So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes
Encyclopedia
So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock
band NOFX
. It was released on November 11, 1997 through Epitaph Records
.
's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
series, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
, comes the record's title.
The album was recorded at San Francisco's Motor Studios in August 1997 and was produced by Fat Mike and regular Fat Wreck Chords
producer Ryan Greene. The liner notes for the album claim it is 'arguably their third best album' (up to that point). Also therein the standard practice of including a photograph of each band member has been mocked, with members of other punk bands standing in for the four NOFX
members:
Track 9, "Champs Elysées", is a cover version of the track "Les Champs-Elysées" by Joe Dassin
.
The final track, "Falling in Love", is reportedly a love song about a friend of Fat Mike and his friend's wife together in a plane in rapid descent, destined to crash. The track has a 'hidden ending' that starts at timecode 4:15. It is a recording of a segment from Howard Stern
's radio show in which the host's DJ begins to play the track "Drugs Are Good", from the band's HOFX
EP. He clearly dislikes the track and stops it after 36 seconds, effectively labelling it as disco before going on to rename the band 'No Talent'.
The first pressing of the cd contains an extended bonus track: 8 min instrumental immediately after this radio show segment, that ends with a 10 second song "Congratulations, you made it through the song, I bet you never thought anyone could play something so wrong".
On the CD it bears the Warning "Unlawful Duplication May be Hazardous to your Health!". This warning might be a parody of Bad Religion
albums because some Bad Religion albums (e.g., Suffer
, No Control
) carry this warning.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
. It was released on November 11, 1997 through Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
.
Overview
The band often finds themselves bombarded by footwear while performing live, as it is common practice of punk rock fans to throw shoes lost by crowd surfers on stage. From this, and the title of the fourth book of Douglas AdamsDouglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series created by Douglas Adams. Originally a radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it was later adapted to other formats, and over several years it gradually became an international multi-media phenomenon...
series, So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy" written by Douglas Adams. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, as described in The...
, comes the record's title.
The album was recorded at San Francisco's Motor Studios in August 1997 and was produced by Fat Mike and regular Fat Wreck Chords
Fat Wreck Chords
Fat Wreck Chords is a San Francisco, California based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by Fat Mike and his ex-wife, Erin, in 1990....
producer Ryan Greene. The liner notes for the album claim it is 'arguably their third best album' (up to that point). Also therein the standard practice of including a photograph of each band member has been mocked, with members of other punk bands standing in for the four NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
members:
- Fat Mike is replaced by Serge Verkhovsky, bassist in LimpLimp (band)Limp were an American pop punk band formed in 1994, with strong influences in both rock and ska, hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area. Limp released three studio albums on Honest Don's, a subsidiary label of Fat Wreck Chords, as well as an EP released on Fueled by Ramen, before their 2002...
, - El Hefe is replaced by Otis Bartholomeu, vocalist and guitarist in flufFluf-History:O and Jonny Donhowe formed the band after their previous band, Olivelawn, split up, recruiting drummer Miles Gillett. After several seven-inch singles , the band's debut album was released in 1993. Generally knows as Mangravy, each physical format had a different title...
, - Eric MelvinEric MelvinEric Scott Melvin is an American musician and the rhythm guitarist in the California punk band NOFX. He has been in the band from its beginnings in the early 1980s to the present day. Eric has been known for his dreadlocks that vary in color each time NOFX performs...
(listed as just "Melvin") is replaced by 'Little John', roadie for Swingin' Utters, - Erik SandinErik SandinErik Sandin , is an American musician and the drummer of the popular California punk band, NOFX. He was a founding member of the band when they formed in Hollywood, California, in 1983, but moved to Santa Barbara two years later, leaving the band.In just one year without Sandin, the band had...
(listed as "Smelly") is replaced by Chuck Platt, bassist in Good RiddanceGood RiddanceGood Riddance was a punk rock band from Santa Cruz, California. They released seven full-length studio albums on Fat Wreck Chords, and their final album was a live recording of their farewell concert in 2007. Led by vocalist Russ Rankin, the band's longtime lineup included guitarist Luke Pabich,...
