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"Badfish"
Single by Sublime
from the album 40oz. to Freedom
Released	January 8, 1993
Recorded	1991 at CSUDH, Carson, California
Genre	Ska, reggae fusion
Length	3:05
Label	Skunk, Gasoline Alley/MCA
Songwriter(s)	Bradley Nowell
Producer(s)	Sublime

"Badfish" is a song by the ska-punk group Sublime from their debut album, 40oz. to Freedom. The single was released in 1993. The song was originally released on the band's 1991 demo tape, Jah Won't Pay the Bills and appeared again on the band's Second-hand Smoke, Greatest Hits, and several other compilation albums. An Extended play (EP) was released in 1995 named after the track, and the single was re-released from that EP in 1997. A tribute band, Badfish, is named after the song.

History and reception

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

The first version of "Badfish" was recorded as a student project for Michael "Miguel" Happoldt, who was a recording student at the time and in a band called The Ziggens, at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) in Carson, California in 1989. Happoldt, who went on to become a producer, guitarist, and vocalist for Sublime, asked Bradley Nowell if he wanted to record tracks in a professional studio, and the band recorded the track, which earned Happoldt a C-. Sublime recorded the remainder of their 1991 demo, Jah Won't Pay the Bills, with Happoldt at CSUDH and released it on Skunk Records, Happoldt's record label.

For Long Beach, California (LBC) locals of the working class in the historically blue-collar industrial port city, the metaphors of the experience resonated as a hard-times poetry, contrary to Sublime's typical straight-forward lyrics, allowing them to tout future lyrics like they were "Well Qualified to Represent the LBC" on their 1996 self-titled album. The introduction, "a field recording of a bar", was reportedly inspired by The Specials' 1979 song "Nite Klub", and was recorded at Shannon’s Bayshore Saloon in LBC, and "Todd", who is told he can "turn the radio back on", was the bartender.

Until 1992, Nowell feared heroin, and refused to try it. It is suggested that the term "Badfish" is slang for a heroin user who gets someone else hooked on the drug, or a heroin addict, and the song is described as being an anti-drug song to the scene that Sublime frequented early on, or as being written about Nowell's drug addiction. Bud Gaugh, Sublime's primary drummer, was reported to have developed a heroin addiction around the time the song was first recorded, eventually falling into homelessness. Nowell did not want the drug around the band, and Gaugh was ousted from the band until around the time Sublime recorded their 1994 album Robbin' the Hood, when heroin quickly became a central part of Sublime's image. Reportedly devoted to maintaining an image representative of the local culture and their music, Nowell started a four-year battle with heroin. His widow, Troy Nowell, said he tried heroin because "it would be a cool rock-star thing to do,” his father said that he wanted to be more creative and said that he needed to maintain a persona, and others have reported it was because other rock stars were doing it.

While "Badfish" came before Nowell's heroin addiction, on Robbin' the Hood, the song "Pool Shark" was written at the peak of his addiction with Gaugh, when he started to try to get sober. Lyrics like "Tying up the dinosaur, tonight/It used to be so cool/Now I’ve got the needle/I can shake but I can’t breathe/Take it away and I want more, more/One day I’m gonna lose the war," speak directly to Nowell's use of clonidine, an opioid withdrawal medication, heroin usage and withdrawals, and his inability to give up the idea that heroin gave him a cool mystique. Nowell had gone to a treatment facility, and been clean for some time before he died after a relapse he said would be his last, on May 25, 1996. Gaugh kicked the habit after finding the body of his band mate.

According to Bert Susanka, the guitarist and vocalist for The Ziggens, Nowell's favorite Ziggens songs was "All the fun that we missed", which was reportedly the inspiration for the melody of "Badfish". The Ziggens played a cover of "Badfish" after Nowell's memorial at a gig at Knott's Berry Farm on June 1, 1996, just a month after Sublime played their cover of The Ziggens' "All the fun that we missed".

"Badfish" was released prior to the band's Billboard popularity, but 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.

