1) We recorded a 7” single (Piles backed with Gimmie What I Want/Buk’s Son… Read Full Bio ↴1) We recorded a 7” single (Piles backed with Gimmie What I Want/Buk’s Song) that got us a profile in the first issue of Spin magazine (thanks Regina Joskow) and some label interest. We figured we would need a producer to help us with the “Big Breakthrough”. We met Handsome Dick Manitoba from interviewing him for Mark’s fanzine “The Poisoned Pen”, and Manitoba steered us to Andy Shernoff. Andy worked with us to try and meld the “punk thing” with a sheen of professionalism (the jury’s still out on that). He took us to Springfield, Missouri to work with the legendary engineer Lou Whitney. We recorded through endless stacks of amps and high-end gear. We came back to NYC, and mastered the tapes at RCA studios. The best of the best! Unfortunately, Soul Desire was released straight to the cut-out bins and became our only release at that time. We toured out to Atlanta and back while re-assessing the “commercial breakthrough” approach. We went back into small studios in NYC to use what we learned, and record what we felt was “The Alter Boys’ Sound”. The band played bigger clubs like Maxwell’s in Hoboken opening for Soul Asylum, and kept recording to try and capture that elusive “sound”. We played our last gig at The Continental Divide for a live recording of all the bands (curated by the legendary Senders) that played there regularly.
We felt we had finally captured our sound, but the band was no more. JZ, Mark, and I had already been playing as The GasHounds, so our attention went there and a whole new batch of songs and recordings.
When JZ and I went through all our studio tapes from start to finish (1985-89), we revisited the thought we had long ago- can we capture our essential sound? We feel these recordings present the band as we always felt we should have been on record.
So, ladies and gentlemen, This Is The Alter Boys!

2) The Alter Boys are an American band including members of the bands Dog Fashion Disco, Mushroomhead, and Unified Culture, as well as MTV's Jackass. They play in various musical styles, and released their debut album in 2005. They are currently on Jason Popson's label "Fractured Transmitter" .

Vocals - Todd Smith, Jason Popson
Additional vocals - Craig Martini, Mike Martini, Ryan Dunn
Guitar - Todd Smith, Mike Martini
Bass - Craig Martini
Keyboards - Matt Rippetoe
Woodwind - Matt Rippetoe
Accordion - Mike Martini

TRACKS

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Pigs and Pineapples
The Alter Boys Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ticker tape parades
Embalmed in napalm
A struggle for power
In the belly of the beast
Disneyland debutantes
Table dance for dollars
While Silicone soldiers wear Versace fatigues
And everyday I look I see the devil in the mirror
I've been blinded by illusion
Perfection can't be attained
That's why
Ouiga we don't want to tell the future
Roast the pigs with pineapples and smiles and tenderness
Poison a chicken
And it will predict the future
Hellhounds and witches are sniffing at my door
Over the borders we've been trading human skin
And everyday I look I see the devil in the mirror
I've been praying to bleeding statues dining with these hungry ghosts
That's why
Ouiga we don't want to tell the future
Roast the pigs with pineapples and smiles and tenderness
You've got a chip on your shoulder
There's a target on my chest
I've got a secret that I'm dying to confess
I've been blinded by the future
Present life cannot sustain
That's why
Ouiga we don't want to tell the future
Roast the pigs with pineapples and smiles and tenderness

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Alter Boys' song "Pigs and Pineapples" feature a striking critique of contemporary society, particularly the way it values power, money, and image over genuine connection and empathy. The opening lines speak of "ticker tape parades" embalmed in napalm, a vivid image that suggests the ways in which ostensible celebrations of national pride and military might are actually built upon destruction and death. The singer notes a "struggle for power" taking place "in the belly of the beast," which could refer to political struggles or the machinations of the corporate world. This image is paired with another, more personal one: "Disneyland debutantes" performing table dances for dollars while soldiers wearing designer clothing move around them. This contrast suggests the ways in which capitalist values have infiltrated even our most intimate relationships, leading people to commodify themselves and each other.

The chorus of the song features the repeated line "Ouiga we don't want to tell the future," which suggests a rejection of the idea that we can predict or control what's to come. This rejection is accompanied by an image of "roast[ing] the pigs with pineapples and smiles and tenderness": a seemingly arbitrary and nonsensical act that nevertheless embodies a sense of joy, playfulness, and care. The bridge features more disturbing images, such as the suggestion that "Poison a chicken / And it will predict the future" and the mention of "Hellhounds and witches" at the singer's door. These images evoke a sense of anxiety and danger that stems from the sense that the world is unpredictable and volatile.

Overall, the lyrics to "Pigs and Pineapples" offer a complex and nuanced critique of contemporary society's values and practices. The song suggests that our obsession with power, image, and control has led us astray, and that we need to return to a sense of playfulness, empathy, and care in order to find meaning and connection.

Line by Line Meaning

Ticker tape parades
Celebrations filled with meaningless pomp and circumstance

Embalmed in napalm
Destruction and death, preserved and immortalized

A struggle for power
A constant battle for dominance and control

In the belly of the beast
Deep inside the corrupted heart of society

Disneyland debutantes
Artificially perfect and polished individuals, designed for public consumption

Table dance for dollars
Exploiting sexuality for financial gain

While Silicone soldiers wear Versace fatigues
The shallow and superficial are willing to fight and die for their material possessions

And everyday I look I see the devil in the mirror
Constantly struggling with our own inner demons and flaws

I've been blinded by illusion
Focusing on unrealistic and unachievable ideals

Perfection can't be attained
No one and nothing is truly perfect

That's why
It's the reason for our actions and beliefs

Ouiga we don't want to tell the future
Uncertainty and fear of what's to come

Roast the pigs with pineapples and smiles and tenderness
Taking pleasure in the simple and joyful things, even amidst chaos and uncertainty

Poison a chicken
Putting trust in superstition and false hope

And it will predict the future
Believing in nonsense and false prophesies

Hellhounds and witches are sniffing at my door
Feeling hunted and oppressed by unseen forces

Over the borders we've been trading human skin
The horrors of human trafficking and exploitation

I've been praying to bleeding statues dining with these hungry ghosts
Seeking solace and protection in religious rituals and traditions

You've got a chip on your shoulder
Holding onto anger and resentment, ready to retaliate

There's a target on my chest
Feeling vulnerable and threatened

I've got a secret that I'm dying to confess
Holding onto guilt and shame, needing release

I've been blinded by the future
Fixating on what's to come instead of living in the present

Present life cannot sustain
Feeling disconnected and unsatisfied with our current circumstances

Ouiga we don't want to tell the future
Preferring the unknown to the harsh reality

Roast the pigs with pineapples and smiles and tenderness
Finding enjoyment and peace in the little things, even in troubled times

Contributed by Aria R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

@Dude27th

4y↑12

I hope they let this songs stay on youtube now, it's always frustrating trying to share Todd Smith's work but not having any accesible platform to do so

@demonsrreal

5y↑26

Thanks David. We are among the elite few that remember this band

@davidkasper4590

5y↑6

Many of us remember them, but Youtube has been taking them down left and right. I am sure this will be gone soon too unfortunately.

@johnostrunic8904

your not the only one who remebers them, Ryan Dunn Rest in Peace this was his band but you may already know that if so i apologize but it does explain why johnny did a shout out at the begining lol

@drummonkey21

I got to see these guys live back when they started and my old band was opening shows for mushroomhead. I've since lost my original copy of this disc. Thanks for uploading!

@illuZionSN64

5y↑4

i cant wait for their show september 7th in lakewood ohio. its gonna be amazing and probably one of our last opportunities to see them. they are so sick but i wish youtube wasnt striking them and taking them down

@dragonforcecam

Its more the company who owns the record who is striking it down and then Youtube takes them off, because if the owners of it don't ever know its there or stop deciding to be dicks that's how it ends up staying up. I would imagine it's Rotten Records? the ones behind the reason why Dog Fashion Disco used to be so hard to find on here and other streaming sites, because they "owned" the intellectual property of the album because it was released by them. It's basically why they have done the rerecording of their older albums, so they can have them more out there for the old fans and more than likely gain new fans if they can be easily shown or find the music, it's also why there haven't been any remastering or such on those albums and the only way to buy a few of them is through the Rotten Records website, or in the rare case out in the wilds of a record store. It's actually really shitty to me because if the company has no interest in it or what have you, just give the rights back to the musicians so they can ya know, make money, new fans, just actually own the shit they put their hard work and effort into. No tho, the company has to keep them because what if they decide one day to do something with it? That's money they are just giving back to the people who actually deserve the money.