The band from Los Angeles, California, USA, a pared-down version of the theatrical troupe The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, released eight major albums and two live compilations, each containing songs that varied from fast-paced ska to soulful jazz to emotional rock to off-kilter pop.
Starting in 1980, Oingo Boingo spent their first three albums establishing themselves as a band with quirky, bizarre, sarcastic, and anti-conformist vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation, among other things lambasting "normal" society and politics for their many hypocrisies and encouraging people to think for themselves. The band made a change toward a different sound when frontman Danny Elfman recorded So-lo in collaboration with the band and a new label, beginning a trio of "new wave"-ish albums containing ballads and songs about life and mortality, including the famous Dead Man's Party. The band went on to record Dark at the End of the Tunnel, a change toward a sort of Boingo-esqe "spirituality", and finally recorded their last album: dark, guitar-driven, hornless, influenced by the Beatles and Pink Floyd, eponymous with the new band name Boingo.
Now mostly known for their frequent contribution to movie soundtracks (including their most successful song "Weird Science"), Oingo Boingo formally broke up in 1995 after their last Halloween live concert, the reason being that 'it was time.'
Throughout the years, the following joined Elfman and Bartek as members of Oingo Boingo:
Leon Schneiderman - baritone and alto saxophones, percussion, backing vocals
John 'Vatos' Hernandez - drums, percussion
Kerry Hatch - bass, bass synthesizer, percussion, backing vocals
Sam 'Sluggo' Phipps - tenor and soprano saxophones, clarinet, percussion, backing vocals, flute
Dale Turner - trumpet, trombone, percussion, guitar, backing vocals
Richard Gibbs - keyboards, synthesizer, trombone, percussion, backing vocals
John Avila - bass, bass synthesizer, percussion, accordion, backing vocals
Michael Bacich - keyboards, backing vocals
Carl Graves - keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals, electronic percussion pad
Warren Fitzgerald - guitar
Doug Lacy (aka Doug Legacy) - percussion, trombone, accordion
Marc Mann - keyboards, samples
Aftermath
Since the band's dissolution, frontman Danny Elfman has continued to find success in his career writing film scores, particularly in collaboration with director Tim Burton; he almost exclusively employs Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek as orchestrator. His film scores have included Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Good Will Hunting, Men in Black, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, Big Fish, and dozens more. Elfman also wrote the themes for more than a dozen TV series, including The Simpsons, Batman: The Animated Series, Desperate Housewives, Tales from the Crypt, and Sledge Hammer!.
Steve Bartek, besides working with Danny, has composed music for various TV shows, including Tales from the Crypt and Desperate Housewives, and movie scores, such as The Art of Travel, Meet the Deedles and Cabin Boy.
Vatos formed a concert show along with Sluggo, Bartek, and Avila in California. The concert show features performances of Oingo Boingo's most popular songs. This has led to speculation about a reunion. In early 2007, Danny Elfman said there would not be a reunion. He has irreversible hearing loss and is worried that playing live would exacerbate it. He stated that some members may also suffer from the condition.
The Oingo Boingo spirit is kept alive by tribute band Dead Man's Party, which performs regularly in Southern California - occasionally with original Boingos Steve Bartek, John Avila, and John Hernandez. Lead singer Robert Elfaizy sings quite impressive "Danny Elfman" vocals.
Other Projects
John Avila and Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez were two members of the trio Food For Feet. They also formed the rhythm section of Tito & Tarantula, a Los Angeles band fronted by Tito Larriva of The Plugz and the Cruzados. Avila and Hernandez also joined Larriva and guitarist Stevie Hufstetted in a one-off project band called Psychotic Aztecs. The Aztecs released one album on the Grita called Santa Sangre.
After the break-up, John Avila, guitarist Steve Bartek, drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, and saxophonist Sam Phipps (along with Doug Lacy and other musicians) formed a band called Doug & The Mystics. They recorded one album, New Hat, which included a cover of the Oingo Boingo song "Try to Believe," original songs, and covers of songs by Frank Zappa and other artists.
During the Halloween 2005 season, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez put together a tribute to the band (and to Halloween itself), joined by former Oingo Boingo members Steve Bartek, John Avila, and Sam "Sluggo" Phipps which took place at the Grove of Anaheim. Standing in for Elfman was Bt4, a young man whom many fans call "the Danny byproduct." During the Halloween 2006 season, there were two Johnny Vatos Tribute to Halloween shows, one in Los Angeles and one in Orange County, with Vatos, Bartek, Avila, Phipps, Legacy, and Bt4 once again on vocals. "Vatos" has announced his intentions of hosting yet another concert along these lines in the 2007 Halloween season, this time at the House of Blues branches on the Sunset Strip and in Anaheim.
In 2005, John Avila, Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, and Steve Bartek joined the list of performers on the soundtrack of the 2003 re-imagination of the classic sci-fi series, Battlestar Galactica. Richard Gibbs joined at this time as well, but is credited as both a performer and composer. Their performances can be heard in seasons two and three, and will likely be heard on subsequent seasons of the series as well.
