TWEET:🐥 Fishbone - Party at Ground Zero
How this week's earworm triggered a unique playlist project
The very first Fishbone song I ever heard was the very best Fishbone song they ever recorded.
I hope someone calls me out on this, but I’m sticking to my claim. I have listened to every Fishbone album (except for 2006’ Still Stuck in Your Throat), and although there are lots of songs I love and would include on a 20-song compilation, “Party at Ground Zero” still stands out as the most musically adventurous and inspired song in their extensive catalog.
I remember first hearing it on KROQ, the new wave/punk radio station in Los Angeles, back in 1985 (was it Rodney Bingenheimer who broke it back then?) I was enthralled and a bit unnerved by the song’s genre-hopping energy and whiplash arrangement.
“Party at Ground Zero” was the perfect song to introduce Fishbone to the world. Blending elements of ska, funk, punk, reggae, jazz, rock, and metal, audiences didn’t know what to make of them and couldn’t get enough of them.
There were very few all-black rock bands at the time (Bad Brains comes to mind, and Living Colour was about to drop), so Fishbone was truly breaking new ground on multiple levels.
Often, when this song was played on the radio, the DJ would jump 75 seconds in, where the vocals enter with the contagious sing-along:
Party at ground zero
A B-movie starring you
And the world will turn to flowing pink vapor stew
WHAAAAA!
But before that, the song begins with a musical ode to Bizet’s famous opera “Carmen” (about 1:05 into Suite No.1:5. Les toreadors), followed by some cool horn lines, a reggae groove, and a jazzy keyboard riff—all before the meat of the song starts!
So add opera to the long list of genres Fishbone incorporates in their music.
Please do not fear 'cause Fishbone is here to say (say what?)
Just have a good time, the stop sign is far away
The toilet has flushed and green lights are a ghost
And drop drills will be extinct
Speed Racer cloud has come
They know not what they've done
Sin has just won
And the Earth is a crumb
Oh, and it’s probably the most danceable anti-war song in rock history. Remember, 1985 was smack dab in the middle of the Cold War when Russia and the U.S. were on a collision course for annihilation. Huh, not so different from today.
Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline) directed the music video for “Party at Ground Zero.”
Fishbone is still going strong and is currently on tour in the U.S.
To learn more about Fishbone, I highly recommend streaming the excellent 2010 documentary Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone.
I had the great privilege of seeing the film premiere in San Francisco, where Angelo Moore and Norwood Fisher did a Q&A and performed live after the screening. It’s kind of blurry, but below is a photo from that amazing event.
As often happens when an earworm takes over my brain, ideas for themed playlists burble to the surface.
“What other songs with the word “zero” in the title are out there?” I thought to myself. A torrent of tunes came to mind, and I imagine a few are coming to yours right now.
Might one of them be “Saved By Zero” by The Fixx? Is another Bob Dylan’s “Love Minus Zero?”
After far too much time compiling a list of all the Zero songs I could find, I narrowed it down to a solid 20.
Then I thought, why not share this playlist as a bonus post for my Wormheads?
And why not do this every month for the rest of 2024, creating a new number-themed playlist where every song would have the same number in the title? So, for example, if I were to go numerically, next month, I’d share a playlist of songs with the number 1 in the title.
Like most of my ideas, this one was borrowed from other, smarter Substack writers. Two others, in particular, who I want to give a shoutout to and highly suggest you subscribe to.
First,
who writes the excellent newsletter . Mark recently started an even more ambitious playlist project, where he is using the alphabet to share his favorite songs beginning with the featured letter. He actually goes even further, adding a second post featuring artists starting with the featured alphabetic.I’m pretty sure Mark’s cool idea heavily influenced my impending numbers playlist project. Although Mark is already at “G,” I’m linking to “A” below so you can start at the beginning.
The other recent post that influenced this numbers project was from
who writes the fantastic . He recently posed the question, “What are your 5 favorite songs about numbers?”
The floodgates opened, and more than 125 comments came rushing forth. It seems we all have a lot of favorite number songs. Reading through the discussion gave me lots of source material for future playlist posts!
Anyway, to build up anticipation, the debut Zero playlist post will drop next week. This will give me time so that I can include YouTube links (as I know many of you don’t use Spotify, and good on you).
You already know 3 of the 20, but hopefully, some of the mystery 17 tracks will surprise and delight you.
Stay tuned!
Thanks for the shout & kind words! "Party At Ground Zero" is fantastic, but I'd also submit that "Sunless Saturday," "So Many Millions," and "One Day" could all make a run at the title.
I finally (finally!) got to see them a few years ago, and even with a midday time slot and a good dose of Midwest humidity, they still put on an incredible show.
Thanks for sharing, Steve. I was living in LA in '85 and would catch Fishbone all over town. One crazy night at the very cozy Al's Bar in Downtown LA, they tore the place up. I believe Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper opened for them. And, Elvis Costello's "Less Than Zero" is one of other favorite "zero" songs.