One Fierce Beer Coaster
Encyclopedia
One Fierce Beer Coaster is the second studio album by American alternative rock
band Bloodhound Gang
, released on December 3, 1996. Produced by Jimmy Pop
, it was the band's first release on Geffen Records, and the first to feature Michael "Spanky G" Guthier on drums, "Evil" Jared Hasselhoff on bass, and DJ Q-Ball on the turntables. The musical style of One Fierce Beer Coaster is grounded in the alternative rock genre, with prominent rap metal guitar riffs and lyrics rife with toilet humor.
Originally released on the independent label Republic Records
, One Fierce Beer Coaster was later picked up by Geffen Records
two months after its release due to word-of-mouth popularity. The album has received mixed to moderately favorable reviews. Five singles were released from the album including "Fire Water Burn
", "Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny
", "I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks
", "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?
", and "Your Only Friends Are Make Believe
". The first single, "Fire Water Burn", was a modern rock hit, charting on seven different international charts.
. The band took its name from "The Bloodhound Gang"
, a segment on the 1980s PBS
kids' show 3-2-1 Contact
that featured three young detective
s solving mysteries and fighting crime. The band consisted of Jimmy Pop
, Daddy Long Legs, M.S.G., Lupus Thunder, and Skip O'Pot2Mus. In April 1994, the band released their second demo tape, The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Hitler's Handicapped Helpers
(1994). This resulted in a record deal with Cheese Factory Records, which was later renamed Republic Records. Later that year, the Bloodhound Gang released their first EP
, Dingleberry Haze
(1994).
In March 1995 the group signed a record deal with Columbia Records
and released their first full-length album, titled Use Your Fingers
(1995), but were subsequently dropped by the label. At this time Daddy Long Legs and M.S.G., who were angry with Columbia Records, left the band to form another rap group, Wolfpac
. Bass player Evil Jared Hasselhoff, drummer Spanky G and turntablist D.J. Q-Ball joined Bloodhound Gang as replacements. In addition, Skip O'Pot2Mus eventually left to pursue a career outside of the music industry. Eventually, the band began working on their new album, One Fierce Beer Coaster.
. The album was later mastered by Joe Palmaccio at Sterling Sound Studios in New York City
.
, was written and recorded in a more hip hop
-oriented style, featuring distinct rap beats, One Fierce Beer Coaster featured a more alternative
-oriented sound. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic described The Bloodhound Gang's sound as, "smarmy, smirky alternative funk-metal, complete with junk culture references and "ironic" musical allusions." Former Bloodhound Gang guitarist Lupus Thunder credits Weezer
as an inspiration for "Fire Water Burn" and Lemonade and Brownies
-era Sugar Ray
for "Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny."
To create the hip-hop and rock fusions on the album, Jimmy Pop utilized the standard hip hop technique of sampling
. The chorus for "Fire Water Burn
" is taken from "The Roof Is on Fire
" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three
and also features the lyrics 'I am white like Frank Black is / So if man is five and the devil is six then that must make me seven / This honkey's gone to heaven,' a direct reference to the post-1993 stage name of Black Francis who wrote the Pixies song "Monkey Gone to Heaven
" to which the lyrics allude. "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?
" is built around a re-recorded sample of "Spooky", by Mike Sharpe as performed by Classics IV
and also features a small lift from the Bill Cosby track "Greasy Kid Stuff." Finally, the track "Your Only Friends Are Make Believe" features a chorus melody lifted from the Duran Duran
song "Hungry Like the Wolf
."
Originally, the Republic Records version of the album contained a sample from the Men At Work
single "Down Under
" in the song "Shut Up" and a scratchy recording introducing the album at the beginning of "Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny". The samples were subsequently removed on Geffen pressings.
