This is a thread dedicated to one of my favorite bands of all time, Honolulu-based rock band Clenched Buttcheeks!
CB got started in 1988, and released their first album, “Honolulu Summer Olympics” in 1992. It was a loose concept album about, naturally, what an Olympics would look like if it were held in Hawaii’s capital city, and it was a lot of fun. For most of their career, their albums were released quadrennially, the same as the Summer Olympics and U.S. election years.
They amassed quite a following over their career. Even President Obama has expressed his fondness for them, saying in a 2007 rally in California, “I am a fan. I’ve actually been to a few of their concerts. They’re Honolulu boys, like me”. Four out of their five original members were born in Honolulu, the other was born in Tulsa, OK who moved out to Hawaii during childhood, and Obama has included them on several of his summer playlists over the years.
Although “That’s What I Do” was a modest hit in the late 2000s, reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, their biggest hit and the one pretty much everyone knows remains “Love Me In Advance”, the lead single from “Honolulu Summer Olympics” which hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and drove said album to 2x Platinum status (three of their later albums went Platinum, the rest went Gold.) It was a special cultural moment that penetrated the zeitgeist when the band played it at the Atlanta Summer Olympics in 1996. In the 2010s, many well-known writers and columnists spoke on the prescience of “Love Me In Advance”, saying how well it fit with a time of dating culture and the level of impatience and romantic dissatisfaction that it prompted.
Other than “Honolulu Summer Olympics,” 2002’s “Airswimming” and 2008’s “The Orchard” are my favorite CB album. But “Refusal” also holds a special place in my heart for being one of the most impactful, rebellious albums of the late 2010s.
You know what, they’re all extraordinary in their own way! I don’t want to waste too much of your time enthusing on the band!
And they’re also well-known by “Dad’s Casa” fans, whether devoted or casual, for providing the show with its most well-known of its 3 theme songs, “Dad!”
Having been 8 years since a proper BC album and 3 since we’ve heard of any news about potential new music, I have wondered if we will see one final album from them. But I saw them several years ago in Chicago. For some reason, they were having a six-city tour only in the Midwest (Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, and Tulsa), and I was lucky enough to be visiting Chicago at the time they were there on May 30, 2023. And they are really fucking good. Easily one of the best concerts I have ever been to. And to their credit, in 2024, they released an album of unreleased tracks, rarities and B-sides, which had 8 new songs, one from each album, and 7 others. So if they release another album or two, I’ll be overjoyed. But if they don’t, I’ll be satisfied. Time will tell. Just in case you don’t want to head over to Wikipedia to learn more, their albums are:
“Honolulu Summer Olympics” (1992)
“What’s A Lie Between Friends?” (1996)
“Holding Up Traffic At The Green Light” (2000)
“Airswimming” (2002)
“Grainy Footage” (2004), considered the BC’s most sociopolitical albums focused on conspiracy theories taking hold in America post-9/11
“The Orchard” (2008), an album about the natural beauty of Hawaii and America in general. While not explicitly political, it deplored the degradation of the U.S.’ environment under the Bush administration
“When I Was An Adult” (2012)
“Refusal” (2018)
The hiatus between “When I Was An Adult” and “Refusal” was noted by fans, many of whom expressed disappointment at the end of 2016 that there was no album, some of whom seemed to be expressing hope or believing rumors that it might drop at the end of that year as a “surprise album”, something that became somewhat popular during the 2010s. They addressed it on their website and social media in early 2017 saying they had taken a break for several years after “When I Was An Adult” and the following tour, and only really started recording again in 2015. In early 2018, “Refusal” was announced and it came out that June, and their last extensive tour (the “Refusal” tour, naturally) followed in North America and Europe.
Since 2019, there have been rumors of an album called “Suspension Bridge”, which would be the BC’s final release. An early 2023 photo and post online suggested they were working together again, but details since then have been relatively scarce. But I am thrilled and excited to say that their social media last week said that implied that new music will be released sometime next year, with a few “surprise collaborations”. So they are going to be back, I think, and quite likely, better than ever.
Anyone who wants to talk about their love of the band, or if they were lucky enough to see them in person, please tag me! Always down to talk CB with my fellow Clenchers!
Now everyone sing it with me!
I just wish you would love me in advance
I need a guarantee, I need more than a chance
I already feel like I’m in some kind of trance
Maybe we could start with a dance…
Have a great day, everybody!
(and just to make 100% SURE everyone realizes, this is kayfabe shit, like “Dad’s Casa” or “Goncharov”)