Why Do They Rock So Hard?

Last updated
Why Do They Rock So Hard?
Reel Big Fish - Why Do They Rock So Hard%3F cover.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 20, 1998
Recorded Sunset Sound Recorders and Music Grinder Studios - Hollywood, CA.
Genre Ska punk
Length73:52
Label
Producer
Reel Big Fish chronology
Turn the Radio Off
(1996)
Why Do They Rock So Hard?
(1998)
Cheer Up!
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
PunktasticStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [2]

Why Do They Rock So Hard? is the third full-length studio album by the ska punk band Reel Big Fish.

Contents

This is the only Reel Big Fish studio album where the band line-up has not changed from the previous album.

Aaron Barrett has said in two interviews that this was his favorite album until the release of Our Live Album Is Better than Your Live Album . The album was mixed at Scream Studios by Tim Palmer.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Somebody Hates Me"Aaron Barrett, Dan Regan3:28
2."Brand New Song" (see notes 2a )Barrett, Regan, Grant Barry3:04
3."She's Famous Now"Barrett3:05
4."You Don't Know"Barrett, Scott Klopfenstein3:26
5."The Set Up (You Need This)"Barrett, Klopfenstein, Tavis Werts4:22
6."Thank You for Not Moshing" (see notes 6a )Barrett, Adam Polakoff, Robert Quimby2:41
7."I'm Cool"Barrett3:20
8."I Want Your Girlfriend to Be My Girlfriend Too"Barrett2:53
9."Everything Is Cool"Barrett, Regan3:07
10."Song #3" (see notes 10a )Barrett3:28
11."Scott's a Dork"Barrett, Obiajula Ugbomah3:04
12."Big Star"Barrett3:34
13."The Kids Don't Like It"Barrett, Clifton Chase, Cheryl Cook, Guy O'Brien, Sylvia Robinson, Michael Wright3:20
14."Down in Flames"Barrett, Regan, Werts4:49
15."We Care"Barrett, Werts3:55
16."Victory Over Peter Bones"Barrett5:25
17."The Legend of Alan Guile Versus Peter Bones" (see notes 17a )Barrett16:51
Notes
^(2a) A cover of the A-ha song "Take On Me" (2:54) appears on some international releases in between "Somebody Hates Me" and "Brand New Song".
^(6a) Titled "In the Pit" on subsequent albums.
^(10a) On the clean version of this album, "Song #3" is stripped of its vocal track and called "Sleep All Day".
^(17a) Hidden track; begins with 5:20 silence. On the Japanese release, a cover of the Duran Duran song "Hungry Like the Wolf" (3:39) appears in place of this track.

Personnel

Reel Big Fish
Additional musicians
Production

Related Research Articles

Reel Big Fish American Ska band

Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Orange County, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s, during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold certified album Turn the Radio Off. Soon after, the band lost mainstream recognition but gained an underground cult following. As of 2006, the band was no longer signed to a major record label and has since been independent. After numerous line-up changes, frontman Aaron Barrett is the last remaining founding member still performing in the band.

The Forces of Evil was an Orange County-based ska punk band, formed in January 2001 with the intention of creating a ska supergroup, being the side project of fellow ska punk band Reel Big Fish. The band split in 2005 after releasing a four-song EP, which was available on their website. Their website hasn't seen an update since December 2004, and their touring has ceased.

<i>Turn the Radio Off</i> 1996 studio album by Reel Big Fish

Turn the Radio Off is the second full-length album by ska punk band Reel Big Fish. It was released in the U.S. in 1996 on Mojo Records.

Suburban Legends American ska punk band

Suburban Legends are an American ska punk band that formed in Huntington Beach, California, in 1998 and later based themselves in nearby Santa Ana. After building a fanbase in the Orange County ska scene through their numerous regular performances at the Disneyland Resort, a series of lineup changes in 2005 introduced elements of funk and disco into the group's style.