Soundtrack Appearances
•The studio recording of "Goodbye, Goodbye" appears on the soundtrack to the 1982 film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The song can only be found elsewhere on Boingo Alive and Best O' Boingo as a live recording.
•"Bachelor Party" and "Something Isn't Right" appear on the soundtrack to the 1984 film Bachelor Party. These songs can not be found on any Oingo Boingo albums. The soundtrack also includes "Who Do You Want To Be" from the album Good for Your Soul.
•In the 1984 John Hughes film Sixteen Candles, the character of Farmer Ted dances spastically to "Wild Sex (In The Working Class)" from the album Nothing To Fear.
•"Hold Me Back" and "Only A Lad" are featured during the opening and closing credits, respectively, of the 1984 film Surf II.
•"No One Lives Forever" can be heard during the bridge scene in the 1986 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
•"Not My Slave" can be heard on the car radio during a scene in the 1986 film Something Wild.
•"Happy" appears on the soundtrack to the 1987 film Summer School. This song cannot be found on any Oingo Boingo albums.
•"Better Luck Next Time" appears on the soundtrack to the 1982 film The Last American Virgin. This song cannot be found on any Oingo Boingo albums.
•"Who Do You Want To Be" appears on the soundtrack to the 1987 film Teen Wolf Too.
•"Try To Believe" (performed by Oingo Boingo under the alias "Mosley and the B-Men") can be heard in the 1988 film Midnight Run, which was scored by Danny Elfman. This version of the song is different from the version on the album Dark at the End of the Tunnel.
•"Same Man I Was Before" can be heard in the 1988 film My Best Friend Is a Vampire.
•The studio version of "Winning Side" appears on the soundtrack to the 1989 film She's Out of Control.
•"Flesh 'N Blood" appears on the soundtrack to the 1989 film Ghostbusters II. A short snippet is played as background music during the film.
•"Skin" can be heard on the radio (though not performed by Oingo Boingo) during a scene in the 1990 Clive Barker film Nightbreed.
•Susanna Hoffs covered "We Close Our Eyes" for the soundtrack to the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The song can be heard during the closing credits.
•"No One Lives Forever" can be heard in the 1997 television film Casper: A Spirited Beginning.
•"Home Again" appeared in the John Hughes film Home Alone 3 in 1997.
•A slightly altered version of "Forbidden Zone" was the theme song to the animated television show Dilbert (1999).
•"Stay" can be heard in the director's cut of the 2001 film Donnie Darko.
•"Violent Love" can be heard in the 1990 film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.
•"Capitalism" appears on the soundtrack to the 2005 film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.
•"Dead Man's Party" can be heard during a costume party in the "Witch Hunt" (2006) episode of the television show NCIS.
•The live recording of "Who Do You Want To Be" (from the album Boingo Alive) appears on the soundtrack to the 2005 video game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. It is also featured in the 2005 Nintendo DS version of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land.
•"Dead Man's Party" is a selectable song in the 2006 Xbox video game Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 4.
•"Only A Lad" was featured in the 2007 video game Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the '80s.
•"Weird Science" made an appearance in Beavis and Butthead as a music video. However, the duo disliked the song because Butthead believes that "this guy (Danny Elfman) thinks he's smart." Beavis disliked it because he said that "college music sucks." The duo decided to change the channel.
•"Home Again" can be heard at the end credits of the 1986 film Wisdom, written and directed by Emilio Estevez. The soundtrack to Wisdom is also the first all electronic film score that Danny Elfman created for the film.
•"Not My Slave" plays during the 1987 film Like Father Like Son starring Kirk Cameron.
•"Dead Man's Party" is also performed by Oingo Boingo in the movie back to school staring Rodney Dangerfield.
Pictures of You
Oingo Boingo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's just pictures of you, through the bedroom door
With that sly little grin, says you want it some more
But there's people around, and they don't look so nice
Tell me why don't they move, this has happened before
This has happened before
It's just pictures of you
In darkness
Pictures of you
I'd been sleeping for hours,
when you came to my house
You'd been lost in a crowd, said you had to get out
You were covered with tears and you said you were sad
So you wanted to play
Yes, you wanted to play
Well you touched me and smiled, as you let yourself go
Oh, but something was wrong, 'cause your touch was so cold
Like you'd been in the ground and you asked if you could
Stay
And I said no!
