One Fierce Beer Coaster

Background and development

The Bloodhound Gang began as a small alternative band from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. 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 detectives 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.

Music

The Bloodhound Gang entered Dome Sound/Ultra Psyche 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 Macintosh. The album was later mastered by Joe Palmaccio at Sterling Sound Studios in New York City.

Style

While the album's predecessor, Use Your Fingers, 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." "Lift Your Head Up High (And Blow Your Brains Out)" is built around a sample from "Get Up and Boogie" by the Silver Convention.

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 Funny", 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 shall 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 Vanilla Ice.

Release and promotion

One Fierce Beer Coaster was originally released on Republic 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 signed the band after two months. Packaging design was created by designer Michael Calleia.

The original release contained 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.

Controversy

When Geffen Records re-released the album, the label refused to release the song "Yellow Fever" because of its graphic 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 intended to be taken literally.

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.

The album has been released on vinyl three times. The first vinyl release was released on Republic Records and included "Yellow Fever" and the hidden track. In 2013, it was repressed on Music On Vinyl and did not include either Yellow Fever or the hidden track. A second reissue came out on 23 September 2016 through MVD Audio, using the same track list as the MOV issue.

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 Erlewine 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."

Chart performance

On January 18, 1997, One Fierce Beer Coaster debuted on the Billboard 200 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).

Track listing

All tracks written by Jimmy Pop except when noted.

Personnel

Adapted from the album booklet.

Band members

Guest musicians

Production

Charts and certifications