| Bedtime for Democracy | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Dead Kennedys |
| Cover: | Dead Kennedys - Bedtime for Democracy cover.jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | November 1986 |
| Recorded: | April and July 1986 |
| Studio: | City Sound Recording and Hyde St. Studios |
| Length: | 48:40 |
| Label: | Alternative Tentacles |
| Producer: | Jello Biafra |
| Prev Title: | Frankenchrist |
| Prev Year: | 1985 |
| Next Title: | Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death |
| Next Year: | 1987 |
Bedtime for Democracy is the fourth and final studio album by American punk rock band Dead Kennedys. Released in 1986, songs on this album cover common punk subjects often found in punk rock lyrics of the era such as conformity, Reaganomics, the U.S. military, and critique of the hardcore punk movement. The album's title refers to the 1951 comedy film, Bedtime for Bonzo starring Ronald Reagan and also reflects the band's weary bitterness from the trial they were undergoing at the time over the controversial art included with their previous album. By the time recording of Bedtime for Democracy had begun, the Dead Kennedys had already played what would be their last concert with Jello Biafra and announced their breakup immediately after the release of the record, whose opening track is a cover of David Allan Coe's "Take This Job and Shove It."[1]
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. After the record's release, Isocracy split up, with two members forming the group Samiam and another joining Green Day.[3]