''In God We Trust, Inc.'' is an EP by

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

and the first of the group's releases with drummer D. H. Peligro. The record is a screed against topics ranging from

organized religion Organized religion, also known as institutional religion, is religion in which belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established, typically by an official doctrine (or dogma), a hierarchical or bureaucratic leadership ...

and

Neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), to att ...

, to the

pesticide Pesticides are substances that are used to control pests. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). The most common of these are herbicides, which account for approximately 50% of all p ...

Kepone and the government indifference that worsened the effects of the Minamata disaster. ''In God We Trust, Inc.'' is also the first Dead Kennedys album released after the presidential election of

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and features the band's first references to Reagan, for which they—and hardcore punk as a genre—would become notorious.

Background

During 1980 and 1981 the American punk scene saw an influx of 7-inch EPs from Washington D.C.'s

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release '' Minor Disturbance'' by their band the Teen Id ...

from bands like

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...

and

Teen Idles The Teen Idles were an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C., in September 1979. Consisting of teenagers Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson (musician), Jeff Nelson, they recorded two demo sessions and ...

. These short, high-tempo records packed in as many as 10 songs each and helped define the 1980s genre of

. In wanting to pay tribute to this faster form of

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

, and to showcase the talents of their new drummer D. H. Peligro, Dead Kennedys put together some new material and sped up a few songs that had only been heard on their 1978 demos and in early live shows. These songs became the basis for ''In God We Trust, Inc.'' Keeping with the rough-hewn style of D.C. hardcore, bits of tape leads announcing the take number and including drumstick clicks and count-offs precede many of the record's songs.

Recording

Dead Kennedys initially recorded eight songs at Subterranean Studios on June 19, 1981. All tracks were recorded live without overdubs to ½" 8-track reel and with the band determining some of the songs' arrangements between takes. The session was videotaped by Joe Rees of Target Video with Mike Fox, the session engineer, sending the rough mix to the video feed. When the group took the tracks to be mixed, they discovered that the

magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magnetic ...

used for the recording was defective—the

oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion (anion bearing a net charge of −2) of oxygen, an O2− ion with oxygen in the oxidation st ...

surface of the tape began to peel during playback, thereby destroying the recordings. The band then re-recorded all eight songs on August 22 at Mobius Music, and these recordings were released on the EP. Years later, enhanced restoration techniques allowed for five tracks to be recovered from the master tapes from the earlier Subterranean sessions. These, along with the rough video mixes of the remaining three songs, appear on the DVD '' The Lost Tapes''.

Songs

Much of the material on the EP was left over from earlier in the Dead Kennedys' career. Second guitarist 6025, who'd left the band in 1979, wrote the lead track, "Religious Vomit". The song "Kepone Factory" is a reworking of "Kepone Kids", which appeared on the group's 1978 demo tape. Alternate versions of "Moral Majority" and " Nazi Punks Fuck Off" were on a single packaged with an anti-fascist armband. " We've Got a Bigger Problem Now" is a rewritten version of the band's early single "California Über Alles". Originally a dig at California governor

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

, the band reworked the song to be about newly elected president

and added an element of

lounge music Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The ra ...

in contrast with the fast-tempo hardcore punk music on the rest of the record. The EP closes with a cover of the

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

from the 1960s TV show '' Rawhide''.

Artwork and releases

DKbonds1982.jpg, Dead Kennedys at Bond's NYC early 80's The album cover depicts a golden Jesus crucified on a cross of dollar bills, with a background of a shiny metal material. The band released the record internationally in 1981 on their own

Alternative Tentacles Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label established in 1979 by Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra and guitarist East Bay Ray in San Francisco, California, with the intention to release the Dead Kennedys' self-produced single " C ...

label, in partnership with various other independent record labels in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The original vinyl version's A-side comprised tracks 1–5, and Side B tracks 6–8. The original cassette version compiled all 8 songs on Side A and left Side B intentionally devoid of any sound. Printed on the cassette's second side was the explanation, " Home taping is killing record industry profits! We left this side blank so you can help." ''In God We Trust, Inc.'' first appeared on

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

in 1985 as bonus material added to the Dead Kennedys' 1982 LP ''

Plastic Surgery Disasters ''Plastic Surgery Disasters'' is the second full-length album released by punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Recorded in San Francisco during June 1982, it was produced by the band and punk record producer Thom Wilson, with Geza X getting a "specia ...

''.

Track listing

Personnel

;Dead Kennedys *

Jello Biafra Eric Reed Boucher (born June 17, 1958), known professionally as Jello Biafra, is an American singer, spoken word artist and political activist. He is the former lead singer and songwriter for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Init ...

– lead vocals, artwork * East Bay Ray – guitar, backing vocals on "Moral Majority", producer *

Klaus Flouride Klaus Flouride is the stage name of Geoffrey Lyall (born May 30, 1949), an American musician who is the bassist and backing vocalist for the San Francisco punk rock band Dead Kennedys.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Ca ...

– bass, backing vocals * D. H. Peligro – drums ;Additional performers * Ninotchka (Therese Soder) – backing vocals on "Moral Majority" * Annette Olesen – backing vocals on "Moral Majority" * HyJean – backing vocals on "Moral Majority" * Darvon – backing vocals on "Moral Majority" * Siobhan – backing vocals on "Moral Majority" ;Production * Norm – producer, mixer * Oliver Dicicco – engineer * Annette Olesen – 2nd engineer * Winston Smith – artwork

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1981 debut EPs Dead Kennedys albums Alternative Tentacles EPs Songs about Ronald Reagan