YMMV / Oingo Boingo

• Audience-Alienating Era: When the band dropped the "Oingo" from its name and became simply Boingo, they also dropped the horns, along with any semblance of ska, dance, or pop. A full-on Alternative Rock group whose Darker and Edgier music now more closely matched their lyrics, Boingo definitely alienated some of their earlier Oingo Boingo fans, while others went along for the ride. The group name reverted to Oingo Boingo (and they reinstated the horn section) for their farewell show.
• Awesome Music: Oh-so many. "Stay", their cover of "You Really Got Me", "Nothing Bad Ever Happens to Me", "Dead Man's Party"... the list goes on.
• Covered Up: "Violent Love". Even people who know the song don't usually know it was written by Wille Dixon in The '50s.
• Crosses the Line Twice: "Little Girls" crosses the line roughly about 23 times the entire song, given that the song is apparently sung from the perspective of an incorrigible pedophile.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: "Stay" is one of their biggest songs in Brazil after being part of a telenovela's soundtrack, even naming a special compilation.
• Harsher in Hindsight: The defenses of the antagonist's actions in "Only a Lad" were later used in the real-life trial of Ethan Couch, a teenager given a rather tame punishment for killing four people in a drunk driving accident after a judge ruled his actions the result of his privileged lifestyle.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: "Dead Man's Party" takes on a whole new level when you realize/know the lead singer is Jack Skellington's singing voice and Bonejangles.
• Memetic Mutation: “Little Girls” has become quite popular as a theme for memetic molesters. The song's Lyrical Dissonance has also become a meme, with many commenters noting the contrast between the music's catchiness and the inappropriateness of the lyrics.
• Signature Song: For better or worse, "Little Girls" is probably their best known song these days. Although, "Dead Man's Party" is definitely giving it healthy competition, as with "Weird Science" (possibly due to the movie of the same name).
• Squick: Some of the lyrics to "Nasty Habits". Read them here, but make sure you've got plenty of Brain Bleach handy.
• Tear Jerker: The lyrics of "Private Life", especially the repeated pleas of "Get me out of here!"
  • "Mary". Young woman decides to leave her stultifying family and hometown, sees things out in the wider world that completely change her, and when she comes home to visit... she's rejected as a stranger.

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