", is a song about a man and his new girlfriend and their adventures in cunnilingus
. It was written by Jimmy Pop about his then-girlfriend; the two subsequent albums would each have one song about said girlfriend - "Three Point One Four" and "No Hard Feelings," respectively. "Lift Your Head Up High (And Blow Your Brains Out)" is a satirical call for people who have considered suicide to go through with the act, because their life is worthless. Three minutes into the song, Jimmy Pop
says "Rewind and let me reverse it backwards like Judas Priest
first did
." Immediately after this, a four-second segment of backwards vocals repeats four times. When played in reverse, this segment says, "Devil child wake up and eat chef Boyardee Beefaroni."
The album's best-known single, "Fire Water Burn
", is a diatribe against a white boy who attempts, and fails, to act like a black thug.
"I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks
" is satirical song about the belief that girls only like gay men, playing on the stereotype that gay men are often better looking and more sensitive than straight men. "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?
" is mainly about how Jimmy Pop was constantly picked on in high school and has since developed extreme katagelophobia, an intense fear of being ridiculed.
The album also includes a cover of Run DMC's "It's Tricky
" and "Boom", which features an appearance by Robert "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle
. Van Winkle later incorporated his verse into the song "Prozac", which appeared on the album Hard to Swallow
.
, which, under its earlier name, Cheese Factory Records, had previously released material by the band. As word-of-mouth praise for the album spread, however, Geffen Records
signed the band after two months. Packaging design was created by designer Michael Calleia—the original Republic Records release contained an actual beer coaster.
A song called "Yellow Fever" which was about having sex with Asian women, as well as a hidden track
on track number 69 on the original release. It consisted of an audio collage featuring Howard Stern
talking about peanut butter
, a televangelist, a news broadcast on the disease Lupus
(a reference to Lüpüs Thünder), a phone call from a drunk friend of Jimmy's, and other assorted oddities. The Geffen re-release omitted this track. "Yellow Fever" and the hidden track were later released on an EP called One Censored Beer Coaster.
"Fire Water Burn" played a major role in the slow build of interest that ultimately led to the band's mainstream breakthrough. Because the band could not afford financially solvent national tours, they promoted themselves by sending their music to alternative rock-based radio stations across the country. Eventually, an intern brought the band to the attention of the music director of 107.7 The End
in Seattle. The director, liking what he heard, played "Fire Water Burn" on his Friday night show. After airing, the station was flooded with phone calls asking about the song and the band and the director passed the song onto the music director at KROQ-FM in Los Angeles
. This snowball effect
eventually overwhelmed the band with demands for their new record. After hearing of the underground success One Fierce Beer Coaster was receiving, many record labels began courting the band. According to manager Brett Alperowitz in an interview with HitQuarters
, Madonna
's label Maverick
"really wanted to sign the band in the worst possible way, even to the point where I had to tell Madonna that I couldn’t put her on the phone with Jimmy Pop." The band eventually signed a record deal with Geffen Records
.
In 2000, the song was the subject of further controversy when students at the University of Maryland
, including members of the East Coast Asian American Student Union
(ECAASU) and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Alliance
demanded the band’s removal from a concert line-up.
wrote that, "One Fierce Beer Coaster was picked up by DGC about two months after its release [...] And, listening to the single, "Fire Water Burn," it's possible to hear why."
However, not all reviews were complimentary. In his review of the lead single "Fire Water Burn," Entertainment Weekly
reviewer Matt Diehl referred to the band's music as "mumbling hip-hop slang with self-conscious Caucasian stiffness." The album was also panned for its heavy use of toilet and sex
-based humor. Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that, "what really sinks the album is the revolting, sophomoric humor that passes for lyrics."
at number 132. It peaked at number 57 less than a month later, dropping off the charts over the next few weeks. It later made a final reappearance at number 170. The album spent a total of 26 weeks on the chart.
On October 16, 1998, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA).
Other personnel
Production
Certifications
Singles
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang
Bloodhound Gang is a Collegeville, Pennsylvania-based American comedy band, although it began as a rap group and gradually changed its genre throughout the years...
