concrete Beach - D.O.A.
12.Message From Our Sponsor/Object-Subject - KEITH LeBLANC & JELLO BIAFRA

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ARTICLES OF FAITH - What We Want Is Free EP 1982

Awesome Killer record by Chicago based hardcore punx Articles Of Faith, active between 1981-1985, and they were considered as vanguards of that Midwestern city's scene and released a handful of highly influential records. Later work is credited with superior songwriting and with foreshadowing the emo sound. Fronted by former protest singer and eventual history instructor Vic Bondi, Articles of Faith first came on the scene in 1981. Their first EP, What We Want Is Free, was released 1982 and was followed by the Wait EP in 1983 and the LPs Give Thanks ('84) + In This Life ('85), which were both produced by Bob Mould. While their early releases contained a mélange of differing styles, their last release, In This Life, is one of the records credited with kick-starting the emocore sound. The band Bondi (vocals & guitar), Dave Shield (bass & vocals), Virus-X (drums), Dorian Tajbakhsh (guitar) and Joe Scuderi (guitar) broke up in 1985. Bondi went on to form Alloy and Jones Very, released the EP Fortunate Son in 2003 and appeared in the 2006 documentary American Hardcore. In 2002 punk rock label mainstay Alternative Tentacles released Complete Vol.1 and Complete Vol.2; a comprehensive anthology of the band's work. (source: AllMusic)

- Great Thx to Donot -

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VIRUS 27 - Parasitas Obrigatórios 1987

Good Morning  dear friends of cool music and today we listen to the debut record of Virus 27, a Brazilian Oi! combo from São Paulo, on Devil Discos. The band was formed in 1982 with Di on drums, Braz on guitar and Pezão on bass. They started with a mid-tempo hardcore punk sound just like many of their contemporaries in the early Brazilian scene; very similar to Cólera. The name of the band came from the label Alternative Tentacles because the founder of the band was a big Dead Kennedys fan. He died sometime in early 80's. Their first recorded apperance was 1985 on the Ataque Sonoro compilation. A year later they released the Parasitas Obrigatórios album and this showed the band moving away from hardcore punk to more of an Oi sound, like Garotos Podres. However, Virus 27 still sang critical lyrics about society and seasoned with an unique sound - slow but very good. In late 80's, the band took a turn towards right wing politics, and released their second album Brasil Oi!. They became too nationalist and the punk scene abandoned their gigs, it became a band just for Skinheads - at that time punks and skinheads in Brazil started to go in different ways and hate each other. Their last record Caso Sério!!! was released in 1996 and then the band broke up. Well, at least Virus 27 didn't became nazi and racist, only patriotic and play rough Oi! music in a very strong catchy way. A very good debut in my opinion and rough as a street punk record should be.

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M.I.A. - After The Fact 1987

One of the first punk bands from Las Vegas were M.I.A. and this is their last album which came out via Flipside Records. Before I leave you with an excellent review from their homepage, briefly the note about their debut split 12'' Last Rides together with Genocide that illustrate their musical roots and is a damn big eruption (Vesuvius is kindergarten). "After the Fact is one of the best US punk records of the late 1980s, mostly because it mixes many post-punk influences and innovates where other punks cling totradition. The two guitars rarely play similar parts, there are dynamics & mood settings, contemplative sound and even a Killing Joke inspired tribal backbeat. The production on After the Fact is far superior to M.I.A.'s past efforts, with real bottom, kick, drive and guts. Check out the cover of "California Dreaming" or the effortless “Edge Of Forever” for proof that punk can be a fresh aural pleasure, even at this late date. M.I.A. ultimately paid the same price that the original TSOL and Effigies did when they went against the grain and tried to take punk to its next step: the group split up in early 1988." – Jack Rabid/Trouser Press - I would like to add; in 2001 Alternative Tentacles brought out a cool double record set called 'Lost Boys' (the first 1000 in orange) with thirty-seven rare old blasts, great stuff!

- Great Thx to Fredrik -

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D.O.A. - Bloodied But Unbowed 1983

Classic record now and Bloodied But Unbowed is the truth of it. D.O.A. has slogged forward from the west coast of north America, criss-crossing the continent on a shoestring, infecting friends and strangers with an alien virus, a dangerous aggressive way of viewing the world. Talk minus action equals zero. Use your brain, think for yourself, speak out, take action or let the silence bury you alive. This blazing hot quartet, led by Canada's godfather of punk Joe Shithead Keithley on vocals and guitar, along with the incredible Chuck Biscuits on drums, the rock n' roll madman Randy Rampage on bass and the outrageous Dave Gregg on guitar blazed a wide swath through western counter culture. The Damage To Date: 1978-83, Alternative Tentacles, only hits!

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