In Pitchfork's 2018 review of 40oz. to Freedom, the reviewer did not care for the album, rating it a 5.6/10 and referring to it as a "flawed artifact of '90s" with "burly, beer-gut ideal masculinity", but countered it with an affection for the combination of "Badfish" and its writer and vocalist, Nowell, as a "honey-voiced" "gentle soul".

In September 2020, Pepper, a band influenced by Sublime, and their record label, LAW Records, partnered with The Nowell Family foundation to release the compilation album The House That Bradley Built, made entirely up of Sublime covers performed by more than 20 bands, including O.A.R.'s cover of "Badfish". All of the profits from the sale of the album go to the foundation, which provides addiction recovery services, and will be used to open a rehabilitation center named Bradley's House.

Music video

The music video for "Badfish" was recorded in July 1995 at Sharks Cove (Shark Harbor) on the North Shore of Santa Catalina Island, California. The video starts out with a wave crashing into a fisheye lens viewed from the water. The setting matches the narrative and allegory of the song, referring to "big blue whale", "the reef", and swimming in the water. The colors become distorted for the remainder of the video. The band is playing live on the beach while the crew and several people are dancing and drinking, which matches the other narrative of the lyrics, drinking and partying. Nowell and his dog, Lou Dog, are seen on a reef, which is matched with some of the lyrics, "Won't somebody get me off of this reef?"

It was produced by Skunk Records, Dreamtime Pictures, and Cheryl Teetzel. It was directed by Ian Fletcher. The video was released in 1998.

As of February 2022, the music video had 41 million views on YouTube Vevo.

Covers

• The Ziggens, June 1, 1996
• Jack Johnson, June 21, 2005
• No Use for a Name, January 24, 2006
• Sublime with Rome, July 12, 2011
• The Composure, June 18, 2013
• O.A.R., September 4, 2020
• Badfish, September 12, 2020

Badfish EP

In 1995, Sublime released Badfish EP with Skunk Records. The single "Badfish" was re-released in 1997 by MCA Records. The jacket was designed and illustrated by Opie Ortiz.

On April 22, 2017 (Record Store Day), in honor of the 25th anniversary of 40oz. to Freedom, Sublime released Badfish EP on vinyl. It was released by Skunk Records, and was a master vinyl pressing of 3,000 copies.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

