Line #12 Music/TroutFishingInAmerica


1	Prolific folk-rock and children's music duo composed of guitarist Ezra Idlet and bassist Keith Grimwood. Although they made themselves known with catchy, silly songs suitable for children (but certainly listenable for adults), many of their albums also include more serious folk-rock and sometimes country fare. Despite being a total NoHitWonder, they're prolific enough to have garnered four Grammy nominations.
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3	Prior to the duo's foundation, Grimwood and Idlet were members of the folk group St. Elmo's Fire. They began recording together in TheEighties, forming the independent label Trout Records to distribute their own music on CD. Many of their songs have been played on Creator/DrDemento's radio show over the years.
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5	They took their name from the 1967 novella/travelogue by Creator/RichardBrautigan.
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7	They have also published two children's picture books, ''My Name is Chicken Joe'' and ''Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important'', both of which include a CD of songs related to the story in the book.
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9	!Albums
10	* ''You Bore Me to Death!'' (1979)
11	* ''Hot to Trout'' (1983)
12	* ''Yes, the Fish Music'' (1987)
13	* ''Stark Raving Trout'' (1988)
14	* ''Truth Is Stranger Than Fishin''' (1990)
15	* ''Big Trouble'' (1991)
16	* ''Over the Limit'' (1992)
17	* ''Mine!'' (1994)
18	* ''Who Are These People?'' (1994)
19	* ''Reel Life'' (1996)
20	* ''My World'' (1997)
21	* ''Family Music Party'' (1998)
22	* ''Closer to the Truth'' (1999)
23	* ''[=InFINity=]'' (2001)
24	* ''It's a Puzzle'' (2003)
25	* ''Merry Fishes to All'' (2004)
26	* ''My Best Day'' (2006)
27	* ''Who Knows What We Might Do'' (2007)
28	* ''Big Round World'' (2008)
29	* ''Lookin' at Lucky'' (2010)
30	* ''Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers'' (2013)
31	* ''The Strangest Times'' (2017)
32	* ''The Dusty Dozen'' (2018)
33	----
34	!!Tropes present in their work:
35	* AnAesop: "Hard Ball" from ''My Name is Chicken Joe'' has one of these, but it meanders off to the point of approaching a SpoofAesop...
36	-->"The moral of this story is to do what this parents tell ya'. ''And if you can't do that, a friend's advice might help ya'. And if you can't do that all is still not lost. Take a tip from me, just be lucky with the toss!''"
37	* TheBigEasy: Not New Orleans proper, but two of their songs are themed to Louisiana: "Sing It One More Time Like That" and "Murrell's", the latter inspired by a restaurant in Shreveport.
38	* CensorshipBySpelling: On the CD included with their picture book ''Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important'', one of the songs is called "C-A-T in the H-E-N House." Lyrics include stuff like "There's a D-O-G in the D-O-Ghouse, wants a W-A-L-K. Dogs go C-R-A-Z-Y if that word you ever say!"
39	* CerebusRollerCoaster: Serious "adult" album, funny children's album, "adult" album with softer and funnier songs… they've been everywhere.
40	* ChristmasSongs: ''Merry Fishes to All''
41	* DiaperCheck: Occurs in "Baby's Got the Car Keys". The dad in the song realizes the baby needs a diaper change, but puts it off in favor of finding the keys so the family isn't late. He later gives in and changes the diaper anyway, only to discover the keys inside them.
42	* DooWopProgression: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GohHhMIMr1w "Lightning"]]
43	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The albums prior to ''Big Trouble'' didn't contain much in the way of children's songs, and were more straight-up folk rock.
44	* FatAndSkinny: Keith and Ezra, respectively. Ezra is also a good 15 inches taller.
45	* FoodSongsAreFunny: "Pico de Gallo", an ode to the type of salsa:
46	-->Pico de gallo, you oughta give it a try-o\
47	Even if you're from Ohio, it'll get you by-o\
48	Don't get it in your eye-o, unless you wanna cry-o\
49	So come on, don't be shy-o, it's pico de gallo
50	* HeavySleeper: Chicken Joe, the titular main character of their ''Chicken Joe Forgets Something Important'' is actually a cat who sings that he needs "''16 hours of way down deep / 16 or 17 hours of sleep / at least 16 hours of sleep...''" He'd have more, but he has to eat.
