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Sell Out (song)

"Sell Out"
Single by Reel Big Fish
from the album Turn the Radio Off
Released August 13, 1996
Genre Ska punk
Length 3:47
Label Mojo
Writer(s) Aaron Barrett, Scott Klopfenstein
Producer(s) Jay Rifkin, John Avila
Reel Big Fish singles chronology
"Sell Out"
(1996)
"Take on Me"
(1999)

"Sell Out" is a song by American ska punk band Reel Big Fish, written by E. Ridenour. Released as the first track on the group's second album Turn the Radio Off on August 13, 1996. The song has proven to be one of Reel Big Fish's more popular releases. It has been interpreted as chronicling the payola scandals of early FM radio. However, it can also be seen as a satire of the way the pop music industry works in general. In the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the song was used in-between plays of beach volleyball.

Sell Out was released in 1996 and gained the band a distinct amount of attention, becoming a minor hit in that year. It received regular radio airplay in America and competed favourably on the charts in the UK, consequently, the video (see below) soon gained regular rotation on MTV, much to the surprise of Reel Big Fish bassist, Matt Wong. The band has since largely used it to close its live shows, referring to it as "[the band's] big hit from the 90s"; Aaron Barrett can be heard on Our Live Album Is Better than Your Live Album yelling at the crowd that the band cannot play the song until the end because of the song's status. It also appeared on the soundtrack to the video games FIFA 2000, Aggressive Inline, and Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure. The song also appeared on the season three finale of My Name Is Earl.

A video clip was released some time later, which starts out as a soap opera parody called "As the Fish Turns" featuring the members of the band working at a roadside fast food outlet (conforming to the lyrics), complete with Matt Wong as the mascot in a giant French Fries outfit. They are recruited by a man played by their agent into the world of music at Mojo Records. They compete against several other types of bands, such as 'Rap', 'Rock' and 'Metal' for the rights to a contract (the band members themselves wear jackets emblazoned with the words 'Ska Band'), but Matt must be pulled out of his costume. In the end, the people trying to extract him resort to dynamite, which he tosses away and runs for his life. The building explodes, and the last scene shows Matt back at the fast food outlet.


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