Track listing

External links

Sublime “Badfish” Official Music Video on YouTube

References

1. Sublime (June 1, 1992). 40oz. to Freedom (Audio Cassette). Skunk Records. ASIN B000002P23. SKC 11283.
2. Beeman, Amy (March 17, 2021). "The Tragic Real-Life Story Of Sublime". Grunge. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
3. ^ Kreps, Daniel (March 21, 2017). "Sublime to Mark 25th Anniversary With Reissue, Authorized Documentary". The Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
4. Sublime (November 11, 1997). Second-hand Smoke (Audio CD). Gasoline Alley Records. ASIN B0000037WD. GASD-11714.
5. Sublime (November 9, 1999). Greatest Hits (Audio CD). MCA Records. ASIN B00002MYYJ. MCAD 12125.
6. Mims, Taylor (March 2, 2020). "Garden Grove Music Festival Returns with Badfish, Reel Big Fish and More". Billboard. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
7. ^ Sublime (January 8, 1993). Badfish (Audio). Skunk Records.
8. The SAGE international encyclopedia of music and culture. Janet Lynn Sturman. Thousand Oaks, California. 2019. ISBN 978-1-4833-1773-1. OCLC 1090239829.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
9. ^ Weiss, Jeff (July 30, 2021). "The Sun Gods of the LBC: The Last Days of Sublime and the Birth of Their Self-Titled Masterpiece". The Ringer. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
10. ^ Season 5: Episode 13: Sublime (Television production). Behind the Music. VH1. December 9, 2001.
11. Patti, Mike (May 6, 2014). "Interview: Michael "Miguel" Happoldt (Part 1 of 2)". The Pier Magazine. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
12. ^ Bennett, Sarah (January 30, 2013). "Five Songs That Prove Why Sublime Still Matters – OC Weekly". OC Weekly. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
13. ^ Smith, RJ (May 25, 2021) . "Drug Bust: Our 1997 Sublime Feature". SPIN. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
14. Bennett, Sarah (September 27, 2017). "The Best Bars in Long Beach for a Night Out". Thrillist. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
15. Cuda, Heidi Siegmund (2000). Sublime's Brad Nowell : "crazy fool" : portrait of a punk. Chris Gallipoli. Long Beach, CA. ISBN 0-9707360-0-2. OCLC 46358906.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
16. ^ The Long Way Back: The Story of Todd Z-Man Zalkins (Video). Directed by Richard Yelland; Produced by Mike Meeker. United States: The Orchard. 2017.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
17. ^ Krizner, Abby (April 20, 2021). "Here's your 90s Video of the Day: Sublime - Badfish | 105.9 The X". 105.9 The X. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
18. Blinckmann, Hays (March 5, 2017). "FREE CONCERT: Sublime alternative". Florida Keys Weekly Newspapers. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
19. ^ Blakinger, Keri (February 22, 2016). "On Bradley Nowell's birthday, here's how six Sublime songs show their enduring relevance today". New York Daily News. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
20. Maile, Kelly (September 22, 2016). "Badfish swims back to Nelson Ledges". Record Courier. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
21. Gunn, Charlie (October 26, 2020). "It's time for me to admit that Sublime are deeply problematic". The Forty-Five. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
22. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (January 14, 2003). "Ex-Sublime Drummer Arrested, Possibly For Marijuana". MTV News. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
23. ^ Kemp, Mark (December 25, 1997). "Bradley Nowell: Life After Death". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
24. ^ Crowe, Jerry (July 23, 1996). "Heroin's Toll Is Nothing Sublime". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
25. ^ Farley, Christopher John (August 12, 1996). "MUSIC: SUBLIME: WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
26. AckermannLast, Kristina. "Heroin Withdrawal: Symptoms, Timeline, Detox and Treatment". American Addiction Centers. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
27. ^ "Ziggens & Sublime". The Ziggen's Official Website. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
28. ^ The Ziggens (1996). Badfish (Video).
29. "Sublime setlist at Wetlands Preserve in New York, United States on Apr 11, 1996". Guestpectacular. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
30. "Sublime". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
31. Hartmann, Graham (May 25, 2012). "Favorite Sublime Song – Readers Poll". Loudwire. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
32. Rytlewski, Evan (February 25, 2018). "Sublime: 40oz. to Freedom". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
33. "The Nowell Family Foundation and LAW Records Announce 'The House That Bradley Built'". Grateful Web. July 21, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
34. "The Nowell Family Foundation". The Nowell Family Foundation. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
35. "Celebrating Film on Catalina Island". www.lovecatalina.com. September 24, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
36. Sublime (July 21, 2020). "The "Badfish" music video was recorded at Sharks Cove in Catalina, CA this month back in '95!" – via Instagram.
37. ^ Sublime (October 28, 1997). Badfish (Video).
38. "Sublime - Badfish (1998)". IMVDb. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
39. Johnson, Jack (June 21, 2005). Badfish (Video).
40. No Use for a Name (January 24, 2006). Badfish (Video).
41. Sublime with Rome (July 12, 2011). Badfish (Video).
42. The Composure (June 18, 2013). Badfish (Video).
43. O.A.R. (September 4, 2020). Badfish (Video).
44. Badfish (September 12, 2020). Badfish (Audio).
45. Sublime (August 15, 1995). Badfish EP (Audio CD). Skunk Records. ASIN B0000488QY. SKUNK-3 SKDM55121.
46. Sublime (1997). Badfish (Audio CD). MCA Records. GASSP-4100.
47. ^ "Sublime's 2017 Record Store Day Release". The Pier Magazine. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
48. Newman, Melinda (August 3, 2017). "Sublime Picks Double Oscar Winner to Direct Documentary About The Band: Exclusive". Retrieved January 29, 2022.
49. Sublime (April 22, 2017). Badfish EP (Audio Vinyl). Skunk Records. ASIN B07168NXFJ. B0026228-01.
50. Badfish - Sublime | Song Info | AllMusic, retrieved January 30, 2022

• 1992 songs
• 1993 singles
• 1997 singles
• Sublime (band) songs
• Songs about heroin
• Songs written by Bradley Nowell