, released on December 3, 1996. Produced by Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main songwriter, and founding member of the band Bloodhound Gang.-Biography:After graduating from Perkiomen Valley High School in 1990, he studied mass communication and history at Temple...
, it was the band's first release on Geffen Records, and the first to feature Michael "Spanky G" Guthier on drums, "Evil" Jared Hasselhoff on bass, and DJ Q-Ball on the turntables. The musical style of One Fierce Beer Coaster is grounded in the alternative rock genre, with prominent rap metal guitar riffs and lyrics rife with toilet humor.
Originally released on the independent label Republic Records
Republic Records
Republic Records was a record label and subsidiary of Universal Motown Republic Group. They originally went by the name Cheese Factory Records...
, One Fierce Beer Coaster was later picked up by Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
two months after its release due to word-of-mouth popularity. The album has received mixed to moderately favorable reviews. Five singles were released from the album including "Fire Water Burn
Fire Water Burn
"Fire Water Burn" is the second single from The Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster. The chorus of the song is taken from the song "The Roof Is on Fire" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three, yet sung considerably slower...
", "Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny
Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny
"Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny" is the first track and third single from the Bloodhound Gang album One Fierce Beer Coaster.The song is portraying the story of a man and his new girlfriend and their adventures in cunnilingus....
", "I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks
I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks
"I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks" is the fourth single off The Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster...
", "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?
Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?
"Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?" is the fifth single off the Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster.-Composition and lyrics:...
", and "Your Only Friends Are Make Believe
Your Only Friends Are Make Believe
"Your Only Friends Are Make Believe" is the sixth and final single off the Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album, One Fierce Beer Coaster. There is some dispute as to whether the song "Boom" was a single, which would have made that the sixth and final single. The song makes numerous references to Mr....
". The first single, "Fire Water Burn", was a modern rock hit, charting on seven different international charts.
Background and development
The Bloodhound Gang began as a small alternative band from King of Prussia, PennsylvaniaKing of Prussia, Pennsylvania
King of Prussia is a census-designated place in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 19,936. The community took its name in the 18th century from a local tavern named the King of Prussia Inn, which was named after...
. The band took its name from "The Bloodhound Gang"
The Bloodhound Gang (TV series)
The Bloodhound Gang is a popular segment from the PBS television program 3-2-1 Contact about three young people who solved crimes, largely with the help of their knowledge of science...
, a segment on the 1980s PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
kids' show 3-2-1 Contact
3-2-1 Contact
3-2-1 Contact is an American science educational television show that aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop, teaches scientific principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G...
that featured three young detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
s solving mysteries and fighting crime. The band consisted of Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main songwriter, and founding member of the band Bloodhound Gang.-Biography:After graduating from Perkiomen Valley High School in 1990, he studied mass communication and history at Temple...
, Daddy Long Legs, M.S.G., Lupus Thunder, and Skip O'Pot2Mus. In April 1994, the band released their second demo tape, The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Hitler's Handicapped Helpers
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Hitler's Handicapped Helpers
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack to Hitler's Handicapped Helpers is a demo released by rapcore band, Bloodhound Gang, in 1994.This demo features reworked songs from their previous demo, Just Another Demo, which also reappear re-recorded on Bloodhound Gang's first full-length, Use Your Fingers...
(1994). This resulted in a record deal with Cheese Factory Records, which was later renamed Republic Records. Later that year, the Bloodhound Gang released their first EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Dingleberry Haze
Dingleberry Haze
Dingleberry Haze was the first EP released by The Bloodhound Gang on Cheese Factory Records in November 1994.Though there are not too many differences between this EP and their next release, Use Your Fingers, there are a few...
(1994).
