These People is the second and last studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

 by the American punk band The Dicks

The Dicks

The Dicks are an American punk rock band from Austin, Texas, originally formed in 1980. They initially disbanded in 1986 before reforming in 2004...

, released in 1985 on Alternative Tentacles

Alternative Tentacles

Alternative Tentacles is an independent record label originally based in San Francisco, California and was established in 1979. It was originally used as the label name by the Dead Kennedys for the self-produced single "California Über Alles", and after realizing the potential for an independent...

. By the time this record was recorded, The Dicks had changed half of their lineup, and relocated from Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 to San Francisco.

With the new lineup, the sound of The Dicks progressed from their earlier years as a blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

y hardcore punk

Hardcore punk

Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...

 band to more straightforwardly hard blues-rock

Blues-rock

Blues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...

. The album retains the band's punk rock

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 sound, though at slightly slower tempos. The left-wing lyrics of their earlier work also moved more into the forefront by the time These People was recorded, and topics such as police brutality

Police brutality

Police brutality is the intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer....

, classism

Classism

Classism is prejudice or discrimination on the basis of social class. It includes individual attitudes and behaviors, systems of policies and practices that are set up to benefit the upper classes at the expense of the lower classes...

, the American middle class

American middle class

The American middle class is a social class in the United States. While the concept is typically ambiguous in popular opinion and common language use, contemporary social scientists have put forward several, more or less congruent, theories on the American middle class...

, prison, and a closing blues-rock ballad dedicated to murdered Black Panther

Black Panther Party

The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....

 George Jackson

George Jackson (Black Panther)

George Lester Jackson was an American convict who became a left-wing activist, Marxist, author, a member of the Black Panther Party, and co-founder of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang...

 are included.

Track listing

1. The Police (Force) — 2:27
2. Off-Duty Sailor — 2:24
3. Executive Dive — 2:56
4. Sidewalk Begging — 3:50
5. Lost and Divided — 2:06
6. Dead in a Motel Room — 3:06
7. Cities are Burning — 3:08
8. Doctor Daddy — 2:11
9. Decent and Clean — 3:29
10. Legacy of Man — 3:21
11. Little Rock n' Roller — 2:43
12. George Jackson — 3:29

Personnel

• Gary Floyd - Lead Vocals
• Lynn Perko - Drums
• Sebastian F - Bass
• Tim - Guitar
• Debbie Gordon - Mood Coordinator