Essential Jellyfish Songs

So a long time ago in a community college not so far away, I met a dude during an evening class that forever altered my musical tastes with just one little, obscure, early 1990's pop rock band named Jellyfish. My "first" bands were The Smashing Pumpkins and Metallica in the 1990's when I was a teen and began buying music. I was later introduced to Dream Theater, which opened my eyes and ears to progressive rock, and I feel that opened many musical doors that helped me to gain appreciation for classic rock when I started at the radio stations. But none have done what Jellyfish did. That band knocked down those musical doors with a battering ram. This is as much of a tribute to the musical greatness of Jellyfish as it is to the friend I made in class.

10. "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" (Spilt Milk)

"Remember when murder was only killing time." These guys have such colorful and visual lyrics, which is one reason to love them. The lyrics are just a tip of the iceberg though, as this song is like a musical marathon with it's changes in style, much like those prog rock bands like Dream Theater are known for.

9. "Family Tree (Demo)" (Best!)

Most of their songs feel like some hybrid of Queen and the Beatles, yet this one sounds more like the 70's rock stylings of John Mellencamp, Tom Petty, and their ilk.

8. "Bye, Bye, Bye" (Spilt Milk)

This song is gloriously off-the-wall. I don't even think my description could do it justice. 

7. "The Ghost At Number One" (Belly Button)
So if Jesus was a rock star? A Jesus Christ Superstar? Maybe just a "nappy superstar." I guess that's what this song is about then. This band can come up with the silliest concepts for lyrics but it doesn't matter because they had the musical theatricality to back it up.

6. "She Still Loves Him" (Belly Button)
I don't know how this band created such pop music precision at this level on it's first album when most bands don't even get to this level on their fifth album, or even at all! The opening reminds me of Billy Joel before segueing into their own Beatles-esque rock song (at least because of it's repetition of the chorus.)

5. "The King Is Half-Undressed" (Belly Button)

I love the percussion most of all in this song. It was crazy when I later learned that their drummer was also the vocalist, and he stood up perform live, which created a unique stage presence for the band. Great harmonizing in this song with it's "ooohs" and "aaaahs" as well. 

4. "Glutton Of Sympathy" (Spilt Milk)

I'm not quite sure what this song is about, but at times I feel like I'm a glutton of sympathy, and even much of Facebook is that way. I take it as I'm telling all of my problems to friends, and  at times even to anyone who will listen, so they'll feel sorry for me and cheer me up. Then doing it again the next time a problem arises. That's mostly what Facebook has become in a nutshell, except this time it's a hundred or more people posting sympathy.

3. "Let Em In/That Is Why" (Live At Bogart's)

I typically don't include covers in these lists but I like the inclusion of the Paul McCartney song as a lead-in to "That Is Why" on their live version. The hook with this song is the vocals. Just a perfect example of this band wearing their heart, or actually their influences, on their sleeves.

2. "Baby's Coming Back" (Belly Button)

I fell in love with Spilt Milk from first listen and didn't give Belly Button nearly as much attention. Yet over the last two years it's almost flip-flopped to the point where this is the first time I've played Spilt Milk all year. "Baby's Coming Back" is a whirlwind of pop music perfection, from it's catchy chorus to the circusy-sounding keyboards, and the elements in between like hand claps and acoustic guitar. The lyrics are comical too, for example, "If I had a dollar for every single time I fought her, I'd buy a handgun but that couldn't shoot away the bull's eye that she made on my heart." Not to mention that Andy Sturmer tells his baby to knock three times, and then in an obvious move, he drums three times.

1. "New Mistake" (Spilt Milk)

This song instantly grabbed me and I have a feeling every other Jellyfish fan could say the same thing about "New Mistake." There's just something so wistfully perfect about its poptastic goodness. ....I sound really syrupy here, yet's it's true. This song even has a line that says, "I'm my roller skates", and I envision the music video should've been like some type of Soul Train program but on roller skates. People need to get me to direct their videos, seriously. I'll work cheap.