Fish Heads (song)
Encyclopedia
"Fish Heads" is a novelty
song by comedy rock
duo Barnes and Barnes, featured on their 1980 album Voobaha
. It has often been played on the Dr. Demento
show, and is the second most honored song in Demento show history.
The song is about fish heads
and all the things they can (or, more often, cannot) do, such as playing baseball, wearing sweaters, dancing, playing drums, or being seen drinking cappuccino
in Italian restaurants with Oriental women. It is accompanied by a high-pitched chorus, achieved by speeding up the tape, which repeats the original's chorus.
Actor Bill Paxton
directed and appeared in the music video
for the song, which aired on NBC
television on Saturday Night Live
, on December 6, 1980.
" in 1985.
Robert Haimer
, one of the members of Barnes and Barnes, posted a version of the song on YouTube
, where the phrase "fish heads" is replaced with "YouTube."
In the Treehouse of Horror VII
(1996) episode of the animated television series, The Simpsons
, Homer sings and hums the song as he carries a bucket of fish heads to the attic to feed Bart's mutant twin brother, Hugo.
Every Friday, local Jersey
radio station Channel 103
hosts a "Fish Head Friday", where every hour on The Breakfast Show, a verse and chorus from "Fish Heads" is played.
On the February 9, 2010 episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
, The Roots
played the song as Bill Paxton
entered the stage as a guest. Paxton explained that it was the thirtieth anniversary of the short.
Novelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
song by comedy rock
Comedy rock
Comedy rock is rock music mixed with comedy, often satire and parody.-History:Early USA examples include Stan Freberg, who lampooned artists such as Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte and The Platters, and Sheb Wooley whose "Purple People Eater" reached No...
duo Barnes and Barnes, featured on their 1980 album Voobaha
Voobaha
Voobaha is the debut album by novelty rock group Barnes & Barnes. It was originally released in 1980 by Rhino Records, reissued in 1996 by Oglio Records and reissued again in 2006 by Collector's Choice...
. It has often been played on the Dr. Demento
Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....
show, and is the second most honored song in Demento show history.
The song is about fish heads
Fish Heads
Fish heads are a foodstuff.Fish Heads may also refer to:* "Fish Heads ", a novelty song by Barnes & Barnes whose music video was directed by and starred Bill Paxton* A nickname for the Royal NavyFans of Phish are known as Phishheads....
and all the things they can (or, more often, cannot) do, such as playing baseball, wearing sweaters, dancing, playing drums, or being seen drinking cappuccino
Cappuccino
A cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits.- Definition :...
in Italian restaurants with Oriental women. It is accompanied by a high-pitched chorus, achieved by speeding up the tape, which repeats the original's chorus.
Actor Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
directed and appeared in the music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song, which aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, on December 6, 1980.
Covers
- Wild Man FischerWild Man FischerLarry Wayne Fischer , better known as Wild Man Fischer, was an American songwriter in the outsider genre. He was notable for being responsible for Rhino Records' first release, Go To Rhino Records...
released a cover of "Fish Heads" on his album Pronounced Normal. - Eagle-Eye CherryEagle-Eye CherryEagle-Eye Lanoo Cherry is a Swedish musician of African-American descent.-Life and career:Cherry was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the son of African American jazz artist Don Cherry and Swedish painter/textile artist Monika "Moki" Cherry . He is half-brother of singer Neneh Cherry, his mother's...
released a cover of "Fish Heads" as a DesirelessDesireless (album)Desireless is the 1997 debut album by Swedish singer Eagle-Eye Cherry. The album was released in Sweden in 1997, by the small label Diesel. In 1998, Work Records picked it up for American distribution....
b-side. - J-Pop group Orange Delight covered the song live from 2001-2006.
- Duran DuranDuran DuranDuran Duran are an English band, formed in Birmingham in 1978. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States...
covered the song live on the group's RedCarpet Massacre World Tour - Buck 65Buck 65Richard Terfry , who uses the stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian experimental artist, MC and turntablist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde influences.Terfry is also a radio host,...
recorded a cover of "Fish Heads" put to the music of WireWire (band)Wire are an English rock band, formed in London in October 1976 by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed...
's "Three Girl Rhumba". The cover appears on a 2007, tour-only CD-RCD-RA CD-R is a variation of the Compact Disc invented by Philips and Sony. CD-R is a Write Once Read Many optical medium, though the whole disk does not have to be entirely written in the same session....
titled, Heck.
In popular culture
The video was played regularly on the Nickelodeon television series "Turkey TelevisionTurkey Television
Turkey Television is a Canadian teen sketch comedy originally aired on Nickelodeon. The show was created by Roger Price and Geraldine Laybourne at the request of Nickelodeon in response to the popularity of You Can't Do That on Television, another Canadian children's sketch comedy airing on Nick...
" in 1985.
Robert Haimer
Robert Haimer
Robert Haimer is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He performed in the two-man band Barnes & Barnes as his stage persona Artie Barnes, alongside actor and musician Bill Mumy. Haimer became friends with Mumy in 1965 at his schools Halloween carnival day. Recently, Haimer has sold...
, one of the members of Barnes and Barnes, posted a version of the song on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, where the phrase "fish heads" is replaced with "YouTube."
In the Treehouse of Horror VII
Treehouse of Horror VII
"Treehouse of Horror VII" is the first episode of The Simpsons eighth season and originally aired October 27, 1996. In the seventh annual "Treehouse of Horror" episode, Bart discovers his long-lost twin, Lisa grows a colony of small beings and Kang & Kodos impersonate Bill Clinton and Bob Dole in...
(1996) episode of the animated television series, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Homer sings and hums the song as he carries a bucket of fish heads to the attic to feed Bart's mutant twin brother, Hugo.
Every Friday, local Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
radio station Channel 103
Channel 103
Channel 103 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting across the British island of Jersey on 103.7 FM. Launched in 1992, 103 remains the sole commercial station in the island and continues to be extremely successful with high listenership figures...
hosts a "Fish Head Friday", where every hour on The Breakfast Show, a verse and chorus from "Fish Heads" is played.
On the February 9, 2010 episode of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
, The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
played the song as Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
entered the stage as a guest. Paxton explained that it was the thirtieth anniversary of the short.