.
Track 9, "Champs Elysées", is a cover version of the track "Les Champs-Elysées" by Joe Dassin
Joe Dassin
Joseph Ira Dassin , more commonly known as Joe Dassin, was an American singer-songwriter best known for his French songs of the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
.
The final track, "Falling in Love", is reportedly a love song about a friend of Fat Mike and his friend's wife together in a plane in rapid descent, destined to crash. The track has a 'hidden ending' that starts at timecode 4:15. It is a recording of a segment from Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
's radio show in which the host's DJ begins to play the track "Drugs Are Good", from the band's HOFX
HOFX
"HOFX" is a 12" EP by NOFX that includes two songs from the Punk in Drublic period. Both songs later appeared on 45 or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough to Go on Our Other Records....
EP. He clearly dislikes the track and stops it after 36 seconds, effectively labelling it as disco before going on to rename the band 'No Talent'.
The first pressing of the cd contains an extended bonus track: 8 min instrumental immediately after this radio show segment, that ends with a 10 second song "Congratulations, you made it through the song, I bet you never thought anyone could play something so wrong".
On the CD it bears the Warning "Unlawful Duplication May be Hazardous to your Health!". This warning might be a parody of Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
albums because some Bad Religion albums (e.g., Suffer
Suffer (album)
Suffer is the third album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released on the Californian independent record label Epitaph Records on September 8, 1988. It was the first album that was both released and distributed by the label...
, No Control
No Control (Bad Religion album)
- Release history :- Notes/Trivia :* Track 2, "Big Bang" was featured on video game Tony Hawk's Underground.* Track 3, "No Control" quotes Scottish natural historian James Hutton, "no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end."...
) carry this warning.
Track listing
All songs written by Fat Mike except where noted.- "It's My Job to Keep Punk Rock Elite" – 1:21
- "Kids of the K-Hole" – 2:17
- "Murder the Government" – 0:46
- "Monosyllabic Girl" – 0:55
- "180 Degrees" – 2:10
- "All His Suits Are Torn" – 2:19
- "All Outta Angst" – 1:53
- "I'm Telling Tim" – 1:17
- "Champs Elysées" (Wilsh, Deighan, P Delanoë) – 2:02
- "Dad's Bad News" – 2:02
- "Kill Rock Stars" – 1:33
- "Eat the Meek" – 3:32
- "The Desperation's Gone" – 2:25
- "Flossing a Dead Horse" – 1:46
- "Quart in Session" – 1:38
- "Falling in Love" – 5:13
- Contains a hidden trackHidden trackIn the field of recorded music, a hidden track is a piece of music that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, vinyl record or other recorded medium in such a way as to avoid detection by the casual listener...
: see Overview, above.
- Contains a hidden track
Personnel
- Fat Mike - vocals, bass
- Eric MelvinEric MelvinEric Scott Melvin is an American musician and the rhythm guitarist in the California punk band NOFX. He has been in the band from its beginnings in the early 1980s to the present day. Eric has been known for his dreadlocks that vary in color each time NOFX performs...
- guitar - El Hefe - guitar, trumpet
- Erik SandinErik SandinErik Sandin , is an American musician and the drummer of the popular California punk band, NOFX. He was a founding member of the band when they formed in Hollywood, California, in 1983, but moved to Santa Barbara two years later, leaving the band.In just one year without Sandin, the band had...
- drums, percussion
- Serge Slovnik - tuba, trombone
- Nate AlbertNate AlbertNathan Albert is an American musician best known as a guitarist for ska-core band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. He left them to go to Brown University in 2000. Soon he started a new band, The Kickovers, that released one album, Osaka, and disbanded in 2003.On July 15, 2008 he was named the Vice...
- "chanky" guitar - Ryan Greene - tambourine
- Spike SlawsonSpike SlawsonSpike Slawson is an American punk rock musician, a member of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Swingin' Utters, Filthy Thievin' Bastards and Re-Volts.-Early life:...
- backing vocals
- Ryan Greene, Fat Mike - producers
- Ryan Greene - engineer
- Adam Krammer - second engineer