51	* HereWeGoAgain: In "Baby's Got the Car Keys", the baby has stolen the car keys and put them in her diaper, making the entire family late for work and school. By the time the keys are recovered, the dad discovers that his wallet is missing... because the same baby threw it in the trash.
52	* ICantDance: Averted in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42BT5zAhVcs&ab_channel=TroutFishinginAmerica-Topic "I Can Dance"]]:
53	-->I used to have a little problem whenever music played\
54	I never went out to the dance floor, I always stayed away\
55	When everybody else was shaking, I was kinda shy\
56	I sat alone all by myself and watched the fun go by\
57	I got tired of waiting for my turn\
58	I got up to dance
59	* LeadBassist: Keith splits songwriting and vocal duties about 50/50 with Ezra.
60	* LiteraryAllusionTitle: They're named after the Creator/RichardBrautigan book.
61	* MultiArmedMultitasking: "Two Brains" plays this for laughs — in that he wishes he had more body parts to keep up with daily life.
62	* MustHaveCaffeine: "What I Want Is a Proper Cup of Coffee".
63	* NewSoundAlbum: ''Big Trouble'' was their first album to push the children's music to the forefront, although the core sound did not change drastically.
64	* NobodyLovesTheBassist: Discussed and inverted in "The Day the Bass Players Took Over the World":
65	-->Now one day the bass players, they decided to uprise\
66	They were tired of being sidemen to all those other guys\
67	So they kidnapped the horn section, they put drugs in the drummer's drink\
68	And they tied up all the guitar players with their big ol' flat-wound strings
69	* NonAppearingTitle: "Eleven Easy Steps", a song about childhood imagination. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNwcTxa-Dqs According to Ezra]], the title came from the instructions for a playplace that he was building for his and Keith's kids to use.
70	* RelationshipRevolvingDoor: "Lightning" appears to be about one:
71	-->Am I crazy or just crazy about her?\
72	Make a wish and dive for cover; if you survive, then make another\
73	Crazy or just crazy about her, well, I don't know\
74	Oh, can't trust that lightning, yeah, but it sure does feel fine\
75	No, you can't trust that lightning, but still you take your chances time after time\
76	Do we learn from our mistakes? I surely hope not\
77	Takes all the fun out of making them again\
78	'Cause if you listen to the warnings you can die from the boredom\
79	Safety is the hazard, well, it never was my friend...
80	* SelfPlagiarism: "Hall of a Hundred Doors" (from ''Mine!'' in 1994) has almost the exact same melody as "Murrell's" (off ''Reel Life'' only two years later).
81	* SingleStanzaSong: "The Day the Bass Players Took Over the World"
82	* SomethingBlues: "Day Care Blues," "Breakfast Blues," and "Dead Egyptian Blues."
83	* SubvertedRhymeEveryOccasion: "Why I Pack My Lunch" from ''My Name Is Chicken Joe'' is about a guy who packs his lunch because of the bizarre stuff served in the cafeteria, such as "grilled toenails with a side of bunions, sauteed bats with lots of onions." The song includes the line "Good food's rare as Halley's Comet, but this stuff makes me want to... leave the table."
84	* VocalTagTeam:
85	** They split the vocals about 50/50, but some of their more popular songs such as "When I Was a Dinosaur", "My Hair Had a Party Last Night", "What I Want Is a Proper Cup of Coffee", etc. are sung by Ezra.
86	** "18 Wheels on a Big Rig" and "Sing It One More Time Like That" are among the only songs where they alternate.
87	** "The Day the Bass Players Took Over the World" is unique in that it is effectively a solo piece by Keith. (Justified, as he's the bass player.)
88	* WordSaladLyrics: Some of their up-tempos go this way, such as "Spider's Fence" and "My Front Door".

Context Music / TroutFishingInAmerica