"Banditos" is a song by American band The Refreshments from their album ''

Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy ''Fizzy Fuzzy Big & Buzzy'' is an album by the American band the Refreshments, released in 1996. Many of the tracks are re-recordings of songs from their debut, ''Wheelie'', which saw a limited release. The album title is an homage to the Who's ...

''. The song is the band's best-known hit. A music video was produced to accompany the single, in which the members of the band robbed a bank in Mexico and fled in lead singer Roger Clyne's Toyota Land Cruiser. They eventually give the police the slip through the use of a ridiculous disguise. The video was directed by David Dobkin.

Background

Singer Roger Clyne said he came up with the idea for the song as a broke college student. He imagined making a run to Mexico and getting some money on the way by robbing a store like a Circle K. He wrote the song one morning over coffee with his friends laughing at him, and threw in a reference to

Jean-Luc Picard Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...

because they were all ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' fans. "That was it. Just kind of the compassionate bandito. The guy who really wouldn't hurt a fly. You go to Mexico, you know, that's me," said Clyne. Clyne also said the choice of whether to release "Banditos" or "Blue Collar Suicide" as the lead single from ''

'' came down to a coin flip upstairs in the studio.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1996 singles 1996 songs Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by David Dobkin