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DEEP CUTS

Why Fishbone deserved more than they got

A genre-resistant Black band from Los Angeles spent two decades being too punk for funk, too funk for punk, and too good for either to ignore. A look back at the records, the live shows, and the institutional failure to give them their due.

BY TOM PHILLIPS · DECEMBER 18, 2026 · 1 MIN READ
4.25 / 5

Some bands get filed under a genre and stay there. Fishbone refused. They were too funny for the serious acts, too serious for the party bands, and too musically accomplished for anyone to figure out what bin to put them in.

That was their problem and their gift.

FINAL VERDICT

4.25 / 5

A monument to what happens when a band refuses to be one thing. Essential.

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WRITTEN BY

Tom Phillips

Writes about music from San Diego. Has been collecting records since before that was a personality trait. Practices guitar daily and remains genuinely bad at it.