"Beer" is a song by American

ska punk Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially Horn (instrument), horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones ...

band

Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album '' Turn the Radio Off''. So ...

and featured on their debut album '' Everything Sucks'' in 1995 as well as their major label debut '' Turn the Radio Off'' the following year. While not achieving the chart success of the album's lead single, " Sell Out", the song is credited with having kept the band's popularity alive over the years and becoming the band's most downloaded song, and continues to be a staple at live shows. You're All In This Together Audio Commentary, Orange County California, 2006M

History

Lead singer and guitarist Aaron Barrett was inspired to write the song after noticing bassist Matt Wong and drummer Andrew Gonzales were into drinking beer at the time, and sought to make a song about that, which they immediately supported. The original composition featured no horn parts because the band's horn section had just quit, in conjunction with the fact that Barrett took heavy inspiration from the guitar-driven ska sound of Sublime. Barrett considers it Reel Big Fish's attempt at writing a Sublime song. The song was originally released on the band's third demo tape, ''Buy This!'' in 1994. The following year, a similar recording was featured on the band's debut album ''Everything Sucks''. When the song was once again re-recorded for the band's major label debut, ''Turn the Radio Off'' in 1996, additional instrumentation was added. Already a popular song at live shows, the song was picked up to be used on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for the film

BASEketball ''BASEketball'' is a 1998 American sports comedy film cowritten and directed by David Zucker, starring ''South Park'' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and costarring Yasmine Bleeth, Jenny McCarthy, Robert Vaughn, Ernest Borgnine and Dian ...

in 1998, which also saw the band featured in the film performing the song. At this point the song was released as a

promotional single A promotional recording, promo, or plug copy is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as mu ...

. The ''Turn the Radio Off'' recording of the song was featured on the compilations '' Favorite Noise'' (2002) and '' Greatest Hit...and More'' (2006) and additional studio re-recordings are featured as a bonus track on the album '' We're Not Happy 'til You're Not Happy'' (2005) and on the greatest hits compilation '' A Best of Us for the Rest of Us'' (2010). A live version is featured on the album '' Our Live Album Is Better than Your Live Album'' (2006) and an acoustic version is on the album ''Skacoustic'' (2016).

Reception

Barrett considers "Beer" to be one of his top ten favorite Reel Big Fish songs. Despite the song's cult popularity, "Beer" didn't achieve mainstream success on the level of "Sell Out" because of its suggestiveness. At live shows, it's often played with

Self Esteem Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth, abilities, or morals. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Macki ...

the Offspring The Offspring is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Garden Grove, California, in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Dexter Holland, Bryan "Dexter" Holland, ...

. Because of the song's popularity, it is often reserved as a set closer.

Track listing

Promo CD

#"Beer" – 3:32 #"Beer (Instrumental)" – 2:31

References

{{authority control Reel Big Fish songs 1995 songs Song recordings produced by Jay Rifkin