Trans Ladyboy Forum - sing a long

Where DO these things come from anyway? :blush: Thought of something different to post today. How many of you have heard this song? I first heard it on the "Dr. Demento" show many years ago. Guess it would have been around 1999-2000 when it experienced a resurgence. Surprisingly this novelty "classic" has quite a history:

Quote:

1978 - The year Dr. Demento first received a copy of the “Fish Heads,” which subsequently became a massive hit on the show. A cursory glance at the Demented Music Database—an online database that catalogues the show’s playlists over its almost 50-year history—reveals a large amount of airplay for the tune and several instances of callers singing their own version of the song as they request it. To date, the song has been played over 350 times—and that’s not even counting the playlists that have yet to be catalogued at the DMDB.

The story of “Fish Heads” was inspired by a disgusting meal at a Chinese restaurant. But it’s also the product of a musical vessel well-suited to making songs inspired by disgusting meals at Chinese restaurants.

Bill Mumy was a child actor known for his iconic roles in Lost in Space (as Will Robinson) and The Twilight Zone. (Remember the kid who magically wished people into “the cornfield?” That was Mumy.) Much later, he became better known for his portrayal of Lennier in Babylon 5 and had bit parts in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In between acting gigs, he pursued music and associated with the likes of Gerry Beckley from the folk rock group America.

During more manic times from the age of 16 onward, he comprised one half of a strange musical duo called Barnes & Barnes, with his friend Robert Haimer. It was a sort of side project for channeling a “certain type of energy,” as he would later write in the liner notes to most of the Barnes & Barnes album reissues.
Mumy was (and still very much is) a talented musician who mostly made straight ahead serious music. Occasionally, he and recording partner Robert Haimer would get together and write/record weird, funny, irreverent, groovy songs that were never really meant to see release. As Mumy explains in an Archive of American Television interview, Robert Haimer was a big fan of The Dr. Demento Show and wanted to send some of their Barnes & Barnes songs to the good doctor for airplay on the program.

Though their first song, “The Vomit Song,” was rejected for various reasons (predominantly because it was a bit “too gross,” as Mumy writes in the Voobaha liner notes), the next tape they sent contained “Fish Heads,” which became a bit of an overnight sensation on the show. Dr. Demento knew it was something special, as he told Tedium via email:

I knew it would go over well on my show about 20 seconds into my first listen to it. Requests started coming in the same night I first played it, and continued to roll in steadily. After a few weeks of that, I knew it was going to be an all-time Dr Demento Show classic. I had the same feeling from Dead Puppies, which came in almost exactly a year earlier, and indeed those two are rivals to this day.
The chorus was written by Haimer, while Mumy penned the verses. The iconic high-pitched vocals were a source of contention between the two where Mumy wanted to keep them sped up and Haimer wanted to have them at normal speed. At the end of it all, Mumy’s idea won out and the rest is demented history.

“It’s highly original, it’s funny, and easily perceived as being funny. The music has a distinct sound and a good hook, but simple and direct. The production is clean. And for listeners of a certain age, it can be heard as a satire of the ubiquitous Chipmunks.” — Dr. Demento

Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying the song provokes some rather interesting opinions. While I enjoy the song and count Barnes & Barnes among some of my favorite artists—especially the albums where they mix comedy and serious music, like Amazing Adult Fantasy—there are others who have their own unique takes on the song.