Yesterday I had to take a bit of a drive somewhere and I was just not in the mood to listen to the business and personal growth and internet marketing podcasts I normally listen to. When I drive with Brenna in her car we usually listen to Ozzy’s Boneyard featuring classic hard rock and metal from acts like Black Sabbath, Metallica, Dio, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Scorpions, Motorhead, Van Halen, Zakk Wylde and of course Ozzy Osbourne. Yet on this particular day I needed something different. I needed some Oingo Boingo. I chose the seventh and final studio album by Oingo Boingo called “Boingo”. This album is not the pop-ish ska type music from years before but despite the often not so subtle sinister overtones, the album does indeed feature softer themes of love and remorse. It has a sort of brooding orchestral arrangement that makes the album almost dreamy while keeping my mind open to the possibility of change in a world that is not always so kind and well, pop-ish.
I first discovered Oingo Boingo back around 1981. I was working in construction at the time and while sitting in my co-workers pickup truck in a parking lot at the beach and waiting for our supplies to come he popped in a cassette of “Only a Lad” and from there I was hooked. We must have listened to the album at least three or four times that day.
I was a little late to the game as the band was founded in 1972 as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, a performance art group. In 1979, it reshaped from a semi-theatrical music and comedy troupe into a ska-influenced new wave octet and shortened their name to Oingo Boingo. Later in their career, they shifted to a more guitar-oriented alternative rock sound, and away from the use of horns and synthesizers.
The band would do several concerts each year in Southern California where their popularity seemed to be exclusively located. They would always do a couple shows around Fourth of July and a couple shows around Halloween where the audience was encouraged to dress up. I went to at least one show each season each year until I moved to Germany in 1990. In 1995 my partner made a trip to Los Angeles and returned with the news that Oingo Boingo had broken up. I could hardly believe it.
(One of my very favorite songs by Oingo Boingo is ‘Mary‘ as it almost perfectly describes my life and why I went to Germany in the first place as well as the things I had to experience along the way and after.)
I had the privilege of hanging out a bit with drummer John “Vatos” Hernandez and bass man John Avila as well as see them backstage a couple times in the late 80’s. They all seemed like swell fellows.
Often times we hear that question- If you were stuck on a desert island and could only take a few albums with you what would they be? I can’t say for sure as I would hate to have to make that choice, and will all due respect to Ozzy, I am sure I would take an Oingo Boingo album…or two if I could. Oingo Boingo always makes me smile.
Are you familiar with Oingo Boingo? What is your favorite album or song? Did you ever go to an Oingo Boingo show? Let me know if the comments. Would love to hear from you.
Greatest band ever!!! And if not, only cause I don’t know every band ever! ;D Danny Elfman is so much more than a film composer, I feel like those who only know him thusly are missing out in a big way.
But I got into them in 2005, ten years after they broke up, so not only did I never see them live, their earlier Mystic Knights incarnation is now very hard to find on Youtube. I got into them with Best o’ Boingo, which wasn’t a bad overview of their versatility at all. I remember going for the best of even though I typically never tried to get into bands thru compilations over albums because I was like “it took me 2 decades of music listening for someone to finally mention this band, how good could they possibly be?!” Haha. ‘BOB’ also had what I later found out was yet another version of the song Sweat, with reworked vocals which were just nuts. I remember after listening to it spending a few minutes going ‘Welp… pretty sure I’m forever spoiled for liking any song as much ever again’.
My favorite albums are the first 3– they are unbeatable it their craziness. But unlike some fans, I do appreciate the others as well, for several reasons- Dead Man’s Party is an amazingly written pop song, one of those songs that resolves itself perfectly; the 1985-1990 albums have a sort of positive uplifting gospelly vibe to them (even though the lyrics may not be such) and gave Elfman an opportunity to show how well he could sing.
The album you mentioned, the last one, is the one I heard the least, it’s definitely their biggest leap in another direction, but I enjoyed it and especially Insanity. I feel like if the band was more known and appreciated, that Elfman would have kept them going longer (no matter what he says now). If you switch from crazy ska/punk to pop to 90s alternative, surely you could also switch to acoustic/downsize, etc… But we’ll never know.
There was once an online website with Boingo boots that is now gone, I wish someone would put it back up because I feel like their live recordings are not represented enough (i.e I didn’t manage to collect that many).
Bootlegs? Oh interesting. I did not know that.
“My favorite albums are the first 3– they are unbeatable it their craziness.” Yes they certainly where a cool band although as they matured they, well, matured. The songs became less ‘silly’ and fun and more political and thought provoking. Not a bad thing. Just different. (Think ‘Right To Know’ etc)
Did you hear the sort of spin-off band called Food For Feet? Check them out.
Thank you for your awesome comment!
Say, what are some other bands from that era that you like?
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I haven’t heard Food for Feet though I do remember someone mentioning that John Avila worked with Mariachi El Bronx whom I have heard at length, I guess he produced their albums?
Oh the list of bands would be endless, but regarding their contemporaries, I love Wall of Voodoo and most of Stan Ridgway’s solo albums. I got into the whole L.A. scene entirely accidentally, by watching a panned 1987 movie called Slam Dance. The movie is meant to be set in the L.A. art scene, Adam Ant and John Doe from X have supporting roles, but it doesn’t convey that very well.
The soundtrack sold me big time though, and featured a song by Ridgway prominently, and so I became much more loyal to the West coast than anything hailing from the more famous CBGB lot..
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