In March 1995 the group signed a record deal with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
and released their first full-length album, titled Use Your Fingers
Use Your Fingers
Use Your Fingers is the Bloodhound Gang's first album. It was released on July 18, 1995 by Cheese Factory Records.-Track listing:All songs written and composed by Jimmy Pop and Daddy Long Legs unless noted....
(1995), but were subsequently dropped by the label. At this time Daddy Long Legs and M.S.G., who were angry with Columbia Records, left the band to form another rap group, Wolfpac
Wolfpac
Wolfpac is an American hip hop group formed in 1997 by former Bloodhound Gang member and co-founder Daddy Long Legs. Wolfpac released its debut extended play, Wicked This Way Comes, on May 18, 1999 through Chord Recordings. Daddy Long Legs claims that he funded the EP's production by robbing...
. Bass player Evil Jared Hasselhoff, drummer Spanky G and turntablist D.J. Q-Ball joined Bloodhound Gang as replacements. In addition, Skip O'Pot2Mus eventually left to pursue a career outside of the music industry. Eventually, the band began working on their new album, One Fierce Beer Coaster.
Music
The Bloodhound Gang entered Dome Sound/Ultra Psyhe Studios with engineer Rich Gavalis in March 1996 to record One Fierce Beer Coaster. All of the songs were produced by Jimmy Pop, who also mixed most of the musical tracks on his personal MacintoshMacintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
. The album was later mastered by Joe Palmaccio at Sterling Sound Studios in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Style
While the album's predecessor, Use Your FingersUse Your Fingers
Use Your Fingers is the Bloodhound Gang's first album. It was released on July 18, 1995 by Cheese Factory Records.-Track listing:All songs written and composed by Jimmy Pop and Daddy Long Legs unless noted....
, was written and recorded in a more hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
-oriented style, featuring distinct rap beats, One Fierce Beer Coaster featured a more alternative
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
-oriented sound. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic described The Bloodhound Gang's sound as, "smarmy, smirky alternative funk-metal, complete with junk culture references and "ironic" musical allusions." Former Bloodhound Gang guitarist Lupus Thunder credits Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
as an inspiration for "Fire Water Burn" and Lemonade and Brownies
Lemonade and Brownies
Lemonade and Brownies is the name of Sugar Ray's debut album, released in 1995.DJ Lethal produced for the album, providing all of the DJing...
-era Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray is a band from Orange County, California. The band, starting off more as an alternative metal band, first gained fame in 1997 with their release of the song "Fly". This song's success, coupled with its pop rock sound that was quite different from the rest of their material at the time,...
for "Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny."
To create the hip-hop and rock fusions on the album, Jimmy Pop utilized the standard hip hop technique of sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
. The chorus for "Fire Water Burn
Fire Water Burn
"Fire Water Burn" is the second single from The Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster. The chorus of the song is taken from the song "The Roof Is on Fire" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three, yet sung considerably slower...
" is taken from "The Roof Is on Fire
The Roof Is on Fire
"The Roof Is on Fire" is a single from Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three released in 1984 that reached number five on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart...
" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three
Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three
Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three was an old school rap group best known for the singles "The Roof Is on Fire" and "Request Line", both of which have been sampled by many other groups, from rap to R&B to rock...
and also features the lyrics 'I am white like Frank Black is / So if man is five and the devil is six then that must make me seven / This honkey's gone to heaven,' a direct reference to the post-1993 stage name of Black Francis who wrote the Pixies song "Monkey Gone to Heaven
Monkey Gone to Heaven
"Monkey Gone to Heaven" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies and is the seventh track on their 1989 album Doolittle. The song was written and sung by frontman Black Francis and was produced by Gil Norton. Referencing environmentalism and biblical numerology, the song's lyrics...
" to which the lyrics allude. "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?
Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?
"Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?" is the fifth single off the Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster.-Composition and lyrics:...
