Fire Water Burn
Encyclopedia
"Fire Water Burn" is the second single from The Bloodhound Gang
's 1996 (re-released in 1998) album One Fierce Beer Coaster
. The chorus of the song is taken from the song "The Roof Is on Fire
" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three
, yet sung considerably slower. The song ranked among the top songs on the Billboard Charts
in 1997, reaching #18 on the Modern Rock Tracks, and also #28 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. It made number 4 on the Dutch Top 40. "Fire Water Burn" was remixed for the CD single by God Lives Underwater
. It appeared in the soundtrack
of Fahrenheit 9/11
, The Nutty Professor
and CKY4.
features the band performing in a retirement home
's cafeteria. As the song progresses, vocalist Jimmy Pop
leaves the stage and begins performing numerous spontaneous actions in front of a group of unresponsive senior citizens, including dancing suggestively on tables and making unusual facial gestures. The video culminates when the elderly notice the band, and are rejuvenated by their performance. With the retirement home filled with a rock concert-like atmosphere, the band exits the stage with several senior citizens. The final shot of the video reveals that the retirement home was specially designated for the hearing impaired.
The video was introduced by Pat Minfield (portrayed by Pop), in a parody of Matt Pinfield
, the host of MTV
's music video show 120 Minutes
(which is presented in the video as 120 Midget
s).
The Bloodhound Gang
The Bloodhound Gang may be a reference to:*The Bloodhound Gang , a segment on the program 3-2-1 Contact*The Bloodhound Gang, a band that took its name from the TV show segment...
's 1996 (re-released in 1998) album One Fierce Beer Coaster
One Fierce Beer Coaster
One Fierce Beer Coaster is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Bloodhound Gang, released on December 3, 1996. Produced by Jimmy Pop, it was the band's first release on Geffen Records, and the first to feature Michael "Spanky G" Guthier on drums, "Evil" Jared Hasselhoff on...
. The chorus of the song is taken from the song "The Roof Is on Fire
The Roof Is on Fire
"The Roof Is on Fire" is a single from Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three released in 1984 that reached number five on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart...
" by Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three
Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three
Rock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three was an old school rap group best known for the singles "The Roof Is on Fire" and "Request Line", both of which have been sampled by many other groups, from rap to R&B to rock...
, yet sung considerably slower. The song ranked among the top songs on the Billboard Charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
in 1997, reaching #18 on the Modern Rock Tracks, and also #28 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks. It made number 4 on the Dutch Top 40. "Fire Water Burn" was remixed for the CD single by God Lives Underwater
God Lives Underwater
God Lives Underwater was an industrial rock band from rural Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania , formed in 1993 by band members David Reilly and Jeff Turzo. God Lives Underwater was originally signed to American Recordings after being discovered by Rick Rubin, who subsequently produced the band's first...
. It appeared in the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
, The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor (1996 film)
The Nutty Professor is a 1996 science fiction-romantic comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, starring Jerry Lewis. The original music score was composed by David Newman. The film won an Academy Award for Makeup.Murphy plays benevolent university...
and CKY4.
Music video
The song's music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
features the band performing in a retirement home
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
's cafeteria. As the song progresses, vocalist Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop
Jimmy Pop is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, main songwriter, and founding member of the band Bloodhound Gang.-Biography:After graduating from Perkiomen Valley High School in 1990, he studied mass communication and history at Temple...
leaves the stage and begins performing numerous spontaneous actions in front of a group of unresponsive senior citizens, including dancing suggestively on tables and making unusual facial gestures. The video culminates when the elderly notice the band, and are rejuvenated by their performance. With the retirement home filled with a rock concert-like atmosphere, the band exits the stage with several senior citizens. The final shot of the video reveals that the retirement home was specially designated for the hearing impaired.
The video was introduced by Pat Minfield (portrayed by Pop), in a parody of Matt Pinfield
Matt Pinfield
Matt Pinfield is a music personality and TV host, best known for being a video deejay on MTV and VH1. He currently lives in Harrison, New Jersey having previously resided in East Brunswick Township...
, the host of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's music video show 120 Minutes
120 Minutes
120 Minutes is a television show in the United States dedicated to alternative music, originally airing on MTV from 1986 to 2000, and then on MTV's sister channel MTV2 from 2001 to 2003....
(which is presented in the video as 120 Midget
Midget
A midget is a short person with relatively average bodily proportions in comparison with other human beings. The term is often improperly used to describe a person with the medical condition dwarfism. The two terms are often used synonymously because both terms originate as words defining small...
s).
Outside references
"Fire Water Burn" makes references that allude to pop culture actors, television shows, and authors from the past. Examples from the song include, in order of mention:- Han SoloHan SoloHan Solo is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise played by Harrison Ford. Introduced in the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot, Chewbacca , become involved in the Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire...
, a character from the Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
series, who was portrayed by Harrison FordHarrison FordHarrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...
; - Barry WhiteBarry WhiteBarry White, born Barry Eugene Carter , was an American composer and singer-songwriter.A five-time Grammy Award-winner known for his distinctive bass voice and romantic image, White's greatest success came in the 1970s as a solo singer and with the Love Unlimited Orchestra, crafting many enduring...
, a discoDiscoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
and soulSoul musicSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
musician and producer; - Frank BlackFrank BlackBlack Francis is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black...
, an alternative rockAlternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
musician who led the Pixies;- Pixies Song "Monkey Gone to HeavenMonkey Gone to Heaven"Monkey Gone to Heaven" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies and is the seventh track on their 1989 album Doolittle. The song was written and sung by frontman Black Francis and was produced by Gil Norton. Referencing environmentalism and biblical numerology, the song's lyrics...
", with the lyrics, "if man is five and the devil is six then that must make me seven/ this honky's gone to heaven" rather than "so if man is five/ then the devil is six/ then god is seven/ this monkey's gone to heaven". Additionally, the song is almost musically identical with the latter half of the Pixies song "The HappeningThe HappeningThe Happening is a 1967 American comedy film starring Anthony Quinn, Michael Parks, George Maharis, Faye Dunaway, Robert Walker Jr. that was released in March 1967 by Columbia Pictures....
".
- Pixies Song "Monkey Gone to Heaven
- John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, a former United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
president; - Marvin GayeMarvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, a soul and Rhythm and bluesRhythm and bluesRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
musician; - Martha RayeMartha RayeMartha Raye was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed in movies, and later on television....
, an actress and musician; - Lawrence WelkLawrence WelkLawrence Welk was an American musician, accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982...
, a musician and television icon; - Kurt CobainKurt CobainKurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
, a grunge rock musician from the band NirvanaNirvana (band)Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
; - KojakKojakKojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
, a popular US television series, starring Telly SavalasTelly SavalasAristotelis "Telly" Savalas was an American film and television actor and singer, whose career spanned four decades. Best known for playing the title role in the 1970s crime drama Kojak, Savalas was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Birdman of Alcatraz...
; - Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, an author and satirist from the 19th century and early 20th century; - Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, a psychedelicPsychedelic rockPsychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
and hard rockHard rockHard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
musician from the 1960s; - Emmanuel LewisEmmanuel LewisEmmanuel Lewis is an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the 1980s television sitcom Webster. He is tall. Lewis graduated from Midwood High School in 1989 and then Clark Atlanta University in 1997...
, an actor that gained much fame in the 1980s, starring on WebsterWebster (TV series)Webster is an American situation comedy that premiered on ABC on September 16, 1983, and ran on that network until September 11, 1987, but continued in first-run syndication until 1989...
, a television show.