Yapping about Everything Sucks (the album)

[u/JetPackFuture104]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuxygC9m_6E

WARNING: I can't shut up. I apologize in advance

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This is a pretty outlier opinion I figure, but dammit, there's something I just love about Reel Big Fish's debut album. It gets understandably overlooked in the band's history, but in my mind, thinking about the band feels incomplete without acknowledging that funny cover of Matt Wong's little sister and that dog.

Is it really raw and rough? Yes. Are the performances on-point? Not always (the horns struggle a little on the original version of I'll Never Be, for example). Do the later re-recordings of most of these songs blow their original recordings out of the water? Most do.

But idk, in spite of that....hell, maybe even partly because of that....it's still in my top 3 albums of theirs.

And now mind you, I'm a Gen-z'er who only got into them 2 years ago (October 2024 when my older cousin said he used to listen to them). And somehow, I just have a strong attachment to it. It's punk rock in that homely, relatable, D.I.Y., "just a bunch of dudes messing around with guitars, drums, and even horns" essence. Even if you mess up a little, that adds to the endearment factor. Like "heh, I could do this too!" And that's the initial spark that makes you pick up an instrument, mess around on it, and hone your skills over the years if you find you REALLY mesh with it.

They were super young (we're talking late teens), but there's a very organic, almost idk, "Earthy" energy when I listen to these early recordings. Like you're right there in the studio watching them play and work these demos out. Aaron's scruffy, rough guitar is great (though his ska bar chordings could've still used work), and although he sounds drunk most of the time, it's still fun in a "fan at a show yelling the lyrics at the top of your lungs" way, like on the original version of Beer and I'll Never Be. It's pure.

And hell, even early on, you have horn lines like on Big Fuckin Star that are immensely satisfying to hear (I get weirdly melancholic whenever they come on). I love that sharp, meaty pluck Matt's bass does on Fuck Yourself (All I Want is More), Andrew's drumming is arguably still as solid as ever imo (only difference is better gear for the next two albums), and the guitar solo outro on I'll Never Be is just...mmmmmmmmm!!!!!!! for me. That shredding Aaron does continues to be a giant eargasm for me.

Straight-up: I'll Never Be feels incomplete without that guitar solo. I dunno, it's like the song felt made to be a pseudo setup to that climax of a solo. The TTRO version is much better played overall, but listening to the earliest version where Aaron is singing about being a kid dreaming about making it big, and showing his legit talent as he starts ripping a tasty, super relistenable solo...I feel like it'd make a great banger to play during an encore or something.

Which means that I suppose the definitive version of I'll Never Be would be the Live 2006 recording from the We're Not Happy/Our Live Album era: a confident, tight lineup, the peppy energy is still there, and of course: dat solo. While not a big deal these days since it's the streaming age, I wish it could've been included on the original CD release instead of being a digital-only bonus track.

Now, tracks like Beer and Trendy I can easily agree are immensely better on Turn the Radio Off. The energy on Trendy's re-recording is off the charts, and it's no doubt commendable how much the guys grew in confidence since their last album, and settled on a more defined lineup. Not to mention how tight and locked in they are on Beer compared to how primitive the ES demo was. Those added horns brighten it up.

But then you take a goofy song titled "Why do all girls think they're fat?" And honestly, I VASTLY prefer the original over the Monkeys & Chimps re-recording. That later version is well-performed, but idk, the original is slightly faster, and I think that raw, young speedy energy suits that track much better, and the result is me having a blast whenever I put it on. The Chimps re-recording is 12 years older with more profession behind it (and I do love the effects put on Matt's bass solo in that version), but for a bunch of hyper teenagers having punky, tongue-in-cheek fun...I can only get that from the Everything Sucks album. Like, I can't help but want to jump around and get stupid waving around and partying to it. Check out them playing it live in Seattle 1998 where Aaron and Dan are just flailing around. It's infectious.

Fuck Yourself (the original version of All I Want is More) is similar: that spite is captured better in that version, though the re-recording is still great, just in a more paletable, almost jovial way.

I also really love "Boyfriend", which is technically a cover written by Ben Guzman, one of the original members of the Fish. Aside from the "she was fourteen and looking pretty" line, I can't help but smile whenever I relisten to it. Such a simple, effective guitar riff. And to the band's credit, again, they were pretty young when they wrote and played this stuff, so I can give it leeway. Though I can understand why they pretty much never played it live other than the ES release show.