" is built around a re-recorded sample of "Spooky", by Mike Sharpe as performed by Classics IV
Classics IV
The Classics IV were a band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, in 1965, given credit for beginning the "soft southern rock" sound...
and also features a small lift from the Bill Cosby track "Greasy Kid Stuff." Finally, the track "Your Only Friends Are Make Believe" features a chorus melody lifted from the Duran Duran
Duran Duran
Duran 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...
song "Hungry Like the Wolf
Hungry Like the Wolf
"Hungry Like the Wolf" is a song by the British New Wave band Duran Duran. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Colin Thurston for the group's second studio album Rio . The song was released in May 1982 as the band's fifth single in the United Kingdom...
."
Originally, the Republic Records version of the album contained a sample from the Men At Work
Men at Work
Men at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...
single "Down Under
Down Under (song)
"Down Under" is a pop song recorded by Men at Work for their debut album Business as Usual . The song went to #1 on American, British, Canadian and Australian charts....
" in the song "Shut Up" and a scratchy recording introducing the album at the beginning of "Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny". The samples were subsequently removed on Geffen pressings.
Lyricism
The lyrics for One Fierce Beer Coaster utilize over-the-top satire and toilet humor to provide comedy. For instance the album opener, "Kiss Me Where It Smells FunnyKiss Me Where It Smells Funny
"Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny" is the first track and third single from the Bloodhound Gang album One Fierce Beer Coaster.The song is portraying the story of a man and his new girlfriend and their adventures in cunnilingus....
", is a song about a man and his new girlfriend and their adventures in cunnilingus
Cunnilingus
Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed on a female. It involves the use by a sex partner of the mouth, lips and tongue to stimulate the female's clitoris, vulva, or vagina...
. It was written by Jimmy Pop about his then-girlfriend; the two subsequent albums would each have one song about said girlfriend - "Three Point One Four" and "No Hard Feelings," respectively. "Lift Your Head Up High (And Blow Your Brains Out)" is a satirical call for people who have considered suicide to go through with the act, because their life is worthless. Three minutes into the song, Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main songwriter, and founding member of the band Bloodhound Gang.-Biography:After graduating from Perkiomen Valley High School in 1990, he studied mass communication and history at Temple...
says "Rewind and let me reverse it backwards like Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
first did
Better By You, Better Than Me
"Better By You, Better Than Me" is a 1969 song by the band Spooky Tooth which was covered in 1978 by Judas Priest.The song was the subject of the much-publicized 1990 "subliminal message trial" in which Judas Priest was involved in a civil action that alleged they were responsible for the suicide...
." Immediately after this, a four-second segment of backwards vocals repeats four times. When played in reverse, this segment says, "Devil child wake up and eat chef Boyardee Beefaroni."
The album's best-known single, "Fire Water Burn
Fire Water Burn
"Fire Water Burn" is the second single from The Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster. The chorus of the song is taken from the song "The Roof Is on Fire" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three, yet sung considerably slower...
", is a diatribe against a white boy who attempts, and fails, to act like a black thug.
Wigger
Wigger is a pejorative slang term for a white person who emulates mannerisms, language, and fashions associated with African-American culture, particularly hip hop in the United States or the Grime/Garage scene in Britain. The term is a portmanteau of either wannabe or white and nigger...
"I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks
I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks
"I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks" is the fourth single off The Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster...
" is satirical song about the belief that girls only like gay men, playing on the stereotype that gay men are often better looking and more sensitive than straight men. "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?
Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?
"Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?" is the fifth single off the Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster.-Composition and lyrics:...
" is mainly about how Jimmy Pop was constantly picked on in high school and has since developed extreme katagelophobia, an intense fear of being ridiculed.
The album also includes a cover of Run DMC's "It's Tricky
It's Tricky
"It's Tricky" is the final single released from Run-D.M.C.'s third album, Raising Hell. It was released late in 1987 through Profile Records and was co-produced by Rick Rubin and the group themselves. The song peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 21 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Two...