It's just pictures of you
In darkness
(Pictures of you)
In that lovely white dress, oh your skin was so white
With the moon in your eyes, on that cold winter night
When your lips were so soft, that I though they would
Melt,
And the sound of your breath and the way that you felt
And I said yes
And I said yes
It's just pictures of you with a knife in your hand
With a rose in your teeth lying nude in the sand
It's just pictures of you, standing high on a cliff
With the wind in your hair, and a smile on your lips
And your eyes were so wild, when you started to laugh
Blending in with the wind, sounded just like a scream
Why do pictures of you
Come to me when I dream
In darkness
Pictures of you
Pictures of you
Pictures of you
The opening lines of "Pictures of You" by Oingo Boingo describe a voyeuristic scene. The singer is observing someone, possibly a lover, through a bedroom door. The subject of his gaze exudes a mischievous energy that suggests deep mutual attraction. However, the circumstances of the rendezvous are not ideal - there are other people present who make the singer uncomfortable. The fact that the singer has encountered a similar situation before suggests that the subject of his gaze is someone he knows, and that they have engaged in illicit trysts before. The singer is physically separated from the object of his desires, as he can only see the person in the darkness. The imagery of the darkness serves to further heighten the tension and create a feeling of suspense.
The next verse reveals that the singer has had an unusual encounter with the object of his gaze. He has been woken up in the middle of the night by the person, who is dressed in tears and asks to play with him. The situation is once again fraught with uncertainty - it is not clear why the person is crying, or why they want to play. Their touch feels cold, as if they have been dead, and they ask if they can stay. The singer's reaction is to refuse, suggesting that the person is somehow dangerous or toxic. The verses that follow describe various scenes in which the singer imagines the object of his gaze. There are many different scenarios, some of which are romantic and others which are violent or surreal. The pictures of this person keep coming to the singer in dreams, suggesting that his obsession with them is not easily shaken.
Line by Line Meaning
Pictures of you
The song is literally referring to pictures of someone.
It's just pictures of you, through the bedroom door
These are pictures of the person taken through a partially open bedroom door.
With that sly little grin, says you want it some more
In the pictures, the person is smiling mischievously, appearing to want more of something.
But there's people around, and they don't look so nice
There are other people in the vicinity of the person in the pictures, but they don't seem friendly or pleasant.
Tell me why don't they move, this has happened before
The singer is questioning why these unfriendly people are not leaving, as a similar situation has occurred previously.
It's just pictures of you
The chorus repeats the fact that the song is just about pictures of this person.
In darkness
The pictures are dark and ominous in nature.
I'd been sleeping for hours, when you came to my house
The singer was asleep when the person in the pictures came to their house.
You'd been lost in a crowd, said you had to get out
The person in the pictures was lost in a crowd and needed to escape, according to what they told the singer.
You were covered with tears and you said you were sad
The person in the pictures was visibly upset, crying, and voiced that they were sad.
So you wanted to play
Despite being sad, the person in the pictures wanted to engage in some form of play with the singer.
Yes, you wanted to play
The person in the pictures reiterates their desire to play.
Well you touched me and smiled, as you let yourself go
The person in the pictures touched the singer and smiled as if they were letting themselves go.
Oh, but something was wrong, 'cause your touch was so cold
Despite the smile, something didn't feel right with the touch of the person in the pictures, as it was cold and off-putting.
Like you'd been in the ground and you asked if you could stay
The cold feeling led the singer to believe that the person in the pictures may have been dead and wanted to stay with them.
And I said no!
The singer refused the request for the person in the pictures to stay, likely because they were frightened by the situation.
In that lovely white dress, oh your skin was so white
The pictures shifted to include the person in a white dress, highlighting how pale their skin was.
With the moon in your eyes, on that cold winter night
The mood of the pictures change to a cold, wintry night with the moon reflecting in the person's eyes.
When your lips were so soft, that I thought they would melt
In this moment depicted in the pictures, the person's lips were soft and the singer felt like they would melt.
And the sound of your breath and the way that you felt
The singer was not only affected by the softness of the person's lips, but also the sound of their breathing and the way they felt in that moment.
And I said yes
The singer agreed to something that the person in the pictures asked for, likely due to being affected by the moment.
It's just pictures of you with a knife in your hand
The tone of the pictures then shifts to the person in question holding a knife.
With a rose in your teeth lying nude in the sand
The person in the pictures is now laying on a beach in the nude with a rose in their teeth.
It's just pictures of you, standing high on a cliff
The pictures change again to depict the person standing high on a cliff.
With the wind in your hair, and a smile on your lips
Despite the danger of standing on a cliff, the person in the pictures is smiling and has the wind blowing through their hair.
And your eyes were so wild, when you started to laugh
The person in the pictures then starts laughing with wild eyes.
Blending in with the wind, sounded just like a scream
The laughter of the person in the pictures sounds like a scream in the wind.
Why do pictures of you
The final chorus of the song repeats the question of why these pictures of this person keep coming back to the singer.
Come to me when I dream
The pictures of the person appear in the singer's dreams, causing them distress.
In darkness
The song ends with an emphasis on the darkness and ominous nature of the pictures of the person.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DANNY ELFMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kino
on make it right
I believe this line says "If I have to, then I'll fight!"
Kino
on make it right
I believe this line says "I go where I'm not wanted"