INDIANAPOLIS — Distraught boygenius fan Hope Green was seen throwing rocks and refusing to leave the parking lot after a recent show when she realized she had the wrong lunchbox full of poems, confirmed multiple witnesses who didn’t dare approach her.
“I came here with a bedazzled season three ‘Golden Girls’ lunchbox with a crocheted handle, a Phoebe Bridgers skeleton sticker placed over Blanche, and a blue carabiner,” said Green. “I have written souvenirs to every salted wound, every hand bitten, and every old poet. They were going to love every poem they inspired when I screamed them over the security guard’s head as we were about to become best friends. I opened the lunchbox and the first sonnet I read was titled something about being a hack that is definitely not going to be the next member of boygenius, I knew there was a mix-up, and this wasn’t my case.”
Lucy Dacus of boygenius witnessed a foray of a few angry concertgoers descending on the lost and found after the show.
“Being on the road, I’ve seen a lot. But when one of our fans jumps a security barrier, headbutts a venue staff member and starts screaming about how free verse offers a delicate yet wide-open representation of their stream of consciousness it really sticks with you.” Dacus added, “I saw another fan with bloodied knuckles leaving the lost and found clutching a small moleskin journal, it wasn’t the ending of the night we had hoped for.”
Inventor and specialist of sentimental item security Nick Ribault offered his expertise on lunchbox mishaps.
“Listen, locks on diaries are easy. Putting your passport in your fanny pack on vacation, that is also easy. Mucking around an Alt-Indie-Alt-Folk concert with a sketchbook or journal? That is difficult,” said Ribault. “There is an overwhelming chance you may swap it by show’s end. My advice? Geotag everything on your person and use a label maker to put your name on everything you own. That’s the only way you can be sure your poems stay yours.”
Security guards at the scene explained they were unable to diffuse the situation after the music of boygenius left them emotionally steamrolled and unable to address conflict and promise to be better and hope everyone is “cool about it.”
In 2012, after several decades of ska-punking, the Reel Big Fish honed in on their signature “happy music/angry lyrics” combo. It’s literally right there in the album title. This record isn’t bad if you’re already a fan but it feels like a paint-by-numbers RBF album that any ska band could have written.
Life Sucks…Let’s Dance! is the follow-up to Candy Coated Fury. Over the six years in between these albums, the Fish continued to double down on their signature songwriting style and cranked out some more sad and dancy songs for the kids, except this time the record sounds a bit more inspired. Still mostly recommended for those already fans of the band.
This album is the sound of freedom. Specifically, the freedom that comes from being dropped by a major label. Finally, the Fish could put out any songs they wanted! And what they put out was… well, fine. There are some solid tracks on here but nothing you can’t get from some of RBF’s past (and better) albums. Hell, some of those songs are actually on this record as the band re-recorded some from “Everything Sucks,” which is a big reason this album is ranked above the previous two.
Reel Big Fish is known for their covers. This album contains all the skank-i-fied versions of a bunch of catchy songs you know and love. And some you’re even probably sick of! Like “Brown Eyed Girl.” Seriously, did we really need another cover of that one?
For most of the previous albums on this list, Aaron Barrett’s angry and bitter lyrics target life in general. His scathing words on this record are a little more pointed. At this time in the band’s career, ska was mostly considered a joke in the music industry and on music forums, and this album certainly retorts that sentiment head-on. Fire this one up and pick a fight with a friend over petty jealousy. It’s the perfect soundtrack for that.
Going all the way back to 1995, this pre-Sell Out record sounds exactly like you’d expect a local ska band to sound in the 90s. Its recording is a little rough and the performances focus more on heart than technique, yet the songwriting clearly shows a promising band on the rise. You can find a lot of these songs re-recorded on future albums but this is a solid and unique listen from start to finish.
After exploding in popularity for 3 months in 1996, 3rd wave ska was mostly seen as a goofy 90s fad. By the early 2000s, many ska bands were vocal about their record labels rejecting any songs that contained upstrokes or too many horn parts, leading to many ska albums of this time being classified as “rock with horns” by fans. Cheer Up is Reel Big Fish’s “rock with horns” album and it’s fantastic. RBF wrote what could have been the saddest 80s hair metal album if Aaron Barrett was born just a few years earlier.
This is Reel Big Fish’s most well-known album. And for good reason: it has a moderately successful single on it which, in perfect RBF irony, is a song about selling out. “Turn the Radio Off” is the album that proliferated the sound most people still think of today when they hear the word “ska.” You can love them or hate them for that, but it’s true.
After the massive success of Turn the Radio Off, Reel Big Fish released their magnum opus, colloquially referred to by fans as “White Trash.” WDTRSH picks up where RBF left off by reinventing ska and adding a massive amount of influence from the guitar-heavy bands Aaron Barrett grew up listening to. The lyrics on the album come across as extremely personal and vulnerable. It’s like Weezer’s Pinkerton except without all the… unpleasantness.
