Rock Lobster (song)
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- This article is about the song; for the animal, see Rock lobster.
| "Rock Lobster" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by The B-52's | ||
| from the album The B-52's | ||
| B-side(s) | "52 Girls" | |
| Released | 1978 | |
| Format | 7" single | |
| Recorded | 1978 | |
| Genre | Rock/New wave | |
| Length | 4:54 (single version) 6:52 (album version) |
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| Label | Boo-Fant Records | |
| Writer(s) | Fred Schneider and Ricky Wilson | |
| Producer(s) | Chris Blackwell | |
| Chart positions | ||
| The B-52's singles chronology | ||
| "Rock Lobster" (1978) |
"Rock Lobster (album version)" (1979) |
|
"Rock Lobster" was The B-52's' first single, released in 1978 and in a longer version placed on the band's self-titled debut album, The B-52's, one year later. It has become one of their signature tunes, and it helped launch the band's success. "Rock Lobster" was the band's first single to appear on Billboard's Hot 100.
The song is mainly instrumental; some instruments used include a twangy surf-style electric guitar (a Mosrite), a Farfisa or Vox organ, and drums. Unlike most pop and rock songs, no bass guitar was present. In place of the bass guitar, a keyboard was used for the bass lines.
The album version of "Rock Lobster" (released in 1979) clocks in at about seven minutes and contains superficially nonsensical lyrics about a beach party and excited rants of absurd and inaccurate marine animal noises; the chorus consists of the words "Rock lobster!" repeated over and over. Critic Rick Anderson commented "despite the song's self-consciously weird texture and silly lyrics about earlobes falling off and communal towel coordination, there's a thread of darkness weaving through it. Make no mistake: this is not a song with hidden meaning lurking below the surface. But its surface is a little more complicated than it seems to be at first."
The song "Rock Lobster" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list.[1]
Rock Lobster also appears at number 142 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of greatest songs.
[edit] Known uses of "Rock Lobster"
- Ohio University's student-run radio station, ACRN, has a rock lobster as a mascot and commonly plays "Rock Lobster" on the air at least once a day.
- "Rock Lobster" is sung briefly by the character Peter Griffin in the Family Guy episode "The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire."
- The Adult Swim programming block on Cartoon Network has used "Rock Lobster" in one of its commercials, specifically as a response to a question about its usage in Family Guy.
- "Rock Lobster" appears in the percussion games Donkey Konga and Taiko: Drum Master.
- "Rock Lobster" appears in the dancing game Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 3.
- The Amiga 500 personal computer, released in 1987, often had the words "ROCK LOBSTER" written on the motherboard, in reference to the song.
- The tune of "Rock Lobster" is used for a dance performed by Duke University cheerleaders and fans (notably the Cameron Crazies) during television timeouts of home basketball games.
- The card "Rock Lobster" was printed as part of a three part set also including the "Paper Tiger" and "Scissors Lizard" in a novelty set of the "Unglued" block of the trading card game "Magic: The Gathering".
- "Rock Lobster" is the name given to custom bicycle frames hand-built by Paul Sadoff in Santa Cruz, California.
- "Rock Lobster" is sung by the Crustacean Liberation Army in the TV show Muppets Tonight, episode 204 (starring Pierce Brosnan).
- During the Halloween season, Six Flags Great America occaisonally plays the song on some of its rides during Fright Fest.
- The screamo/hardcore rock band Botch covered the song.
- The song is played during a scene in CKY3 when Raab Himself defecates while running - in reference to a George Carlin joke.
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