Hitler Bad, Vandals Good
Encyclopedia
Hitler Bad, Vandals Good is the seventh studio album by the southern California
punk rock
band The Vandals
, released in 1998 by Nitro Records
. Much of the album is characterized by the pop-punk music and humorous lyrics for which the band is known, and it became their most popular and commercially successful album to date. While the band has utilized humor as a basis for much of their lyrical content throughout their career, the humor on their previous album The Quickening
had been rooted heavily in sarcasm and dealt with themes of nihilism and apathy. By comparison, the humor in Hitler Bad, Vandals Good is more lighthearted, dealing with subjects such as girlfriends, fast food and hairstyles.
The album contains two cover songs. "Come Out Fighting" was originally performed by fellow southern California
punk rock band Pennywise
and is dedicated to the memory of Pennywise bassist Jason Matthew Thirsk, who had committed suicide the previous year. "So Long, Farwell" is a Rodgers and Hammerstein
song from the musical The Sound of Music
, which has here been re-interpreted using electric guitar, bass and drums as the closing song on the album.
An independent music video
was later filmed for the song "My Girlfriend's Dead." Two different videos were released: One features the band members and was filmed as part of the Kung Fu Films movie That Darn Punk in 2000, while the other is a fan-created animated video that was included on one of Kung Fu Records
' DVD
releases.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Vandals
The Vandals
The Vandals are an American rock band established in 1980 in Huntington Beach, California. They have released ten full-length studio albums and two live albums and have toured the world extensively, including performances on the Vans Warped Tour...
, released in 1998 by Nitro Records
Nitro Records
Nitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994. The label is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notably AFI...
. Much of the album is characterized by the pop-punk music and humorous lyrics for which the band is known, and it became their most popular and commercially successful album to date. While the band has utilized humor as a basis for much of their lyrical content throughout their career, the humor on their previous album The Quickening
The Quickening
The Quickening is the fifth studio album by the southern California punk rock band The Vandals, released in 1996 by Nitro Records. Much of the album is characterized by themes of nihilism and anarchism, but presented with the tongue-in-cheek humor for which the band is known.Both the band and the...
had been rooted heavily in sarcasm and dealt with themes of nihilism and apathy. By comparison, the humor in Hitler Bad, Vandals Good is more lighthearted, dealing with subjects such as girlfriends, fast food and hairstyles.
The album contains two cover songs. "Come Out Fighting" was originally performed by fellow southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
punk rock band Pennywise
Pennywise (band)
Pennywise is a Californian punk rock band from Hermosa Beach, California, formed in 1988. The name is derived from the monster, It, from the Stephen King novel of the same title....
and is dedicated to the memory of Pennywise bassist Jason Matthew Thirsk, who had committed suicide the previous year. "So Long, Farwell" is a Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
song from the musical The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
, which has here been re-interpreted using electric guitar, bass and drums as the closing song on the album.
An independent 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...
was later filmed for the song "My Girlfriend's Dead." Two different videos were released: One features the band members and was filmed as part of the Kung Fu Films movie That Darn Punk in 2000, while the other is a fan-created animated video that was included on one of Kung Fu Records
Kung Fu Records
Kung Fu Records is an American independent record label founded in 1996 by Joe Escalante and Warren Fitzgerald of the punk rock band The Vandals. Founded in order to release a record by the Riverside, California band Assorted Jelly Beans, the label soon grew to include a roster of notable artists...
' DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
releases.
Track listing
Performers
- Dave Quackenbush - vocals
- Warren FitzgeraldWarren FitzgeraldWarren Fitzgerald is an American punk rock musician, guitarist, songwriter, and record label owner.-Overview and business:Warren Fitzgerald is most famous for being the current guitarist of The Vandals...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, backing vocals - Joe EscalanteJoe EscalanteJoseph Patrick "Joe" Escalante is an American musician, record label owner, radio host, film and music video director, and amateur matador, as well as a former television executive and entertainment lawyer...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Josh FreeseJosh FreeseJosh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, backing vocals - Gabe McNair - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
on "F'd Up Girl" - Jason FreeseJason FreeseJason Freese is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer. As a professional studio musician he has performed on over 50 albums by more than 35 different artists, including multiple albums by the Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Jewel, NOFX, and Zebrahead...
- saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
on "F'd Up Girl" - Stan FreeseStan FreeseStanford Freese is a world-renowned tuba soloist and Talent Casting & Booking Director with Disney Entertainment Productions ....
- tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
on "I Know, Huh?" - Adrian YoungAdrian YoungAdrian Samuel Young is the drummer for the rock band No Doubt.-Biography:Young's parents were hippies. He has four brothers: Alex, Damian, Jeff and Aaron. His father is a teacher in Cypress CA and his stepmother, Jeanne, is currently suffering from ALS...
- bongos on "If the Gov't Could Read My Mind"
Album information
- Record label: Nitro RecordsNitro RecordsNitro Records is an independent record label created and owned by Dexter Holland and Greg Kriesel . They started the label in 1994. The label is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notably AFI...
- Recorded at NRG Studios in North Hollywood, California
- Engineered by:
- John Ewing and Scott Mixdorf at NRG Studios in North Hollywood, California with assistance by Elvis
- Craig Neep and Warren Fitgerald at For the Record in Orange, CaliforniaOrange, CaliforniaSouthern California is well-known for year-round pleasant weather: - On average, the warmest month is August. - The highest recorded temperature was in 1985. - On average, the coolest month is December. - The lowest recorded temperature was in 1950...
- Warren Fitzgerald and Greg Koller at Formula One Studios in La Habra, CaliforniaLa Habra, CaliforniaLa Habra is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. Its related city, La Habra Heights is located to the north of La Habra, and is in Los Angeles County.-Origin of name:...
- John Tyree (assistant engineer) at Ocean Way in Hollywood, California
- Jerry Finn at Planet of the Tapes in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
- Mixed at Ocean Way in Hollywood, California
- All songs copyright 1998 by Puppety Frenchman Music, SEAC except:
- "Café 405" and "Euro-Barge" copyright Slip n Bleed Music, BMI
- "An Idea for a Movie" and "Too Much Drama" copyright Slip n Bleed Music, BMI and Puppety Frenchman Music, SESAC
- "Come Out Fighting" copyright Westbeach Music and Pound Foolish Music, BMI
- "So Long, Farewell" copyright Williamson Music Co., ASCAP
- Produced by Warren Fitzgerald
- Drawings by Warren Fitzgerald
- Design by Mackie Osborne
- Band photo by Lisa Johnson