History Music / OingoBoingo

With Danny as a [[FaceOfTheBand frontman]], and using his skills on the violin, xylophone, trombone [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and Balinese dance]] to give the band its unique sound, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTRd1a5MVMw The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo]] were formed. Their fans included a young Music/WeirdAlYankovic, an up-and-coming Creator/PaulReubens, and a very young Creator/TimBurton, who was attending [=CalArts=] at the time.

In 1972, a young Californian visionary named Rick Elfman decided to form a circus band. The lineup soon consisted of over a dozen people, including his wife Marie-Pascale, his best friend Matthew Bright (who would go on to direct ''Film/{{Freeway}}''), a young Steve Bartek, and Rick's little brother Music/DannyElfman, who had just returned from traveling Africa and Europe.

* BadassBaritone: Sluggo.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: “Nasty Habits”, “Good For Your Soul" and "Burn Me Up”.

* NewSoundAlbum: The band is notable for each album, though they're all very much [[BuffySpeak Boingo-y]], having their own sound, and there's a clear stylistic shift as they go on. The first three albums are heavier on the [[PunkRock punk]] and [[{{Ska}} ska]] elements, with ''Good For Your Soul'' being [[DenserAndWackier a bit quirkier and weird]] than the [[BlackComedy pitch-black comedy of]] ''[[BlackComedy Only A Lad]]'' [[BlackComedy and]] ''[[BlackComedy Nothing To Fear]]''. ''So-Lo'' toned the punk and ska down, slowed the music down a bit, and increased the use of synths, a trend that would continue on ''Dead Man's Party'' and coalesce into the LighterAndSofter [[{{Pop}} pop rock]] style heard on ''BOI-NGO''. ''Dark At The End Of The Tunnel'', while still low-key, had more of an [[AlternativeRock alternative sound to it]] and became [[DarkerAndEdgier much more serious and introspective lyrically]]. ''Boingo'' [[UpToEleven took that and ran with it]], dropping much of the band's signature use of horns and focusing more on rock and symphonic elements, with songs like "Pedestrian Wolves" being even DarkerAndEdgier than ''Dark At The End Of The Tunnel'' when it came to lyrics.

* FilkSong: "No Spill Blood" is one for ''[[Literature/TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau The Island of Doctor Moreau]]''.

* RevolvingDoorBand: Oingo Boingo, by themselves, changed lineup five times, 3 of which were keyboardists coming and going, 1 of which was switching a bassist, and the last of whichwas adding three more musicians for their final album. The Mystic Knights, on the other hand? [[ExaggeratedTrope They went through 19 band members and performers, some of whom don't have reliable information on precisely when they were in the band.]]

With Danny as a [[FaceOfTheBand frontman]], and using his skills on the violin, xylophone, trombone [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and Balinese dance]] to give the band its [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly unique sound]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTRd1a5MVMw The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo]] were formed. Their fans included a young Music/WeirdAlYankovic, an up-and-coming Creator/PaulReubens, and a very young Creator/TimBurton, who was attending [=CalArts=] at the time.

--> You're just a middle class socialist brat\\

--> Let's talk of family values while we sit and watch the slaughter\\

** The video for "Weird Science" shows [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed look-alikes of other pop stars of the time]] ([[Music/CyndiLauper Cyndi Lauper]], {{Music/Madonna}} et al.) in chains doing slave labor.

* NewSoundAlbum: The band is notable for each album, though they're all very much [[BuffySpeak Boingo-y]], having their own sound, and there's a clear stylistic shift as they go on. The first three albums are heavier on the [[PunkRock punk]] and [[{{Ska}} ska]] elements, with ''Good For Your Soul'' being [[DenserAndWackier a bit quirkier and weird]] than the [[BlackComedy pitch-black comedy of]] ''[[BlackComedy Only A Lad]]'' [[BlackComedy and]] ''[[BlackComedy Nothing To Fear]]''. ''So-Lo'' toned the punk and ska down, slowed the music down a bit, and increased the use of synths, a trend that would continue on ''Dead Man's Party'' and coalesce into the LighterAndSofter [[{{Pop}} pop rock]] style heard on ''BOI-NGO''. ''Dark At The End Of The Tunnel'', while still low-key, had more of an [[AlternativeRock alternative sound to it]] and became [[DarkerAndEdgier much more serious and introspective lyrically]]. ''Boingo'' [[UpToEleven took that and ran with it]], dropping much of the band's signature use of horns and focusing more on rock and symphonic elements, with songs like "Pedestrian Wolves" being at the high end of the band's place on the MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness, and being even DarkerAndEdgier than ''Dark At The End Of The Tunnel'' when it came to lyrics.

* {{New Wave|Music}}

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: Typically between 4 and 8. Expect ''lots'' of BlackHumor and NightmareFuel.
* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Usually between 3 and 6, though much of ''Dark at the End of the Tunnel'' is a 2.

* PrecisionFStrike: In "Capitalism" and "Helpless".

* NewSoundAlbum: ''So-Lo'' ([[SynthPop slower and synth-ier]]) and ''Boingo'' (AlternativeRock).

'''Oingo Boingo discography'''[[note]]Their studio albums, that is. Their complete discography is over here: http://www.discogs.com/artist/79459-Oingo-Boingo[[/note]]

* ''So-Lo'' [[note]] (as Music/DannyElfman) [[/note]] (1984)

* ''Boingo'' [[note]] (as Boingo) [[/note]] (1994)

** "Nasty Habits" resembles an early version of "Breakfast Machine" from ''Film/PeeWeesBigAdventure''.

* LyricalDissonance: ''Lots''; “Controller” and "Little Girls" spring to mind, and especially “Tender Lumplings”.

* VillainProtagonist: The narrator of "Little Girls".

* ''Dead Man's Party'' (1985)

* MadScientist: The narrator of “Weird Science”.

!!the music of Oingo Boingo provides examples of:

** The marimba lead break on "No One Lives Forever" sounds like a test run for Elfman's score for ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}''.

* IconicOutfit: Throughout the 1980s, Danny Elfman could usually be seen sporting a white vest and black trousers.

* [[WomanInWhite Girls in White:]] The doll-dismembering girls in the "Insanity" video.

* RevolvingDoorBand: Oingo Boingo, by themselves, changed lineup five times, 3 of which were keyboardists coming and going, 1 of which was switching a bassist, and the last of whichwas adding three more musicians for their final album. The Mystic Knights, on the other hand? [[ExaggerratedTrope They went through 19 band members and performers, some of whom don't have reliable information on precisely when they were in the band.]]