Good for Your Soul is the third studio album by American new wave band Oingo Boingo, released in 1983. It was produced by Robert Margouleff and was the band's last album to be released on A&M Records. The record continues the unorthodox arrangements that the band had become known for, while moving in a softer direction than their previous work.
Music
Good For Your Soul featured an increased diversity in songwriting and instrumentation from previous Oingo Boingo records. The songs "Fill the Void" and "Nothing Bad Ever Happens" showcase the band's African and ska influences, as well as Elfman's change to a softer vocal style. The album's subject matter is also poetically darker than on previous releases, such as themes of the supernatural in "Dead or Alive" and the warped ballad "Pictures of You." Several pieces were recorded as demos but omitted from the final album, remaining officially unreleased. Two outtakes, "Lightning" and "Cool City," would be resurrected for their next album release, So-Lo, in 1984. The song "Lost Like This" was also written and recorded during these sessions but did not surface until many years later on the 1994 album Boingo, in a new orchestral arrangement. The instrumental track "Cry of the Vatos," named after drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez, contains a back-masked message jokingly promoting Christianity to its listeners. The music video accompanying "Nothing Bad Ever Happens" depicts the band performing on a paradise island; Elfman appears watching TV, unaware that his house is being robbed behind him, referencing the lyrics of the first verse. He finishes taking a bath, before the tub catches fire, and catches sight of guitarist Steve Bartek being carried down the street by a lynch mob, but decides to ignore. The video ends with Elfman serving the singing severed heads of the band's horn section to three upper class diners, who at first appear shocked, but proceed to eat regardless. The paradise island from the start of the video then appears to get hit by a nuclear bomb while the band continue playing. Elfman said of the song and video in 1986, "It's about somebody who chooses to ignore his neighbors' problems and doesn't get involved - but it's really about getting involved... We can't live like ostriches."
The liner notes from Good For Your Soul also state:
Trivia
The track "No Spill Blood" is inspired by the H. G. Wells' novel The Island of Dr. Moreau, and appears to directly quote Erle C. Kenton's 1932 film adaption of this novel, Island of Lost Souls. In this story, the mad scientist Dr. Moreau performed operations on wild beasts in order to make them more human and able to undertake menial tasks. When the beasts acted in an inappropriate manner, Dr. Moreau would crack his whip and challenge the beasts. In the film, this takes the form of a litany:
"Wake Up " is based on the George Orwell novel Nineteen Eighty-Four in which the entire world is controlled by three separate totalitarian super-states who are constantly at war with each other. The main plot follows one man joining a rebellion against a pseudo-futuristic socialist England. The government is referred to as "Big Brother" and, through an extensive spy network, as well as subliminal indoctrination, manage to keep tabs on every single person in the country. A music video of the band performing the song was aired on January 1, 1984 on the showGood Morning, Mr. Orwell.
"Who Do You Want to Be" is featured on the soundtrack to the video game Tony Hawk'sAmerican Wasteland. It is also featured in the Nintendo DS version of Tony Hawk's American Sk8land. However, both games contain the Boingo Alive re-recording from 1988, and not the original recording from this album. The song also makes appearances in the 1980s moviesBachelor Party and Teen Wolf Too.
