Word: reels
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...Prince of Egypt, neither film will have the urgency of a small voice saying, over and over, "Take me to Rugrats!" In the Pickles family, as in nearly every other TV brood, the kids run things. The next few box-office weeks will determine whether the same applies to reel life...
...Reel Big Fish, it seems, feel that their confrontational and generally anti-social songs just don't provide them with ample opportunity to be amused by hearing themselves curse. The lyrics to "You Don't Know" consist almost solely of a string of insults, but really, except for the first two lines, they don't contain much actual profanity. And when, for example, in "Everything Is Cool," the band segues from a calm melody to a scream of, "I wish you were dead!" their language is clean. So, to make up for this deficiency, the band has added a hidden...
...true ska fashion, with their upbeat music, the members of Reel Big Fish make Why Do They Rock So Hardfun in spite of its dysfunctional lyrics. The music on the album is not radical for ska--many of the songs sound borderline generic at first, using ska rhythms and instrumentation in predictable ways. But the music is not bland. The melodies are lively and infectious, the band uses short drum, brass, and guitar features to good effect and, musically, the vocals are interesting and well performed. Songs such as "You Don't Know" and "The Set Up [You Need This...
...there is some variation on the general musical theme. The beginning of "Big Star" sounds oddly like Paul Simon, and parts of "Everything Is Cool" are vaguely death-metalish. But for the most part, Reel Big Fish stick to kinds of rhythms and melodies generally associated with ska, and they perform well in their chosen style...
Within this framework of upbeat and catchy music, it is often difficult to take the messages of the songs on Why Do They Rock So Hard seriously. Perhaps the inconsistency of the music and the lyrics is a failing, allowing listeners to willfully misunderstand or ignore the meanings that Reel Big Fish are attempting to express. But the inconsistency may also serve to highlight alternative music's disturbing acceptance of conflict. And besides, if Reel Big Fish set their lyrics to appropriately violent music, their songs would not be nearly as much...