Flipper

They came, they saw, and they conquered -- sort of. Never topping the charts, nor possessing a huge following, San Francisco's Flipper, even in the '90s alt-rock sweepstakes, would still be considered a fringe act. But, in 1982, they were the toast of rock critics across the country with their post-hardcore punk masterpiece "Sex Bomb." Clocking in at over seven minutes, possessing one riff played over and over (and sloppier and sloppier), with vocalist Will Shatter screaming rather than singing (total lyrics: "She's a sex bomb/My baby/yeah"), it was a remarkable record: loud, proud, defiantly obnoxious, and relentlessly dumb. But in it's own gleeful and intentionally moronic way it was (and remains) a perfect record.

With "Sex Bomb" providing the impetus, Shatter and fellow Flippers, vocalist/bassist Bruce Loose, drummer Steve DePace, and guitarist Ted Falconi, emerged from the fractious muck of the California hardcore punk scene (Shatter and DePace played in the Bay Area hardcore band Negative Trend in the late '70s) with a crushingly loud, slowed-down sound that resembled the Stooges at their most drug-addled (see "We Will Fall" from the first Stooges LP). Flipper didn't care if you loved or loathed them (most everyone loathed them), they simply played until you couldn't stand it anymore. There was something wonderfully uncomplicated about this attitude, which is probably the reason that Flipper, despite being seen as a one-shot band, had a career that lasted longer than 15 minutes.

Their debut album, Album -- Generic Flipper, included "Sex Bomb" along with a handful of good-to-great songs about anonymity and desperation that were not all-bleak, nor without moments of humor. In fact, Flipper may have been the first hardcore/post-hardcore band to essay life-affirming messages on its album (no matter how tongue-in-cheek it might sound). So, although there's a track called "Life Is Cheap," there is also "Life" which offers the sentiment: "I too have sung death's praises/But I'm not gonna sing that song anymore." Adding the oft-stated sentiment, "Life is the only thing worth living for." Hmmm. How, uh, un-punk.

With much of the rock press singing their praises (and deservedly so), Flipper went on to demi-celebrity status as the reigning kings of American underground rock, for a few years. They never released anything as mind-blowingly good as Album, but until they split up in 1987, the music was usually very good. Precipitating their breakup was Shatter's death from a heroin overdose, with the remaining members spending the next half-dozen years stepping in-and-out of music. In 1992, Flipper fan and American Recordings label honcho Rick Rubin encouraged the remaining members to record a new album. The subsequent effort, American Grafishy, only hinted at their greatness. Their comeback attempt notwithstanding, Flipper's greatness lies in their ability to say "let's rock our way."

from Wikipedia:

Flipper may refer to:

Film & Television:

Flipper (1963 film), a film about an extremely intelligent bottlenose dolphin named Flipper, starring Chuck Connors and Luke HalpinFlipper's New Adventure, a 1964 sequel film starring Luke Halpin and Pamela FranklinFlipper (1964 TV series), an adaptation of the 1963 film which originally ran from 1964-1967Flipper (1995 TV series), a revival of the 1964 series which ran from 1995-2000Flipper (1996 film), a remake of the 1963 film starring Paul Hogan and Elijah WoodFlipper and Lopaka, a 1999 Australian animated TV series, with additional stories made in 2005

Music

Flipper (band), a punk band from San FranciscoDie Flippers, a German Schlager group

People:

Henry Ossian Flipper (1856–1940), the first African American cadet to graduate from West PointFlipper Anderson, former National Football League wide receiverNickname of Brazilian water polo player Leandro Ruiz MachadoNickname of American mobster Carmen MilanoFlipper (mascot), Miami Dolphins mascot from 1966 to 1968

Other uses

Flipper (anatomy), a limb on some animalsA speculator who engages in flipping (buying and selling quickly)A scuba diver's swimfinFlipper (pinball), a part of a pinball machine used to strike the ballFlipper, the name of the ATi-produced Graphics Processing Unit chip used in the Nintendo GameCube videogame consoleFlipper (cricket), a type of delivery bowled by a wrist spin bowlerFlipper, also known as a malasada, a fried dough pastry popular on Cape CodAnother name for the spatula cooking instrumentA slang term for a temporary removable partial dentureOperation Flipper, a British World War II commando raid with the goal of assassinating Erwin RommelAnother word for a television remote controlFlipper (robot combat), a device used to flip over opposing robots