So why is Reel Big Fish’s Turn The Radio Off on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
For most casual music fans, if ska comes up at all it’s likely in the context of the mid-1990s, when there was something of a… trendy thing (to borrow the word here) going on with it, with bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Rancid and Sublime crossing over with hits that reached commercial radio and MTV audiences for a few years*.
* Note: I have been and remain a massive fan of all of those bands, as you’ll note from their healthy representation in this here best 1,000 albums ever project!
And if Reel Big Fish managed to enter that conversation, “Sell Out” would be the song that get mentioned.
“Sell Out” has a good, driving ska punk beat (which always leans more on the ska than the punk, a good and refreshing thing in my view) that captures the band’s fun, catchy, and snarky vibes.
Also: the notion of “selling out” was a much, much bigger deal in the 1990s than it is these days. So there’s some nostalgic fun there for you as well.
Sell out, with me, oh yeaH
Sell out, with me tonight
The record company’s gonna give me lots of money and
Everything’s gonna be alright
But here’s the thing: there are many songs that Reel Big Fish has produced that are at least as good as “Sell Out.” And Turn The Radio Off is stocked with tightly written, ska hooks-for-days songs with stellar horn and super strong frontman work by way of Aaron Barrett that in total demands placement within the Top 175 of the best 1,000 albums ever.
“Trendy” is similar enough to “Sell Out” in terms of sound and attitude but is its own unique thing at the same time (and is a song I think of as superior to “Sell Out”). Which is all to say it very much rocks while being a whole lot of good times.
There is quite a bit of range to be found on Turn The Radio Off, if that was a concern of yours. “She Has A Girlfriend Now” is gorgeous-sounding mid-tempo number with a little bit of a throwback swing music flavor, and bringing in Monique Powell from Save Ferris for what’s essentially a duet works out fabulously.
It’s important to note that while your mileage will vary, RBF is genuinely funny and always puts me in a good mood one way or the other.
Well I never thought it would end like this
Just because I’ve got no tits
I’ll shave my legs
I’ll wear a bra
I’d even cut my penis off for you
Then the kicker comes, when Powell coos, “Oh, that’s so sweet!”
“Skatanic” takes us on a strange and slightly scary journey of one dude trying to get over his girl leaving him for someone else.
If it’s not already clear, if you’re looking for deep, intellectual lyrics, this ain’t the band for you, but I’ve found Reel Big Fish to be a genuine respite from some of the gloomier, grungier music of the era, and I still listen to Turn The Radio Off fairly often these days, particularly when working out.
Personal stuff that has something to do with Reel Big Fish’s Turn The Radio Off
There was an era when I was in college but home for the summer where I would take a portable stereo with a CD player out into our backyard. There are two albums that I associate with this time period. One is Earth and Sun and Moon (#346 of best 1,000 albums ever) by Midnight Oil, and the other is Turn The Radio Off.
Some stats & info about Reel Big Fish – Turn The Radio Off
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock, Rock Music, Pop Punk, Ska, Ska Punk, Alternative Rock, Punk Revival, Power Pop, SoCal Bands
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Turn The Radio Off released? 1996
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #162 out of 1,000
Reel Big Fish’s Turn The Radio Off on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Reel Big Fish’s Turn The Radio Off that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Please don’t hate me because I’m trendy – they’re not gonna laugh at me again.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.