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Police Truck



 
 
"Police Truck" is a song by the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys

The Dead Kennedys were an United States punk band from the List of musicians in the first wave of punk music of American punk rock, formed in San Francisco, California in 1978....
. The song was originally released in May, 1980
1980 in music

Events...
, as the B-side of the "Holiday in Cambodia
Holiday in Cambodia

"Holiday in Cambodia" was the second single by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1980 on Alternative Tentacles with "Police Truck" as the b-side....
" single and later released in June 1987
1987 in music

See also:* :Category:Record labels established in 1987...
 on the DKs' compilation album, Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death

Give Me Convenience OR Give Me Death is an album by the Dead Kennedys. Its title is a play on the famous ultimatum by Patrick Henry, "Give me liberty or give me death", and is intended as a commentary on United States consumerism....
. The song is a satirical attack on the actions of oppressive police officers, and takes a first person view from the authorities themselves. The song mentions controversial acts, such as beating up drunks and kidnapping prostitutes.

The song was one of the Kennedys' early popular songs.






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"Police Truck" is a song by the Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys

The Dead Kennedys were an United States punk band from the List of musicians in the first wave of punk music of American punk rock, formed in San Francisco, California in 1978....
. The song was originally released in May, 1980
1980 in music

Events...
, as the B-side of the "Holiday in Cambodia
Holiday in Cambodia

"Holiday in Cambodia" was the second single by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1980 on Alternative Tentacles with "Police Truck" as the b-side....
" single and later released in June 1987
1987 in music

See also:* :Category:Record labels established in 1987...
 on the DKs' compilation album, Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death
Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death

Give Me Convenience OR Give Me Death is an album by the Dead Kennedys. Its title is a play on the famous ultimatum by Patrick Henry, "Give me liberty or give me death", and is intended as a commentary on United States consumerism....
. The song is a satirical attack on the actions of oppressive police officers, and takes a first person view from the authorities themselves. The song mentions controversial acts, such as beating up drunks and kidnapping prostitutes.

The song was one of the Kennedys' early popular songs. "Police Truck" is built around a surf beat (similar to the one heard in the early instrumental surf-rock singles such as The Chantays
The Chantays

The Chantays are a surf rock band from the early 1960s, best known for the hit record instrumental rock "Pipeline " . It all started in 1961 when 5 high school friends decided to start their own band....
' "Pipeline"), and highlighted by East Bay Ray
East Bay Ray

Raymond Pepperell, better known as East Bay Ray, is the lead guitarist for the well known West Coast punk band Dead Kennedys. Next to Jello Biafra's astute lyrics & unique vibrato-based vocal style, East Bay Ray's surf & jazz styled punk guitar work was one of the defining factors of the music of the Dead Kennedys, and by extension, of...
's echoed guitar leads and the descending chorus "ride, ride, how we ride." "Police Truck", like many of the band's songs, serves as an example of the Dead Kennedys' ability to portray a disturbing scenario through humorous lyrics.

The song later appeared in the soundtrack of the popular skateboarding video game Tony Hawk's Pro Skater
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, released as Tony Hawk's Skateboarding in Europe, is a skateboarding video game. It is the first entry in the Tony Hawk video game series....
, after being licensed by the former Dead Kennedys. This licensing caused criticism from many Dead Kennedys fans, who used it to assert that East Bay Ray
East Bay Ray

Raymond Pepperell, better known as East Bay Ray, is the lead guitarist for the well known West Coast punk band Dead Kennedys. Next to Jello Biafra's astute lyrics & unique vibrato-based vocal style, East Bay Ray's surf & jazz styled punk guitar work was one of the defining factors of the music of the Dead Kennedys, and by extension, of...
, Klaus Flouride
Klaus Flouride

Geoffrey Lyall , better known as Klaus Flouride, is best known as the bassist for the San Francisco, California, punk rock band Dead Kennedys from the group's inception in June 1978 until the band's break-up in December 1986, although he also produced four solo albums during the 1980s and 1990s....
, and D.H. Peligro are no longer committed to the band's anti-corporate beliefs, unlike vocalist Jello Biafra
Jello Biafra

Eric Reed Boucher , more widely known by the stage name Jell-O Biafra, is an United Statesn musician, spoken word artist and leading figure of the Green Party ....
. However, Alternative Tentacles gave approval for the song to appear in the game. Biafra denies that this happened. The song appears in the game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s

Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s is a music video game and the third installment in the popular Guitar Hero. It was released in July 2007 in North America and Europe, and in August 2007 in Australia....
 with altered lyrics (the word "drunks" at the beginning of the song is replaced by "punks"). This song is also available along with California Über Alles
California Über Alles

"California ?ber Alles" was the first single by the Dead Kennedys. The record was released in June 1979 on Optional Music with "The Man with the Dogs" as the b-side....
 and Holiday in Cambodia
Holiday in Cambodia

"Holiday in Cambodia" was the second single by the American hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys. The record was released in May 1980 on Alternative Tentacles with "Police Truck" as the b-side....
 in the Rock Band
Rock Band

Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band....
 series as Downloadable Content.