Their debut album, "Everything Sucks" (1995), was an underground hit and led to a deal with Mojo Records (see also Mojo), an indie label. "Turn the Radio Off" (1996) established the band in the underground music scene, and they began touring throughout the USA. After the single "Sell Out" began breaking into the mainstream, including MTV, the album made an appearance on the charts. The ska revival was short-lived, however, and "Why Do They Rock So Hard?" (1998) did not lead the group to the mainstream.
Reel Big Fish released "Cheer Up" (2002) which began a movement into harder rock and pop sounds, with much less ska than the previous albums. The song "Where Have You Been?" was aimed at a wider audience, trying to drop the less popular ska sound, but was met with little mainstream success, despite the video. Their second most recent studio album was "We're Not Happy Until You're Not Happy" (2005).
They recently released "Our Live Album is Better Than Your Live Album" (2006) which includes 2 discs worth or their own tunes and a few covers of popular songs along with a DVD. They have worked on the soundtrack to BASEketball, which included a cover of A-Ha's Take On Me.
In 2006, they split from Jive records, who produced a "Best of" album against the will of the band, who could not prevent the release. The band has made a campaign to try and stop people buying the album.
Their 7th album "Monkeys For Nothing and the Chimps For Free" (2007) includes some songs that were previously recorded and released on other albums. It was also the first album with the band's new label, Rock Ridge Records.
In 2009, they released "Fame, Fortune, and Fornication" an album composed of covers of older songs, including "Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty, and "Nothin' But a Good Time" by Poison.
In 2012, Reel Big Fish released "Candy Coated Fury", which is their second album on Rock Ridge Records. This album was met with heavy amounts of criticism from fans and reviewers alike. PunkNews.org gave the album a 2/10.
in 2014, they released "Happy Skalidays", a holiday themed EP.
Their current release is 2018's "Life Sucks... Let's Dance!", which gained generally positive reviews from fans and critics.
Current members:
Aaron Barrett - guitar, lead vocals (1992–present)
Dan Regan - trombone, backing vocals (1994–present)
John Christianson - trumpet, backing vocals (2004–present)
Ryland Steen - drums (2005–present)
Derek Gibbs - bass guitar (2007–present)
Past members:
Ben Guzman - vocals (1992–1994)
Zach Gilltrap - keyboards/synthesizers (1992–1994)
Lisa Smith - guitar (1992–1994)
Eric Vismantes - trumpet (1994)
Stephan Reed - saxophone (1994)
Robert Quimby - trombone (1994–1995)
Adam Polakoff - saxophone (1994–1995)
Grant Barry - trombone (1995–1998)
Andrew Gonzales - drums (1992–1998)
Tavis Werts - trumpet (1994–2001)
Carlos de la Garza - drums (1999–2003)
Tyler Jones - trumpet (2001–2004)
Justin Ferreira - drums (2003–2005)
Matt Wong - bass, backing vocals (1992–2007)
Scott Klopfenstein - trumpet, guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1995–2011)
Another F.U. Song
Reel Big Fish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fuck fuck fuck fuck
Living
Fuck dying,
Fuck laughing
Fuck crying
But mostly Fuck You
Fuck love, hate and friends
Fuck following trends,
Fuck this song,
Can't wait till it ends.
Fuck everything,
But fuck you the most
Fuck everyone
But fuck you the most,
With a big rusty pole or a splintery post
Fuck you the most, fuck you
Fuck old school
Fuck new school
Fuck not cool
Fuck too cool
Fuck hip and ironically lame
Fuck giving advice
Fuck trying to be nice
Fuck you and you know who you are
Fuck everything,
But fuck you the most
Fuck everyone
But fuck you the most,
With a big rusty pole or a splintery post
Yeah, Fuck you the most, fuck you
Fuck you
The lyrics to Reel Big Fish's “Another F.U. Song” express an overwhelming frustration and anger towards absolutely everything, yet specifically directed towards one person, the listener. The first lines make it clear that the song is meant to be confrontational with the use of the heavily censored expletives. The following lines respect no boundaries, with the band expressing a desire to oppose social norms such as living and dying, and even going so far as to despise laughter and crying.
The chorus repeats, "Fuck everything, but fuck you the most," emphasizing a burning disdain for the person in question, who might have wronged the songwriter in some way or simply stands for everything the songwriter opposes. The song continues with the verbal assault, cutting down old school and new school, the cool and uncool, and rejecting all advice given from friends or strangers. The final line intensely drives the point home with a blunt "Fuck you."
Overall, this song comes across as a release of built-up anger and frustration, expressing the desire to rebel against everything deemed wrong with the world. The visceral, confrontational lyrics and aggressive delivery provide a catharsis for listeners to let out their own frustrations.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey kids, its time to use the "F" word
It's time to express your anger and frustration through the use of the word 'fuck'.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck
I'm really fucking angry and I'm going to keep expressing it.
Living
Fuck dying,
I'm pissed off at life and death equally.
Fuck laughing
Fuck crying
I don't want to experience any emotions because they all suck in their own way.
Fuck this song,
But mostly Fuck You
I hate this song, but my hatred for you is far greater.
Fuck love, hate and friends
Fuck following trends,
I don't care about anything or anyone, and I'm certainly not going to follow what's popular.
Fuck this song,
Can't wait till it ends.
This song is the fucking worst and I can't wait for it to be over.
Fuck everything,
But fuck you the most
I hate everything, but you are the thing that I hate the most.
Fuck everyone
But fuck you the most,
With a big rusty pole or a splintery post
Fuck you the most, fuck you
I'm going to cause you harm in some way, and I will enjoy it more than anything else.
Fuck old school
Fuck new school
Fuck not cool
Fuck too cool
Fuck hip and ironically lame
I hate all different kinds of styles and attitudes, regardless of whether they are mainstream or counterculture.
Fuck giving advice
Fuck trying to be nice
Fuck you and you know who you are
I don't want anyone's advice or kindness, and I hate you specifically for being yourself.
Fuck everything,
But fuck you the most
Fuck everyone
But fuck you the most,
With a big rusty pole or a splintery post
Yeah, Fuck you the most, fuck you
I'm going to repeat this sentiment once more to make it crystal clear how much I hate you, and to remind you that I am capable of causing you physical harm.
Fuck you
I really, really hate you.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
transformersloverjon
When anyone comes up to me saying they hate rap because it's nothing but vulgarity and has no point, but rock always has meaning and talks about real issues... I show them this. PS: I love this song.
Bigman Jones
Great song! I love to play this when looking in the mirror!
massive dick gaming
lol why
Versitax
This song will play at my funeral.
NixNox
Same
Hal Apeeno
It was at Popcorn Sutton's :)
Kyle Bochart
just moved out of my ex's house. Played this on repeat like all day.
Panda Prinny
Sign me up
Rock Tuner
If this song was censored, it would sound like dubstep
Violet thebat
😂😂😂😂