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)
You're Gonna Die
Reel Big Fish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
*indecipherable*
fuck
*laughter* You too. Yeah you too
2 and a 3 and a 4 and a 5
and go
*laughter*
Go!
(you should see it)
and I want my babies close to me
(it's pretty gross)
‘cause Aaron is made of our babies
*baby cry*
and I want my babies close to me
Woah, and I want my babies close to me
*laughter*
yeah that sounds/that was gross
The song "You're Gonna Die" by Reel Big Fish is a sarcastic and humorous take on the inevitability of death. The opening lines of the song feature various sounds and a group of people laughing before counting down and shouting "go!" This could be interpreted as a mocking countdown to someone's imminent death or as a tongue-in-cheek reference to our collective mortality.
The main verse of the song features lead singer Aaron Barrett jokingly singing about being "made of our babies" and wanting his "babies" (presumably his fans or followers) close to him. This could be interpreted as a commentary on the way we treat celebrities or public figures as objects of worship and desire, or as a playful nod to the giddy, cult-like atmosphere that can sometimes surround popular bands or musicians.
The chorus of the song, which repeats the line "you're gonna die," seems to be both a reminder and an acceptance of our own mortality. The song is ultimately a celebration of life and a reminder to live in the present moment, knowing that death is always looming over us. It's a lighthearted but poignant message that reminds us to enjoy life while we can.
Line by Line Meaning
Various sounds
Background noise or miscellaneous sounds
*indecipherable*
Inaudible sounds
fuck
An expletive
*laughter* You too. Yeah you too
Mocking laughter directed towards someone
2 and a 3 and a 4 and a 5 and go
Countdown to start a musical performance or activity
*laughter*
Amusement or entertainment
Go!
Command to start or begin
‘cause Aaron is made of our babies (you should see it) and I want my babies close to me (it's pretty gross)
A nonsensical and absurd statement that is intentionally disturbing and unsettling
‘cause Aaron is made of our babies *baby cry* and I want my babies close to me Woah, and I want my babies close to me
A continuation of the absurd and disturbing statement, with added sound effects to create a surrealist and comedic effect
*laughter* yeah that sounds/that was gross
A reaction to the previous line, indicating that the statement was intended to be humorous or outrageous
Contributed by Alexis B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Deaf But Decent
love this band. This is my favorite band. I love Reel Big Fish. Reel Big Fish is my favorite band. I love this song. This is a great song. I feel good when I listen to this song. I will buy Reel Big Fish merchandise. I need Reel Big Fish merchandise. I feel good when I buy Reel Big Fish merchandise. I love this band. I want to tell everyone I know about this band. I love Reel Big Fish. Reel Big Fish is my favorite band. I love this album so much I want to buy it again. Reel Big Fish is my favorite band. I want to buy all my friends a Reel Big Fish album. I love Reel Big Fish. I love this band. This is my favorite band
Radio Atmosphere
i rewound this track at the end. and it's Aaron continuously saying "Reel Big fish is my favorite band. i love this band. i want to buy all of my friends a reel big fish album. i love this band" over and over
AortaPlatinum
RIP everyone who tried to use this album as a sleep aid when it first came out.
Arbmanthesheep
Imagine not knowing what was gonna happen when you first heard it. Like me.
Nevada Man
you spooked me
jongodwin
This was my favorite part of the album. I loved driving at night with this blasting. The elevator music at 1:55 made it really creepy and the "get him out, get him out" at 2:05 spiced it up. There's also that tone that sounds like the elevator tones when they reach their floor. I always wanted to play Doom while listening to this. The 4:19 part always reminds me of that game. It sounds like one of the demons shouting while firing one of their weapons. Aaron is made up of babies!
Ardhamon5000
Funny thing is that I got into Ska around 2011. I was sorta into Ska here and there during high school but then I really got into it during my college years so when I got into Reel Big Fish, this ghost track was in one of the torrents I downloaded.
Funnily enough I got into Ska thanks to Spazkid when I used to watch his stuff in 2008-2010 and I was also introduced to it thanks to Tony Hawk, Digimon the Movie and a few other places that had ska songs. So there's a lot of contributing factors that got me into Ska.
So when Cory mentioned this on SleepyCabin I was laughing because I knew exactly what he was talking about.
AmberAnarchy
It sounds like someone took every single Tool, Nine Inch Nails and A Perfect Circle song in existance, layered them on top of each other, cut the result into a hundred pieces, inverted some and then put them all back together again. Resulting in WIN.
PopcornBro
does anyone else find this song hilarious, not the screaming parts but the baby song in the middle and the spam of the scream sound
feathero3
Thank you for uploading this! I enjoyed every scary second of this video. Your warnings and hilarious choice of image really helped me to get through it lol. Also I did pause and and read the description since you asked me to. =)