"Ocean Man" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Ween Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are ...

, the thirteenth track on their sixth studio album, ''

The Mollusk ''The Mollusk'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Ween, released by Elektra Records on June 24, 1997. It is a multi-genre concept album with a dark nautical theme, with most songs incorporating elements from psychedelia and/or sea ...

'' (1997). It was released as a promotional CD single through

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the 1 ...

in 1997. It was also released as the B-side to the earlier single "

Mutilated Lips "Mutilated Lips" is a song by American rock band Ween. It was released as the lead single from their sixth studio album, '' The Mollusk'' (1997), on June 24, 1997. Composition The song lyrics refer to being under the influence of psychedelic drug ...

" on June 24, 1997. It is one of Ween's best-known songs, and has appeared on various film soundtracks and commercials since its release, most notably with ''

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie ''The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie'' is a 2004 American live-action animated film, live-action/animated adventure comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. The film was directed, co-written, and ...

'' in 2004. The song has been performed live at various occasions, most notably '' Live in Chicago'' and '' Live at Stubb's''.

Composition

"Ocean Man" was recorded at a beach house in

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Po ...

during the off-season, which Gene and Dean Ween had rented for the recording sessions of ''The Mollusk''. The first song recorded for the album was " Cold Blows the Wind", whose theme influenced the initial two weeks of recording. "The Mollusk," "Mutilated Lips," "The Golden Eel," "She Wanted to Leave," and "Ocean Man," were all recorded during these first two weeks. "Aaron ene Weenhad a mandolin, he was always playing it," Dean Ween wrote in a retrospective of the album in 2017, "and we discounted it. ..when we wrote the lyrics, it was just magic, man. Everything just fell into place." According to "Sheet Music Boss", Ocean Man is composed in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

. However, according to Tunebat, when played live the song is transposed to the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

and is set in the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 123

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ( ...

Track listing

* Elektra — PRCD-9858-2 — Promotional CD single

Reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

referred to this song as an example of how Ween's "array of silly jokes and musical parody is richer and more diverse than most of its alternative rock contemporaries".

In popular culture

"Ocean Man" was most famously used as the end credits song for ''

'' (2004). In late 2015 and early 2016, "Ocean Man" became an

Internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

. During this time, the song began appearing in remix videos on video sharing platforms such as

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and

Vine A vine (Latin ''vīnea'' "grapevine", "vineyard", from ''vīnum'' "wine") is any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems, lianas or runners. The word ''vine'' can also refer to such stems or runners themselv ...

. Becoming a meme also helped the band gain more listeners, with "Ocean Man" being their most listened to song on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

and

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

References

External links

* * * {{Ween 1997 songs 1997 singles Ween songs Songs written by Gene Ween Songs written by Dean Ween SpongeBob SquarePants (film series) Elektra Records singles Internet memes introduced in 2015 Songs about oceans and seas