<i>Everything Sucks</i> (Reel Big Fish album) 1995 studio album by Reel Big Fish

Everything Sucks is Reel Big Fish's first full-length studio album. It was recorded at Sound Art Studios in 1994 and 1995, and released in 1995 on Reel Big Fish's independent label Piss Off Records. The album was engineered by John Gregorius.

<i>Cheer Up!</i> (Reel Big Fish album) 2002 studio album by Reel Big Fish

Cheer Up! is the fourth studio album by American ska punk band Reel Big Fish.

<i>Were Not Happy til Youre Not Happy</i> 2005 studio album by Reel Big Fish

We're Not Happy 'til You're Not Happy is the fifth studio album by ska punk band, Reel Big Fish. It was released on April 5, 2005 on Mojo Records to mixed reviews.

The Nuckle Brothers were a third wave ska band from Huntington Beach that was part of the early 1990s music scene in Orange County, California, United States, inspiring such bands as Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris and The Aquabats.

<i>Boi-ngo</i> 1987 studio album by Oingo Boingo

Boi-Ngo is the sixth studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1987.

The Scholars were an American band. Like the Nuckle Brothers, No Doubt and Reel Big Fish, they are one of the main founding bands of the Orange County ska scene.

<i>Boingo Alive</i> 1988 live album by Oingo Boingo

Boingo Alive is a double album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1988. It was performed and recorded live in a rehearsal studio with no audience, with the band performing songs from previous albums and two previously unreleased songs to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the band's beginning.

<i>Monkeys for Nothin and the Chimps for Free</i> 2007 studio album by Reel Big Fish

Monkeys for Nothin' and the Chimps for Free is the sixth studio album from Reel Big Fish, This is their first studio album after being dropped by Jive Records and their final album with bassist Matt Wong.

<i>Fame, Fortune and Fornication</i> 2009 studio album by Reel Big Fish

Fame, Fortune and Fornication is a cover album by ska punk band Reel Big Fish.

<i>Act Your Age</i> (Gordon Goodwins Big Phat Band album) 2008 studio album by Gordon Goodwins Big Phat Band

Act Your Age is the fourth album by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. It received a Grammy Award nomination in 2008 for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. Gordon Goodwin received nominations for Best Instrumental Composition and Best Instrumental Arrangement ("Yesterdays").

<i>Ridin High</i> (Robert Palmer album) 1992 studio album by Robert Palmer

Ridin' High is an album by British musician Robert Palmer. It was his eleventh solo studio album, released in 1992 and reached number 32 in the UK Albums Chart and number 173 on the US Billboard 200. This album contains music heavily influenced by vocal and jazz standards and featured the minor hit "Witchcraft", which reached number 50 in the UK. The album featured three tracks from Palmer's Don't Explain album two years earlier.

<i>¿El Concepto?</i> 1998 studio album by Sol DMenta

¿El Concepto? is the second album of the Puerto Rican rock band Sol D'Menta. The album was released by Polygram on June 16, 1998.

<i>Candy Coated Fury</i> 2012 studio album by Reel Big Fish

Candy Coated Fury is the eighth studio album by the American ska punk band Reel Big Fish, released on July 31, 2012. The cover art was made by artist Thom Foolery. The album was recorded at the band's personal studio in Orange, California.

<i>Life in the Bubble</i> 2014 studio album by Gordon Goodwins Big Phat Band

Life in the Bubble is an album by Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band that won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2015. Goodwin won an additional Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for his version of the song "On Green Dolphin Street".

<i>Life Sucks...Lets Dance!</i> 2018 studio album by Reel Big Fish

Life Sucks...Let's Dance! is the ninth studio album by American ska punk band Reel Big Fish, released on December 21, 2018 through Rock Ridge Music. It is their first album since 2012's Candy Coated Fury. It is supported by the lead single "You Can't Have All of Me".

References

  1. Greene, Jo-Ann. "Reel Big Fish - Why Do They Rock So Hard? Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
  2. Punktastic review