Sublime

1988–1991: Early career

Eric Wilson and Bud Gaugh were childhood friends. Having grown up in the same Long Beach neighborhood, Eric's father, Billy Wilson taught Gaugh how to read music and play the drums. Gaugh and Wilson, together with future Sublime manager Michael Happoldt, formed a three-piece punk band called The Juice Bros during their high school years. About this time, Bradley Nowell, who had recently dropped out of the University of California, Santa Cruz, joined the band. Nowell helped introduce Gaugh and Wilson (who at the time listened exclusively to punk rock) to reggae and ska.

Musical style and influences

Sublime was one of the most popular bands of the third wave of ska, specifically characterized as ska punk. Sublime often combined punk rock and hardcore punk with hip hop, heavy metal, dancehall, reggae, ska, funk, and surf music. Sublime also has been described as reggae rock.

Influence and legacy

With the mainstream success of their self-titled album, going five times platinum and earning worldwide airplay, Sublime's influence persists to this day.

Badfish

"Badfish" is a song by American ska-punk band Sublime, released as part of their 1992 debut album, 40oz. to Freedom. The single was released in 1993, and again in 1997.

The song was written by Bradley Nowell and originally recorded in 1989, reportedly influenced by the Ziggens song "All the Fun That We Missed" and Nowell's love of reggae. First released on the band's 1991 demo tape Jah Won't Pay the Bills, "Badfish" appeared again on most of the band's compilation albums.

History and writing

"Badfish" is in the key of A mixolydian, which is a mode of the D major scale. Mixolydian modes are common in ska and reggae music.

Releases and reception

"Badfish" first appeared on the band's 1991 demo tape Jah Won't Pay the Bills. It later was released as the 8th track on the band's official debut album, 40oz. to Freedom on June 1, 1992, and the single was debuted shortly after, on January 8, 1993. The song is dubbed in Robbin' the Hood's second track, "Steady B Loop Dub", and appeared as the unnamed hidden 5th track on the 1995 re-release of the single "Date Rape". While "Badfish" was released prior to the band's Billboard popularity, and radio stations refused to play it until many years later, a Loudwire reader poll from 2012, that remained open as of January 2022 to voting, shows that it is one of the band's most popular songs.

Covers and tributes

In 2001, a tribute band formed, and named itself after the track. The band was nominated for Best Tribute Act in the Boston Music Awards in 2008.

Music video

After the success of the single "Date Rape" from 1992-1994, a song the band says they all hated, Sublime tried to get "Badfish" to catch on in its place. Instead of sending the cassette to local radio stations, which were playing "Date Rape" non-stop, the band decided to try soliciting MTV and set out to make a music video instead.

Caress Me Down

"Caress Me Down" is a song by Sublime from their album Sublime. It was never released as a single, but still receives substantial airplay on KROQ and other stations.

The bass line of "Caress Me Down" features the famous Sleng Teng riddim from Wayne Smith's 1985 song "Under Me Sleng Teng" and lyrics and melody are primarily from the 1980s 12" single "Caress Me Down" by Clement Irie. The lyrics to the song are in Spanglish and include a reference to porn actor Ron Jeremy, who also appears prominently in the video for Sublime's first single "Date Rape".

Date Rape

"Date Rape" is a song by American ska punk band Sublime, originally recorded for their 1992 debut album, 40 Oz. to Freedom. It was first released as a single in 1991, but did not become a hit until four years later, when the Los Angeles radio station KROQ began adding it into their playlists and it quickly became one of their most requested songs.

Lyrics and meaning

The song is about a woman who gets date raped by a man who is convicted of the crime and in turn gets anally raped while in prison.

Music video

Pornographic actor Ron Jeremy cameos in the "Date Rape" music video. Jeremy plays both the judge at the rape trial and the "large inmate" who rapes the man who sexually assaulted the female protagonist of the song.

Legacy

The song was covered by Fishbone (whom Sublime cited as an influence) on both the 2005 Sublime tribute album Look at All the Love We Found and Fishbone's own 2006 album Still Stuck in Your Throat. The cover's video was directed by Renee Tod and Josh Fischel (of the band Bargain Music), the latter of which is the director of the Sublime documentary Stories, Tales, Lies & Exaggerations.

Santeria

"Santeria" is a song by American ska punk band Sublime, released on their third album Sublime (1996). A ballad, it was released as a single on January 7, 1997.

Although the song was released after the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell, "Santeria" along with "What I Got" are often regarded as the band's signature songs.

Composition and lyrics

"Santeria" recycles the bassline and guitar riff from Sublime's earlier song "Lincoln Highway Dub" off their second studio album, Robbin' the Hood (1994).

Music video

A music video was filmed after the death of lead singer Bradley Nowell, who makes a cameo via stock footage. During the video, Nowell's beloved Lou Dog is seen along with the other members of Sublime remembering him. The video is a visualization of the story told in the song in the form of a Western, and features Tom Lister, Jr. as Sancho and Nowell's widow Troy as La Heina. Lister was bitten by Lou Dog on the lip in a particular scene where he gets too close to Lou Dog's face.

What I Got

"What I Got" is a song from American band Sublime's self-titled third album (1996). It was released to modern rock and college radio on July 23, 1996.

The song's chorus is a lift from "Loving" by reggae artist Half Pint, who is credited as a co-writer. The melody and pacing of the verses is identical to the Beatles' "Lady Madonna".

Music video

The video for "What I Got", shot after Bradley Nowell's death, mainly contains a collage of archive videos and photos of him including his infant son Jakob Nowell at the end, as a tribute to the singer. The video includes images of Long Beach, California, where Sublime met their success, as well as live footage from a Sublime show at The Capitol Ballroom in Washington, D.C.

Wrong Way

"Wrong Way" is a song by American band Sublime, released on May 25, 1997 as the third single from their third album Sublime (1996). The song fits squarely within the punk rock-inspired third wave ska movement of the 1990s.

The song reached number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, spending 26 weeks on the chart, and peaked at number three on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.

Composition

The trombone solo, played by Jon Blondell, contains an interpolation of the theme from George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue".

Music video

A music video was directed by Gregory Dark, starring Bijou Phillips, soon after the band's lead singer, Bradley Nowell, had died. The video has a cameo by Mike Watt of the bands Minutemen, Firehose, and Dos; he was one of the biggest influences on bass guitar player Eric Wilson. The pornography producer Maestro Claudio plays the clown/dad. The video also includes a brief cameo by Fishbone lead singer, Angelo Moore, as well as members of Skunk Records band the Ziggens.