| "Travolta (Quote Unquote)" | ||||
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| Promotional single by Mr. Bungle | ||||
| from the album Mr. Bungle | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
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| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
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| Mr. Bungle singles chronology | ||||
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"Travolta" (later retitled "Quote Unquote") is a song by American experimental rock band Mr. Bungle, released in 1991 as the opening track and promotional single from their self-titled debut album. [1]
Although the song was originally titled "Travolta", it was quickly changed to "Quote Unquote" due to legal threats. [2] The song's music video, directed by Kevin Kerslake, was banned from MTV due to its images of the band members hanging from meat hooks. [3]
AllMusic believes the song to be a tribute to John Travolta and fellow actor Patrick Swayze, although it also contains references to Adolf Hitler. [2] A biography of Travolta by Bob McCabe was titled Quote, Unquote after the song. [4] The main theme from the 1978 film Grease , in which Travolta starred, is interpolated twice in the song. [5]
Mr. Bungle guitarist and "Travolta" co-writer Trey Spruance elaborated on the song's meaning in a 2016 interview:
Travolta's lyric concept (which was very well redacted by Patton), came about in a very unique way. There was a spontaneous brainstorm by the whole band during a long night drive somewhere. For some reason we were obsessing on the hypothetical inner experience of a person who lacks almost all sensory input (deaf, blind, limbless and with mouth sewn shut). Everything he experiences is tunnelled through a highly developed, almost miraculously compensatory sense of smell. He is thrown onto a trampoline – by who? a sick torturer laughing at him? loving parents attempting to provide something joyful that "normal" kids do? How would it matter in either case? As you might expect from a bunch of alienated teenage delinquent heshers pondering over such questions, we were in collective hysterics over all of this. The truth, though, looking back is that we very much identified with this tragically monstrous character, who in his extreme sensory isolation was effectively living outside of time and space. I say this now, but 400 miles from anywhere, pre-internet, we were receiving our cultural referents in a way that could be compared to breathing through a tiny straw. And in some way, therefore, we were therefore free from their actual influence, free to imagine them any way we wanted to. We weren't thinking this about ourselves at the time, but the Travolta figure exemplifies the idea that when left only with one's imagination, and some vague other impressions from far off, such a suffocated entity might not feel deprived so much as take advantage of the elasticity of his state. To become something of a shapeshifter. In our adolescent gloom, therefore, "Travolta" would of course take on the identities of various megalomaniacs; Hitler and Trump are mentioned, and there's something prescient there about pathological narcissism mixing with the unbounded entrepreneurial spirit, peppered with a life mission of compensatory revenge.
— Trey Spruance [6]
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist Roddy Bottum and drummer Mike Bordin are the longest-remaining members of the band, having been involved since its inception. The band underwent several early lineup changes, and some major changes later. The lineup of Faith No More consists of Gould, Bordin, Bottum, lead guitarist Jon Hudson, and vocalist/lyricist Mike Patton.
Funk metal is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, and has been described as a "brief but extremely media-hyped stylistic fad".
Michael Allan Patton is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock bands Faith No More and Mr. Bungle. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techniques, wide range of projects, style-transcending influences, eccentric public image and contempt for the music industry, Patton has earned critical praise and influenced many contemporary singers. In addition to his most popular endeavor, Faith No More, Patton is also co-founder and lead vocalist of Mr. Bungle, and he has fronted and/or played with Tomahawk, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fantômas, Moonchild Trio, Kaada/Patton, Dead Cross, Lovage, Mondo Cane, the X-ecutioners, and Peeping Tom. Consistent collaborators through his varied career include avant-garde jazz saxophonist John Zorn, hip hop producer Dan the Automator and classical violinist Eyvind Kang.
Anthony Kiedis is an American musician and lead vocalist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis and his fellow band members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012.
Mr. Bungle is an American experimental rock band formed in Eureka, California, in 1985. Having gone through many incarnations throughout its career, the band is best known for its experimental rock period. During this time, it developed a highly eclectic style, cycling through several musical genres, often within the course of a single song, including heavy metal, avant-garde jazz, ska, disco, and funk, further enhanced by frontman Mike Patton's versatile singing style. This period also saw the band utilizing unconventional song structures and samples; playing a wide array of instruments; dressing up in masks, jumpsuits, and other costumes; and performing a diverse selection of cover songs during live performances.
Preston Lea "Trey" Spruance III is an American composer, producer, and musician who co-founded the experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. He is also leader of the multi-genre outfit Secret Chiefs 3. Originally a guitarist and trumpeter, in the early 90s Spruance began playing vintage electronic organs, analog synthesizers, saz, santur, electric sitar, tar, and various other string and percussion instruments. In the mid 90s he founded Forking Paths Studio where his production techniques were applied to Mr. Bungle and Secret Chiefs 3 records among many others. Since 2007 Spruance's Secret Chiefs 3 has been a very active live entity, performing well over 500 shows in more than 50 countries.
Disco Volante is the second studio album by American experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. It was released on October 10, 1995, through Warner Bros., and is often considered their most experimental album, mixing elements from such varied styles as death metal, jazz, Arabic music, musique concrète, easy listening, klezmer, and tango.
Mr. Bungle is the debut studio album by American experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. It was released on August 13, 1991, through Warner Bros. Records. The album contains many genre shifts which are typical of the band, and helped increase the band's popularity, gaining them a cult following.
California is the third studio album by American experimental rock band Mr. Bungle. It was released on July 13, 1999, through Warner Bros.
We Care a Lot is the debut studio album by American rock band Faith No More, originally released in 1985 and distributed through Mordam Records. On the original vinyl release, the band is credited as Faith. No More. on the album's liner notes, back cover, and on the record itself.
Secret Chiefs 3 is an American experimental rock group led by guitarist/composer Trey Spruance. Their studio recordings and tours have featured different lineups, as the group performs a wide range of musical styles, mostly instrumental, including surf rock, Persian, neo-Pythagorean, Indian, death metal, film music, and electronic music.
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Drake Equation is the debut studio album by American rock band Tub Ring, released on June 12, 2001, by Invisible Records. It was produced by Mr. Bungle guitarist Trey Spruance.
Book of Horizons is the fourth studio album by Secret Chiefs 3, released May 25, 2004. Book of Horizons was the first Secret Chiefs 3 album to reveal the satellite bands that form the actual band under their own names. Out of the seven bands only one, NT Fan, was not heard on the album at all. The other six are The Electromagnetic Azoth, UR, Ishraqiyun, Traditionalists, Holy Vehm and FORMS. Since the release of Book of Horizons the satellite bands have seen several releases of their own.
"Ricochet" is a 1995 single by Faith No More, taken from their fifth studio album King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime. Produced by Andy Wallace in the Bearsville Studios, the song was borne out of a period of transition for the group, who had recently fired their previous guitar player Jim Martin, and were dealing with the absence of keyboard player Roddy Bottum, who was grieving the death of his friend Kurt Cobain.
"Evidence" is a 1995 single by "Faith No More", taken from their fifth studio album, King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime. Recorded in Bearsville Studios and produced by Andy Wallace, the song was born out of a period of transition for the group, who had recently fired their previous guitar player Jim Martin and were dealing with the absence of keyboard player Roddy Bottum, who was grieving several recent deaths.
King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime is the fifth studio album by American rock band Faith No More, released on March 13, 1995, by Slash and Reprise Records. It was their first album recorded without longtime guitarist Jim Martin. The album showcased a variety of musical genres, with Rolling Stone calling the result a "genre shuffle". King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime spawned three singles: "Digging the Grave", "Ricochet" and "Evidence".
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