" and "Boom", which features an appearance by Robert "Vanilla Ice" Van Winkle
Vanilla Ice
Robert Matthew Van Winkle , best known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, extreme athlete and home improvement television personality...
. Van Winkle later incorporated his verse into the song "Prozac", which appeared on the album Hard to Swallow
Hard to Swallow
Hard to Swallow is the third studio album by American rapper Robert Van Winkle under the name Vanilla Ice. Released by Republic Records in 1998, the album was the first album the performer recorded after a four year hiatus following the 1994 release of Mind Blowin...
.
Release and Promotion
One Fierce Beer Coaster was originally released on Republic RecordsRepublic Records
Republic Records was a record label and subsidiary of Universal Motown Republic Group. They originally went by the name Cheese Factory Records...
, which, under its earlier name, Cheese Factory Records, had previously released material by the band. As word-of-mouth praise for the album spread, however, Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
signed the band after two months. Packaging design was created by designer Michael Calleia—the original Republic Records release contained an actual beer coaster.
A song called "Yellow Fever" which was about having sex with Asian women, as well as a hidden track
Hidden track
In the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
on track number 69 on the original release. It consisted of an audio collage featuring Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
talking about peanut butter
Peanut butter
Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...
, a televangelist, a news broadcast on the disease Lupus
Lupus
Lupus most commonly refers to the disease systemic lupus erythematosus.Lupus may also refer to:-Medicine:* Lupus erythematosus, a chronic autoimmune disease with several different forms...
(a reference to Lüpüs Thünder), a phone call from a drunk friend of Jimmy's, and other assorted oddities. The Geffen re-release omitted this track. "Yellow Fever" and the hidden track were later released on an EP called One Censored Beer Coaster.
"Fire Water Burn" played a major role in the slow build of interest that ultimately led to the band's mainstream breakthrough. Because the band could not afford financially solvent national tours, they promoted themselves by sending their music to alternative rock-based radio stations across the country. Eventually, an intern brought the band to the attention of the music director of 107.7 The End
KNDD
KNDD , also known as "107.7 The End", is an alternative rock radio station in Seattle, Washington. It is operated by Entercom Communications Its studios are located in the Metropolitan Park West tower between Downtown and South Lake Union in Seattle...
in Seattle. The director, liking what he heard, played "Fire Water Burn" on his Friday night show. After airing, the station was flooded with phone calls asking about the song and the band and the director passed the song onto the music director at KROQ-FM in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. This snowball effect
Snowball effect
Snowball effect is a figurative term for a process that starts from an initial state of small significance and builds upon itself, becoming larger , and perhaps potentially dangerous or disastrous , though it might be beneficial instead...
eventually overwhelmed the band with demands for their new record. After hearing of the underground success One Fierce Beer Coaster was receiving, many record labels began courting the band. According to manager Brett Alperowitz in an interview with HitQuarters
HitQuarters
HitQuarters is an international music industry publication and contact database founded in 1999. It is noted for in-depth interviews with industry figures, with past subjects including Simon Cowell, Martin Kierszenbaum, Jason Flom, Diane Warren, Peter Edge, Ron Fair and RedOne, as well as its A&R...
, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's label Maverick
Maverick Records
Maverick Recording Company is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
"really wanted to sign the band in the worst possible way, even to the point where I had to tell Madonna that I couldn’t put her on the phone with Jimmy Pop." The band eventually signed a record deal with Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
.
Controversy
When Geffen Records re-released the album, the label refused to release the song "Yellow Fever" due to its lyrical content. As such, the song was removed from Geffen pressings of the album. In response, Jimmy Pop told Yahoo! Launch that the Gang's lyrical matter was not meant to be taken seriously.In 2000, the song was the subject of further controversy when students at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
, including members of the East Coast Asian American Student Union
East Coast Asian American Student Union
The East Coast Asian American Student Union is an intercollegiate Asian-Pacific American advocacy organization and is the largest and oldest conference in the country for Asian American students...