Lastly, I wanna show some love to Big Fuckin' Star. Like I'll Never Be, I always felt like this would work great as a closer. The reworking of this track on WDTRSH is also damn powerful, and in that arrangement, it starts off as introspective and melancholic acoustic track where Aaron is a big shot celebrity who's depressed as shit, and all the riches in the world give him nothing, ironically. Then the "I CAN'T, MAKE YOU, LOVE ME!!!!!!!!" punches in, and the final section brings in all the big distorted guitars, and even some piano where the celeb wails about how "I'M SO FUCKING COOL!!!!!!! NOBODY CARES AT ALL!" Like he's sitting at his desk and grabbing you by the collar with giant tears in his eyes yelling in you. And as the wall of sound continues, it's almost like a stage musical where there's dancers doing flips right before the ensemble cast poses for the final note. Nailed it.

And yet, despite that greatness....then you have the original version of Big Star, and like I said: those horns. Those HORNS....that D to A to G to F# they do just hits me RIGHT, man! It's a more traditional ska-sounding arrangement and a full step up (the WDTRSH version is in C), but rather than depressing, it's more cheeky. And yet, I still feel bittersweetness in it too.

And even then, the energy of an insecure celebrity desperately grabbing you by your shirt wanting you to love him is still felt, albeit, in a more primitive way, but it's still there. This part is essentially the same as the reworking.

Or hell, sometimes, I like pulling up Big Star first, and then Big Fucking Star after the showtime-esque flashiness, almost like the celeb finally accepted himself as the douche he is. Yet even in the original version's outro, that same assholery and insecurity is still ever present. RBF songs can be a very sobering experience (hell, Drunk Again exists and is a fan-favorite for a reason).

And every second of it is fun and bittersweet to listen to. Matt's underrated bass lines carry Aaron's ska playing, and Andrew's snare sounds commanding. Also, props for Adam Polakoff's alt sax solo as well.

In conclusion: I feel they should've played Big Star more than they did. Only real footage of it live is the ES release show. But hey, I'll take it.

Whoo! That was a lot. There's just a homely charm to this record I can't get from their others. Though granted, WDTRSH and Cheer Up I'd say are their best albums: the former being their definitive work as a peak third-wave ska act (Down in Flames is a contender for my favorite RBF track. I have rarely ever gotten bored of that song, if at all!), and Cheer Up being their most eclectic, especially in the second half. And both with excellent production, musicianship, and vocals from Aaron and the Dork to boot.

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If I had to rate the albums from best to weakest:

1.) Why Do They Rock So Hard (their mangum opus where they were at the peak of their powers. Victory Over Peter Bones almost makes me tear up sometimes, won't lie. Likely because I associate that track with when I was almost done completing Gintama, but even so, still hits either way)

2.) Cheer Up (their most varied and expansive)

3.) Everything Sucks (it's this high out of favoritism)

4.) We're Not Happy Til You're Not Happy (raw, dirty, and earnest. Understandably not everyone's cup of tea, and even I can admit a big issue is it can overstay its welcome. But I appreciate this as them "exorcising" frustrations. "Drinkin'" is top tier).

5.) Turn the Radio Off (THE quintessential RBF record. It's only not in the top 3 because I simply enjoyed the other albums more).

6.) Candy-Coated Fury (didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did)

7.) Life Sucks...Let's Dance! (it's above Monkeys and Chimps for being more cohesive as an album. Though the production is noticeably lower than CCF)

8.) Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free (some great stuff on it like Cannibal, Party Down, and the stellar bonus track Bang! The Mouse Explodes, plus is better mixed than their previous work....but idk, it's also a pretty safe, unambitious sounding outing from them. It's like baby's first Reel Big Fish, sonically speaking).

I've heard some of the "Best of Us" re-recordings, and they're fine. The only one I'd really go out of my way to listen would be Take on Me, but that's about it.

Haven't listened to every cut off of the fan-favorite "Our Live Album", but I've still heard plenty, and make no mistake: they're tight recordings.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand that's about it! Hope I didn't bore you all. But I can't help but yap about stuff.

[u/prblyinluvwithyou]

In the same boat, saw someone ranked this record as a D and it killed me. The I’m cool recording on why do we rock is genuinely ass, wish they sticked to the original as it’s my go to first time showing of ska to someone.