Music / Jellyfish

Jellyfish, circa Bellybutton. From left to right: Roger Manning, Andy Sturmer, Jason Falkner and Chris Manning.

Jellyfish was a Power Pop band from San Francisco. The group was founded by childhood friends, vocalist/drummer/multi-instrumentalist Andy Sturmer and keyboardist Roger Joseph Manning Jr. in 1990, from the ashes of Alternative Rock 1980s band Beatnick Beatch. The group image was decidedly retro, a deliberately kitschy, brightly colorful, psychedelic look with gaudy bellbottoms, Dr. Seuss hats, frilly shirts, lollipops and umbrellas, a Flanderization of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine-style fashions meeting a Hanna-Barbera cartoon come to life.

Musically, the band drew from many '60s and '70s influences, particularly in regards to catchy, sunny, singalong pop with playful, intelligent (and often lyrically dissonant) lyrics. Elements of Queen, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Zombies, The Monkees, The Banana Splits, Electric Light Orchestra, Badfinger ^note whose hit song "No Matter What" they often performed live, Supertramp and XTC shaped the style of the band^note Manning first met guitarist Jason Falkner because he placed an ad for bandmates which mentioned XTC, they had their own distinctive style, one which influenced countless Power Pop group following their demise in 1994. Their arrangements were meticulously detailed and their songs catchy.

The band failed to get much success in a mainstream way in the era of Grunge, and they only produced two albums in their short lifetime. They are known for one hit, the Partridge Family-like "Baby's Coming Back", promoted by a Hanna-Barbera-produced Animated Music Video.

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Members:

• Andy Sturmer - vocals, drums, keyboards, guitar
• Roger Manning - keyboards, vocals
• Jason Falkner - guitars, bass, vocals (1989–92)
• Tim Smith — bass, vocals (1992–94)
• Eric Dover — guitar, vocals (1992–94)

A whole bunch of other session musicians contributed to Bellybutton, while on Split Milk the band were joined by guitarists Lyle Workman, Jon Brion (who also handled some of the arrangements) and bassist Tom Wolk.

Discography:

• Bellybutton (1990)
• Spilt Milk (1993)

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If tropes could speak, they'd mean even less:

• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The music video for "Baby's Coming Back" has the band being chased by a giant baby, even though the "baby" in the song is meant to refer to the singer's girlfriend and not a literal infant.
• Band of Relatives: Roger and Chris Manning were in the original lineup. Only Roger got to record with the band, although Chris is credited in the liner notes of Bellybutton as "band witchdoctor and mime".
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Of the primary members of the band during the Bellybutton era, we had Jason (Blonde), Roger (Brunette), and Andy (Redhead).
• Book Ends: On Spilt Milk, "Brighter Day"'s orchestral outro is similar to the beginning of "Hush", at least until the chaotic crescendo comes in. The album also begins and ends on an F Sharp key.
• Broken Pedestal: As they were beginning work on Spilt Milk, Roger and Andy were paid a visit by Brian Wilson. The two undoubtedly would've loved to collaborate with one of their biggest influences, but Wilson was decidedly unimpressed with their retro style and vintage instruments, feeling that they were bringing nothing new to the table. The visit ended on an awkward note, with Andy and Roger being reluctant to discuss it since.
• The Cameo: Andy and Roger collaborated with Ringo Starr for his 1992 comeback album Time Takes Time, including providing backing vocals and appearing in the music video for the song "Weight Of The World".
• Concept Album: In the liner notes to Spilt Milk's 2015 re-release, Andy Sturmer describes the conceptual idea behind the album as "a series of dreams".
  "The idea was that the album would start with a lullaby; you're being lulled off to sleep and carried in these different dreams, and then you wake up at the end with the alarm clock."
  • Some, such as this blogpost, have made the case for Spilt Milk being a full blown Rock Opera.
• Cover Version: While they didn't have any covers on either of their studio albums, they did record a few live, such as a live performance of "Jet" by Wings and a live cover of "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac.
  • Under the Jellyfish name, Andy and Roger recorded a cover of "Think About Your Troubles" for a Harry Nilsson tribute album. It was the last song that the two recorded together before going their separate ways.
• Dead Artists Are Better: Thankfully averted with the band as of 2023, but "The Ghost at Number One" examines this trope lyrically.
• Disappeared Dad: "The Man I Used To Be", in which a sailor is kept away from his family by his duties and is forced to see his child grow up without him.
• Domestic Abuse: "She Still Loves Him".
  He lost his temper
  And belted his love across the room
  (She still loves him)
• Early-Installment Weirdness: When Andy and Roger were in Beatnik Beatch, Andy shared lead vocal duties with bassist Chris Witt Kettner and a few of the songs featured prominent synthesizers. When they left to start Jellyfish, Andy became the primary vocalist and the synths were dropped in favor of a more organic sound. Also, Roger had shorter hair and glasses.
• Epic Rocking: "Ignorance Is Bliss", written for a Nintendo compilation album White Knuckle Scorin'.
  • "Brighter Day" from Spilt Milk clocks in at 6:12. Andy Sturmer claimed in a radio interview in 1993 that they were trying to fit in every sound from the rest of the album onto one track.
• Genre Roulette: As the above list of their influences demonstrates, they had a very eclectic sound.
• Hurricane of Euphemisms: "He's My Best Friend" describes the protagonist's private parts, with masturbation thrown in for good measure.
  • From "All Is Forgiven": "Hypocrite, four-flusher, snake in the grass, just a swindler, a wolf in sheep's clothing...LIAR!!"
• Hurricane of Puns: Clever wordplay galore, courtesy of Andy Sturmer's lyrics.
• Hypocritical Humor: In "New Mistake", the story supposedly "turns tragic" when the daughter of the protagonists marries a pop singer.
• I Call Him "Mister Happy": The subject of "He's My Best Friend".
• In the Style of: Often their influences pop out in the form of musical pastiche, but the B-Side "Family Tree" was a deliberate, conscious attempt to write a song in the style of Free.
• Lead Drummer: Andy was the frontman/co-leader, lead singer, drummer, wrote or co-wrote all of the band's originals and contributed guitar and keyboard parts and co-production. He also drummed standing up in front of the stage.
• Longest Song Goes Last: Spilt Milk closes with "Brighter Day" (6:12).
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Most of the band qualified, but especially Andy Sturmer.
• Lyrical Dissonance:
  • "Bedspring Kiss"; a lounge song about a junkie suspected of murdering his lover.
  • "Now She Knows She's Wrong"; an upbeat Power Pop song about a woman whose partner is unfaithful.
  • "He's My Best Friend"; a whimsical Baroque Pop song full of Double Entendres about masturbation.
• Mood Whiplash: After starting off with the sedate lullaby "Hush", Spilt Milk immediately launches into the louder, more upbeat "Joining A Fan Club".
  • Later on the same album, the outro to "All Is Forgiven" grows increasingly distorted and intense before cutting to the gentle acoustic intro to "Russian Hills".
• Perfectly Cromulent Word: In "Sebrina, Paste, And Plato", the singer describes one character as a "lovetarian" ^note And yes, the quotation marks are included in the lyrics according to the liner notes
• Precision F-Strike: In "The Man I Used To Be":
  Medals don't mean shit when a family is lost at sea
  • "Brighter Day" also has a line about "turning bullshit into marmalade".
• Pull a Rabbit out of My Hat: For much of the video for "The King Is Half Undressed", Andy Sturmer is singing the song while sitting on a chair with a top hat on. Throughout the video, puppies, kittens, bunnies, and various flora and fauna escape the hat or climb/descend back into it while the rest of the band is singing harmonies and/or juggling, blowing bubbles, staring into pinwheels, and doing other random whimsical activities.
• Rearrange the Song: The Best! compilation album contains an acoustic version of Beatnik Beatch song "Worthless Heart".
• Record Producer: Bellybutton was produced by Albhy Galuten, who produced The Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
• Revolving Door Band: Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning were the only two members to stay the course of the band. Interestingly enough, they were the defacto leaders of the band.
• Rummage Sale Reject: The band's wardrobe sometimes bordered on this, particularly during the Bellybutton era.
• Siamese Twin Songs: "I Wanna Stay Home" and "She Still Loves Him" from Bellybutton.
• Step Up to the Microphone: Roger Manning sings lead on the verses of "Sebrina, Paste, and Plato", as well as the bridge of "The Ghost at Number One".
• Surreal Music Video: The aforementioned "The King Is Half Undressed" music video.
• Those Two Guys: Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning Jr. The two met in high school and were the only members of Jellyfish to be in the band from beginning to end.
• Uncommon Time: Used frequently throughout Spilt Milk, although there are exceptions. For example, "All Is Forgiven" is in 6/8 time.
• Villain Song: "Ignorance is Bliss", which is sung from the perspective of Bowser from the Super Mario Bros. video games.
• Word Salad Lyrics: Found in plenty of their songs - "Sebrina, Paste, and Plato" is near-incomprehensible.

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