''So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes'' is the seventh studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American punk rock band

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

. It was released on November 11, 1997 through

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

Overview

The title is inspired by the fourth book of

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...

's ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comic science fiction, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally The Hitchhiker's Guide to th ...

'' series, ''

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish ''So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish'' is the fourth book of the '' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' "trilogy of six books" written by Douglas Adams. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just befo ...

'', and refers to the frequent occurrence of fans throwing footwear at the band during their live shows. The album was recorded at

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's Motor Studios in August 1997 and was produced by

Fat Mike Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...

and regular

Fat Wreck Chords Fat Wreck Chords (pronounced "Fat Records") is a San Francisco, California-based independent record label, focused on punk rock. It was started by NOFX lead singer Michael Burkett (better known as Fat Mike) in 1990. The label has released mater ...

producer

Ryan Greene Ryan Greene is an American record producer, sound engineer, former owner of Crush Recording Studios in Scottsdale, Arizona and founder of Area 52 Entertainment in Los Angeles, California. In an over 25-year-long career he has worked with many art ...

. The liner notes for the album claim it is 'arguably their third best album' (up to that point) although Fat Mike has referred to it as his favourite one on several occasions. Also therein the standard practice of including a photograph of each band member has been mocked, with members of other punk bands standing in for the four

members: *

is replaced by Serge Verkhovsky, bassist in

Limp A limp is a type of asymmetric abnormality of the gait. Limping may be caused by pain, weakness, neuromuscular imbalance, or a skeletal deformity. The most common underlying cause of a painful limp is physical trauma; however, in the absen ...

, *

El Hefe Aaron Abeyta (born August 8, 1965), better known as El Hefe or simply Hefe, from ''el Jefe'' (Spanish for "the boss"), is an American musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and trumpet player for the California punk band NOFX. ...

is replaced by Otis Bartholomeu, vocalist and guitarist in

fluf Fluf (stylized as fluf) is a punk rock band formed in San Diego in 1992. History O (Otis Barthoulameu - vocals, guitar) and Jonny Donhowe (bass guitar) formed the band after their previous band, Olivelawn, split up, recruiting drummer Miles G ...

, *

Eric Melvin Eric Scott Melvin (born July 9, 1966) is an American musician and founding member of the punk rock band NOFX. Melvin sings backup vocals on most NOFX songs and wrote the guitar riffs for NOFX songs such as the intro for " Leave It Alone". His v ...

(listed as just "Melvin") is replaced by 'Little John', roadie for

Swingin' Utters Swingin' Utters (often typeset as $wingin' Utter$, and originally called Johnny Peebucks and the Swingin' Utters) is a Californian punk rock band that formed in the late 1980s.Bush, JohnSwingin' Utters Biography, Allmusic, retrieved September 30, ...

, *

Erik Sandin Erik Sandin (born July 29, 1966), is an American musician and the drummer of the punk rock band NOFX, and former member of punk rock band Caustic Cause. He was a founding member of NOFX when they formed in Hollywood, California, in 1983. ...

(listed as "Smelly") is replaced by Chuck Platt, bassist in Good Riddance. Track 9, "

Champs Elysées Champs may refer to: Music * The Champs, a U.S. instrumental music group * Champs (Brazilian band), a Brazilian boy band * Champs (British band), a British folk- and indie rock-influenced band * The Fucking Champs, a U.S. progressive heavy metal ...

", is a cover version of the track " Les Champs-Élysées" by

Joe Dassin Joseph Ira Dassin (; 5 November 1938 – 20 August 1980) was an American–French singer-songwriter and actor. He was the son of film director Jules Dassin. Early life Dassin was born in New York City to American film director Jules Dassin (1911 ...

. The song "Kill Rock Stars" is written about musician

Kathleen Hanna Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band ...

, referencing her by name: "Kill the rockstars? How ironic, Kathleen. You've been crowned the newest queen." The song's title is a reference to

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

record label

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known ...

. In response Hanna wrote "Deceptacon", included on Le Tigre's first album, which referred to the NOFX song "Linoleum": "Your lyrics are dumb like a linoleum floor, I'll walk on it, I'll walk all over you". The final track, "Falling in Love", is reportedly a love song about a friend of

and his friend's wife together in a plane in rapid descent, destined to crash. The track has a 'hidden ending' that starts at timecode 4:15. It is a recording of a segment from

Howard Stern Howard Allan Stern (born January 12, 1954) is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, ''The Howard Stern Show'', which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terre ...

's radio show in which the host's DJ begins to play the track "Drugs Are Good", from the band's '' HOFX'' EP. Stern clearly dislikes the track and stops it after 36 seconds, effectively labelling it as disco before going on to rename the band 'No Talent'. The first pressing of the cd contains an extended bonus track: 8 min instrumental immediately after this radio show segment, that ends with a 10-second song "Congratulations, you made it through the song, I bet you never thought anyone could play something so wrong". On the CD it bears the Warning "Unlawful Duplication May be Hazardous to your Health!". This warning might be a parody of

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

albums because some Bad Religion albums (e.g., '' Suffer'', '' No Control'') carry this warning.

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, bass *

– guitar *

– guitar, trumpet *

– drums, percussion * Serge Slovnik (Serge Verkhovsky) – tuba, trombone *

Nate Albert Nathan Albert (born 1970) is an American music executive, songwriter, producer and guitar player. He is currently the Executive Vice President of A&R at Warner Records a division of Warner Music Group. He was previously Executive Vice President o ...

– "chanky" guitar *

– tambourine *

Spike Slawson Spike Slawson is an American punk rock musician, a member of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Swingin' Utters, Filthy Thievin' Bastards, Re-Volts, and Uke-Hunt. Early life Having grown up in Pittsburgh, Slawson worked in the mail order departme ...

– backing vocals *

, Fat Mike – producers * Ryan Greene – engineer * Adam Krammer – second engineer

Charts

References

External links

NOFX official websiteEpitaph RecordsFat Wreck Chords

''So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes''
at

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(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control NOFX albums 1997 albums Epitaph Records albums Albums produced by Ryan Greene