(ECAASU) and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Alliance
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
demanded the band’s removal from a concert line-up.
Critical reception
One Fierce Beer Coaster has received mixed to moderately favorable reviews. Roni Sarig said that it was "full of smart lines, great hooks, and creative arranging." Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas ErlewineStephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
wrote that, "One Fierce Beer Coaster was picked up by DGC about two months after its release [...] And, listening to the single, "Fire Water Burn," it's possible to hear why."
However, not all reviews were complimentary. In his review of the lead single "Fire Water Burn," Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
reviewer Matt Diehl referred to the band's music as "mumbling hip-hop slang with self-conscious Caucasian stiffness." The album was also panned for its heavy use of toilet and sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
-based humor. Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that, "what really sinks the album is the revolting, sophomoric humor that passes for lyrics."
Chart performance
On January 18, 1997, One Fierce Beer Coaster debuted on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
at number 132. It peaked at number 57 less than a month later, dropping off the charts over the next few weeks. It later made a final reappearance at number 170. The album spent a total of 26 weeks on the chart.
On October 16, 1998, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA).
Track listing
Credits
Band members- Jimmy PopJimmy PopJimmy Pop is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main songwriter, and founding member of the band Bloodhound Gang.-Biography:After graduating from Perkiomen Valley High School in 1990, he studied mass communication and history at Temple...
- lead vocals, samples, production - Lüpüs Thünder - backing vocals, guitar
- Spanky G - drums
- Evil Jared - bass
- DJ Q-Ball - backing vocals, turntables, keys, programming
Other personnel
- Rich Gavalis - Engineer, Editing, Mixing
- Rob Van WinkleVanilla IceRobert Matthew Van Winkle , best known by his stage name Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, extreme athlete and home improvement television personality...
- Guest vocals on "Boom"
Production
- Avery Lipman - Executive Producer
- Monte LipmanMonte LipmanMonte Lipman is an American music industry executive. He is presently the President and CEO of Universal Republic Records.In the current era of record company transition, Lipman transformed his own start-up label, Republic Records, into an autonomous imprint in 2005 – Universal Republic Records,...
- Executive Producer - Joseph M. PalmaccioJoseph M. PalmaccioJoseph M. Palmaccio is an American mastering engineer born in rural South Carolina.Palmaccio has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and has won 3 in the Best Historical Album category for mastering...
- Mastering
Charts and certifications
Charts| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| AUS ARIA Charts ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
3 |
| AUT Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
11 |
| NLD Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
21 |
| NZL RIANZ Album Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
3 |
| SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
20 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
57 |
| US Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
2 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Gold |
Singles
| Year | Song | Peak positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Mod Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs... |
US Main Mainstream Rock Tracks Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks is a ranking in Billboard magazine of the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music. Modern rock tracks are counted in the Alternative Songs chart.This chart began with the March 21, 1981, issue... |
UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
NLD Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting... |
AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
NOR VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
SWE Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
NZL Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
||
| 1997 | "Fire Water Burn Fire Water Burn "Fire Water Burn" is the second single from The Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster. The chorus of the song is taken from the song "The Roof Is on Fire" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three, yet sung considerably slower... " |
18 | 28 | — | 7 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| 1997 | "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me? Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me? "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?" is the fifth single off the Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster.-Composition and lyrics:... " |
— | — | 56 | 85 | — | — | — | 7 |
| 1997 | "I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks "I Wish I Was Queer So I Could Get Chicks" is the fourth single off The Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album One Fierce Beer Coaster... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 32 |
| 1997 | "Your Only Friends Are Make Believe Your Only Friends Are Make Believe "Your Only Friends Are Make Believe" is the sixth and final single off the Bloodhound Gang's 1996 album, One Fierce Beer Coaster. There is some dispute as to whether the song "Boom" was a single, which would have made that the sixth and final single. The song makes numerous references to Mr.... " |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |