Often tagged as garage-rock revivalists, the Fleshtones mix the fuzz-guitar… Read Full Bio ↴Often tagged as garage-rock revivalists, the Fleshtones mix the fuzz-guitar and Farfisa organ sounds of that genre with rockabilly, '50s and '60s R&B, and surf into a potent retro stew the group likes to call "Super Rock." The group formed in 1976 in Queens with vocalist/keyboardist Peter Zaremba, guitarist Keith Streng, bassist Jan Marek Pukulski, and drummer Bill Milhizer and aimed to return rock and roll to the simplicity and unself-consciousness of the '50s and early-'60s. (The group was often joined on-stage and in the studio by sax player Gordon Spaeth, who passed on in 2005.) The group fit nicely into New York's punk and new wave scene, and an early single, "American Beat," attracted the attention of independent label Red Star and, in time, I.R.S. The group's debut EP, Up-Front, was released in 1980 and was followed by their first full-length album, Roman Gods, and Blast Off!, an unreleased studio album recorded for Red Star in 1978. 1983 produced Hexbreaker, widely regarded as the Fleshtones' finest album. The band continued to record through the '80s and released Powerstance in 1992 and Beautiful Light in 1994. (Powerstance also marked the debut of new Fleshtones bassist Ken Fox, who replaced Pukulski in the line-up and has been with the group ever since.) While the group's popularity dipped under the radar in the last half of the '90s, in 2003 the group bounded back when they were signed to the potent indie label Yep Roc Records and released one of their best albums, Do You Swing. An equally solid follow-up, Beachhead, was issued in 2005, and was produced in part by Detroit garage rock kingpin Jim Diamond. Fleshtones side projects include Keith Streng's band Full Time Men, which featured R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck, and Peter Zaremba's Love Delegation. The Fleshtones go beyond regular rock to produce SUPER ROCK!

Bigger & Better
The Fleshtones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The Bigger the Better
Water skying in my swimming pool
Would you like the sky dive
from my top floor in the parachutes
I take it from a private stone show in my living room
Let's have a party in my bathroom,
invite the whole neighborhood
They say wouldn't that be cool?

Everything is gotta be big
Everything is gotta be huge
Everything is gotta be king size
The bigger the better!

.??? .to move for a lacy afternoon with my fiancee
I'll take her dancing in the moon light on the Milky Way
Yeah! I bought a car with 307 bucks and a???
To go for a ... in my holidays
Ain't that great?

Everything is gotta be big
Everything is gotta be huge
Everything is gotta be king size
The bigger the better!
The bigger the better!
The bigger the better!

Everything, everything, everything
King size!
The bigger the better
Everything is gotta be king size
The bigger the better
Everything is gotta be huge
Everything is gotta be king size

The bigger the better
Everything king size!

Overall Meaning

The Fleshtones's song Bigger & Better is a song that celebrates excess in all industries. The song starts with the singer talking about water skiing in his swimming pool and offering to let people to sky dive from his top floor. He then goes on to explain how he has a private stone show in his living room and invites everyone to have a party in his bathroom. The chorus of the song repeats the line "the bigger the better" emphasizing how everything in his life needs to be larger than life.

The second verse of the song is about him taking his fiancée for a dance on the Milky Way and how he bought a car for only $307 to go on a journey in his holidays. The song is a perfect example of the American dream that focuses on excess and excelling beyond merely having the necessities of life. The lyrics speak to the mentality that one should always strive for more and that anything that is not larger than life is not worth having.

Overall, The Fleshtones's song Bigger & Better is an entertaining anthem of the American dream, showcasing the idea of growth and continuous progress.

Line by Line Meaning

The Bigger the Better
I always want things to be larger than life and nothing is ever big enough for me.

Water skying in my swimming pool
I live extravagantly enough to have a swimming pool where I can go water skiing.

Would you like the sky dive
Do you want to go skydiving with me? I live so high up that we could jump from my balcony with parachutes.

from my top floor in the parachutes
We can jump with parachutes from the top floor of my building.

I take it from a private stone show in my living room
I have an expensive display of stones in my living room that I like to show off.

Let's have a party in my bathroom,
I have such a huge bathroom that we can party in there and invite everyone in the neighborhood.

invite the whole neighborhood
I want to show off my grandiose lifestyle and have everyone come to my party.

They say wouldn't that be cool?
I want to impress everyone and give them a taste of the luxurious lifestyle that I live.

Everything is gotta be big
I have a strong desire for everything in my life to be larger than normal in size or scale to accommodate my grandiose lifestyle.

Everything is gotta be huge
I can't settle for things that are small or ordinary, everything needs to be huge and impressive to match my extravagant lifestyle.

Everything is gotta be king size
I require everything to be grand and majestic to fit my king-like status.

The bigger the better!
I always want things to be larger than life, and I won't settle for anything less than that.

.??? .to move for a lacy afternoon with my fiancee
I can buy and do anything I want to create a romantic and luxurious afternoon with my fiancée.

I'll take her dancing in the moon light on the Milky Way
I can and will take my fiancée anywhere, even if it's dancing in the moonlight on the Milky Way.

Yeah! I bought a car with 307 bucks and a???
I can easily buy things that others can't even fathom owning or with such a low price. It's all a small price to pay for me.

To go for a ... in my holidays
I'll go wherever I want in the holidays, and I can do it in style.

Ain't that great?
I love being able to live like this and have everything I could ever want at my fingertips.

Everything, everything, everything
I want everything in my life to be larger than life, grandiose, and magnificent.

King size!
I want everything in my life to feel royal and majestic, fit for a king like me.

Everything is gotta be king size
I want everything in my life to feel grandiose and luxurious, fit for a king like me.

The bigger the better
I always want things to be larger than life and nothing is ever enough for me.

Everything is gotta be huge
I can't settle for things that are small or ordinary. Everything needs to be huge and impressive to match my extravagant lifestyle.

Everything is gotta be king size
I require everything to be grand and majestic to fit my king-like status.

The bigger the better
I always want things to be larger than life, and I won't settle for anything less than that.

Everything king size!
I want everything in my life to feel royal and majestic, fit for a king like me.

Writer(s): PETER ZAREMBA

Contributed by Oliver W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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