In 1999, the band released their debut album, the tongue-in-cheek titled 'Greatest Hits'. It went on to win "Best Independent Album" in the L.A. Music Awards and has picked up a big fan response. In 2000, after forging a friendship with the alternative rock band Papa Roach, Alien Ant Farm signed with DreamWorks SKG for their first major studio album, called 'ANThology'. The band's tunes showcased an energetic sound that featured humorous, often cynical lyrics and a desire to take in all kinds of musical influences.
In 2001, their cover of the Michael Jackson song, "Smooth Criminal", was a #1 single in both Australia and New Zealand as well a #3 single in the United Kingdom and #1 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart. The song's music video features numerous homages to Michael Jackson's life and career as well as Jackson's many videos. The song was featured on the soundtrack of the first season of 'WWE Tough Enough' and in the movie 'American Pie 2'. Their following single, "Movies", also featured a quirky music video with references to classic films such as 'The Karate Kid' and 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory'. The tune became top 5 hit in the U.K. and a top 20 hit in New Zealand. The band began touring in promotion of these two singles and their album, which later went platinum.
In spring of 2002, the band contributed the track "Bug Bytes" to the first 'Spider-Man' soundtrack, giving them even more exposure after the Tobey Maguire film's major success. However, tragedy struck the group. In May 2002, the band was involved in a bus accident while touring in Spain. The driver, 26-year-old Christopher Holland, was killed, and lead singer Dryden Mitchell suffered a fractured C2 vertebra. The horrific event scarred the group permanently, and many fans speculated that the band might have to go on a long hiatus or even fold for a while.
Nontheless, Alien Ant Farm soon returned to the studio to work on their next album, titled 'truANT', which was released in 2003. Produced by Stone Temple Pilots' Robert and Dean DeLeo, the work found the band doubling down on their past style. The video for "These Days", the first single from the album, was filmed on top of a nearby building during the Red Carpet at the 2003 BET Awards. While that tune ended up having more modest success that the band had hoped, song "Glow" was a mainstream radio success, achieving long lasting Top 20 success in New Zealand. Two months after this album was released, however, the group's record label closed its doors. Some fans speculated that the outfit had some kind of black cloud of bad luck around them, despite the guys' talents.
In October 2003, guitarist Terry Corso split with the band, citing "irreconcilable differences". Soon after, he joined the popular alternative metal outfit Powerman 5000 for a time. Joe Hill was named the new guitarist in 2005. The musician had formerly served in the underground California rock outfit Spiderworks.
In 2004, the band recorded the song "Dark in Here" for the Punisher video game. Unfortunately, the band was forced to wait for Geffen to allow them to record another album. Label Universal Music had bought DreamWorks and assigned the band to the Geffen Records company, and it appeared as if corporate shenanigans had stopped the band's momentum in its tracks, the mainstream popularity having faded.
In 2005, the band recorded with producer Jim Wirt (who recorded their independent, debut release "Greatest Hits") and planned to release the album during that summer. However, Geffen shelved the album and subsequently denied the band the rights to release it themselves. The band hit the road and made bootleg copies of the album material available to all of their fans. This unofficial release was dubbed 3rd Draft by fans.
In late 2005, Geffen finally agreed to let the band release the album on another Universal label, Universal Music Enterprises (its catalogue division). On May 4, 2006, information began showing up on music store websites and release calendars about an upcoming release from the band. The band also released information about a DVD that same day. On May 30, 2006 the new album, Up in the Attic, was released digitally on iTunes. The first single was "Forgive and Forget", the one added track to 3rd Draft.
In April 2006, bassist Tye Zamora left the band and decided to go to college. He was replaced by Alex Barreto (formerly of hardcore bands Chain of Strength, Hardstance, and Inside Out). On June 29, 2006, the band performed on G4's Attack of the Show, and on July 18, 2006, Up in the Attic was released worldwide, along with BUSted: The Definitive DVD. Included on the DVD were music videos for "Forgive and Forget", "Around the Block", and "She's Only Evil". Notably, the three videos feature only Dryden Mitchell and Mike Cosgrove.
Since the July 2006 release of Up in the Attic, very little has happened. Their website remained unupdated from November 2006 until April 2007, the update promoting the Alien Ant Fans website, created by a long time Polish fan, Bartek.
The band released Around the Block, the second single from Up in the Attic, on iTunes Store in 2007.
On February 11, 2008, the band posted a statement on their website saying all the original members of the band are back together. It was also revealed that the band had "unofficially broken up" in 2007 due to the fact that 2006's Up in the Attic was their least successful album. Around this time, vocalist Dryden Mitchell formed a new band, Send the Sages. Guitarist Terry Corso and drummer Michael Cosgrove worked on a side project titled Ghost In The Flesh, bassist Tye Zamora worked with the band eEnik. Alien Ant Farm toured sporadically, and released a new live album, Alien Ant Farm: Live In Germany.
In 2009, they played the Sonisphere Festival in Knebworth, UK on August 1. They had also performed "Smooth Criminal" at the 2009 Vans' Warped Tour in memory of Michael Jackson, who had recently died.
On February 9, 2010, Alien Ant Farm posted on their official website that the original line up (Dryden Mitchell, Terry Corso, Tye Zamora and Mike Cosgrove) was back together for the first time since 2003. On February 27, 2010, the Alien Ant Farm official website released the band's first "webizode" titled Bassmasters.
Always And Forever and upcoming sixth studio album (2011–present)
Alien Ant Farm playing in 2015
The band's "ANTicipation" 2011 Tour took place across the continental U.S. from July to October 2011. They also took part in the "Michael Forever Tribute Concert" which took place on October 8, 2011 in Cardiff, Wales. Alien Ant Farm started writing new material and in July 2012 started recording their fifth album, Always and Forever, at Groovemaster Studios in Chicago in July 2012. In March 2013 they set up a crowdfund, using PledgeMusic, to finance the album's release. The first single from Always and Forever, "Let 'Em Know", was released in May 2013. Also in the summer of 2013, Alien Ant Farm participated in "The Big Night Out Tour", opening for Hoobastank and Fuel.
Founding member and bassist Tye Zamora left Alien Ant Farm in March 2014 and was replaced by Tim Peugh. At the same time, Michael Anaya joined as a touring member of the band, providing backing vocals, percussion, and keyboards. Another single, Homage, was released in September 2014, followed a month later by E.P. Phone Home. The album Always and Forever was released on February 24, 2015.
On March 31, 2016, Alien Ant Farm announced on their official Facebook page that they were writing material for a new album.
On May 17, 2016, the band took part in the Make America Rock Again super tour throughout the summer and fall of 2016. In addition, they announced a headlining tour where they intend to perform the album Anthology in its entirety. In 2018 they toured as part of the "Gen-X Tour", alongside Buckcherry, P.O.D., and Lit.
On May 8, 2020, the new single "Everything She Wants" was released digitally on streaming services. It is a cover of the song by Wham!.
S.S. Recognize
Alien Ant Farm Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And two the flow went, I think the vessel bent
Now time is precious, rocky waves we're nauseous
I think everything is wet, from us the ocean fed
What made us try to have done what we do, let's dream of dry
To not tremble in the night, Âfull sky, fuel shy
Don't you recognize, I'll rock the boat again
Now it's been days, and the sun won't show her face
She will blame mistakes on me, now the cold becomes obscene
Will you just bend, and think of saving my life again
This ship has made me cry, I think the next time we should fly, full sky, fuel shy
Don't you recognize, I'll rock the boat again
I'm getting scurvy bad
We're bringing up all the sharks cause all the whales have gone mas surr, you fail to recognize all the things that we do, check yourself, the boat just about to sink
You're gonna choke on the salt if you try to drink
We're bringing up all the sharks cause the whales have gone mas surr, you fail to recognize all the things we do, check yourself the boat just about to sink, we don't need
You bitch, you think you are the missed link
All the prism in the world couldn't make hue
All the rescue that I've seen don't bring you
Stand up, sit back or walk the plank, kiss the deck and recall
All the prism in the world couldn't make hue
Don't you recognize, I'll rock the boat again
I'm getting scurvy bad
The song "S.S. Recognize" by Alien Ant Farm is a metaphorical representation of the struggles of a failing relationship. The song describes a couple on a boat struggling to survive through a stormy sea. The lyrics suggest that the rocky waves, rain, and the nauseous feeling that they experience on the boat may represent the conflicts, problems, and obstacles that they constantly face in their relationship. The line "What made us try to have done what we do, let's dream of dry" highlights the realization that they made an attempt to save the relationship, but they were not successful. They are now left to only dream of a better, stable future, represented by dry land.
The chorus "Don't you recognize, I'll rock the boat again, I'm getting scurvy bad" represents the singer's need to take action and shake things up again in the relationship. The line "We're bringing up all the sharks cause all the whales have gone mas surr" suggests that they have other potential problems that they may have to face, and they need to be prepared.
The song ends with the line, "All the prism in the world couldn't make hue," which means that no matter how much effort they put into finding a solution, they cannot make things work anymore. The relationship is sinking, and they need to accept it.
Line by Line Meaning
And back to the ebb came, in fact and full of rain
The tide went out and it started raining heavily
And two the flow went, I think the vessel bent
The tide changed direction and the ship's structure may have been impacted
Now time is precious, rocky waves we're nauseous
Time is running out and the rough waves are making everyone seasick
I think everything is wet, from us the ocean fed
Everything is soaking wet and the water is coming from the ocean and affecting everything
What made us try to have done what we do, let's dream of dry
Why did we attempt this? Let's imagine being somewhere dry and safe
To not tremble in the night¡Âfull sky, fuel shy
To not be scared at night and to have enough fuel to continue the journey
Don't you recognize, I'll rock the boat again
I will cause disruption again, can't you see?
I'm getting scurvy bad
I'm suffering from scurvy, a Vitamin C deficiency
Now it's been days, and the sun won't show her face
Days have passed and there's been no sunshine
She will blame mistakes on me, now the cold becomes obscene
Someone will blame me for any errors made, and now the cold is extreme
Will you just bend, and think of saving my life again
Will you please comply and help me again?
This ship has made me cry, I think the next time we should fly¡Âfull sky, fuel shy
This ship is causing me emotional distress, let's try something else next time like flying with enough fuel
We're bringing up all the sharks cause all the whales have gone mas surr, you fail to recognize all the things that we do, check yourself, the boat just about to sink
We're encountering sharks because the whales have acted crazy and left, and you refuse to acknowledge the risks and mistakes. Check your behavior, the boat is in danger
You're gonna choke on the salt if you try to drink¡Â
You'll get sick if you drink saltwater
You bitch, you think you are the missed link
You're acting foolishly and behaving like the weak link
All the prism in the world couldn't make hue
No amount of lenses could change what's happening
All the rescue that I've seen don't bring you
All the previous attempts to help have failed
Stand up, sit back or walk the plank, kiss the deck and recall
Either follow instructions, stay put, or jump off the boat. Remember the situation
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DRYDEN MITCHELL, MICHAEL COSGROVE, TERENCE CORSO, TYE ZAMORA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
r0ttingb0ne
on Smooth Criminal
@ciggywater yess
ciggywater
on Smooth Criminal
Love this version much better.
Aaron Bernhard
on Wish
muie