How Oingo Boingo Killed AI Music 

Bands used to spend A LONG time honing their skills and songs in front of audiences. Danny Elfman is as close to a musical genius as you can get.

Just so you know, 'Oingo Boingo former members' Just played last week in Anaheim California. Everyone is still in the band except Danny Elfman. They still sound this good. We in California are waiting for the day Danny decides to do a show with the rest of the band members again.

Danny Elfman was an absolute BEAST of a vocalist. The whole band was on point through their whole career. If you really want a great concert of theirs check out their final show, Farewell from 1995

The bass player is John Avila! And this is an edited recording. The video on RU-vid is about 30 minutes, cut down from a show probably an hour and a half or two hours in length.

Clickbait title; Don't even care. This band is BRILLIANT.

Title: How Oingo Boingo killed AI music Video: Oingo Boingo did a lot without the use of modern tools. For my next video: "How the builders of the pyramids KILLED 3D printing!"

YESS MAN am so happy people are giving this concert more of the recognition it deserves, Oingo Boingo is one of my favorite bands and this is my favorite concert of all time. Truly there was and will never been anything close to it

I saw Oingo Boingo a couple times about 35 years ago where I grew up in San Bernardino, California and I'll never forget how amazing they were. I've been to a lot of concerts and they were one of the only live bands I saw where it was IMPOSSIBLE to sit still. I've never danced at a concert like I did at their shows!

Danny Elfman,,,,pure genius, absolute animal composer, BOSS LEVEL STUFF

Dude I love that you took the time to appreciate and talk about Oingo Boingo. I agree on everything you’ve outlined. I recommend you deep dive more into the early years of the band and their later releases. I assure you that it will make you fall in love with the band every second you find more information about their history

Having seen Oingo Boingo live 3 times, they put on an AMAZING show. They are all such quality musicians and Danny truly is a genius. oh and in-ear monitors DIDN'T exist in 1986!!! Musicans actually had to sing on key and be able to listen to all the other musicians Your breakdown is proof of why Oingo Boingo should have been MUCH bigger than they were. Great that you have gone back to look at their music, there are so many bangers to be heard!!!

Lucky to say I saw Oingo Boingo more times than I can count! Best live band of the 80’s and early 90’s! 3.5-4 hr sets were not out of the norm for this band!

This entire video is just "bands were better back in the day" and has zero to do with AI.

John Avila is a great bassist

I FUCKIN LOOOOOVE OINGO BOINGOOOO

The Mystical Knights Of The Oingo Bingo, was what was known, as a street theatrical group. It was a big change, to make it a pop group, but that performance energy, never left. You put Jack Skellington (The Pumpkin King) on, right before Halloween. It's awesome, because this sounds like an organic experience, that happened to you.

Oingo Boingo Former Members are still preforming. Even 35 years later, they still have it!

I bet Danny Elfman wishes he had had in-ear monitors/earplugs, dude had to retire from touring due to acute hearing loss

im 17 and oingo boingo is literally my favorite band and it just made to so happy to hear you talk about them with so much appreciation, I'm glad this video came up on my feed :)

If you never saw Oingo Boingo live you have no idea what you missed. They were the tightest band I've ever seen live. And they would go on for 2 and a half hours at this level. Truly amazing to see.

Boingo put out 8 albums in the 80s (technically one of them is a Danny Elfman Solo Album, but it’s really a stealth Oingo Boingo album since the whole band is on it. It was recorded in between record labels, so they couldn’t really freely use their name for negotiation reasons, but they weren’t foolin’ anybody) they were amazing. Regarding the timing in the sings speeding up, in 1988 they released a studio-live double album that is awesome, and showed how their songs had evolved over 8 years of playing them live.. As a consequence of all that music, all that touring, and so on, Danny lost 75% of his hearing. That’s part of why they broke up: he needed to save his ears for his film score work. Also, if you get a chance, hunt around on youtube for some sets by “the mystic knights of the oingo boingo,” which is the original iteration of the bad from 1973-1978, which was a sort of avante garde musical cabaret act that just did weird, weird, weird, wonderful things. Danny was the lead singer (and occasional fire-eater, yes, he was a fire eater) for the band during that phase, too.

Very Kind, Thank You!!!

Saw the most incredible concert bill at Red Rocks outside Denver back in the day. It’s a bill you would never imagine today. Two warm up bands with Oingo Boingo as the headliner. Warm acts were Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Call. Brilliant show with its like never to be seen again.

To be clear: The Keytar, played by the Bass player John Avila IS the bass of the song.

Danny's one of those rare guys who can do pretty much everything at a very high level, like Brian Setzer. Composer, lyricist, vocalist, instrumentalist, band leader, showman, just a fantastic front man.

This is a great live performance. The video has nothing to do with AI. And it wouldn't have killed you to look up the musicians' names. But otherwise I agree with your breakdown of what an incredible performance this was.

I saw this tour in 85. It was awesome. It was the only time I saw them live.

I discovered Oingo Boingo in the early 2000s when I was a teenager, and pretty much wouldn't listen to anything else. This concert is my absolute favorite, and it's validating to know that my opinion isn't born solely out of ignorance of other artists. This is PEAK Elfman, and I fall in love every time.

8:33 what you hear is _talent_ . What modern musical performers lack is _talent_ . They can't sing in tune, they can't conspire with a live band, they can't move even while they _pretend to sing_ . Oingo Boingo was peak what live music was meant to be.

How tf you guys only have 95 subs? This is a kickass video, may the algorithm gods bless you. I've also become possessed by that Ritz set . . . Danny Elfman is once in a generation.

Danny Elfman kills it. And he has absolutely no professional training. It’s all pure talent. Nothing compares to Boingo when it comes to energy level.

Watch Danny from Coachella 2023! It is still up!

I was fortunate enough to see Danny Elfman perform live last year. Not Oingo Boingo related though. It was a celebration of all the film scores he's done with Tim Burton, with the music performed by a local orchestra. Most of the songs were purely instrumental, of course. But, he performed *ALL* of the vocals for the songs from "Nightmare Before Christmas." Talk about perfect pitch and presence! I don't think I've ever seen anyone just OWN a stage the way he did. I was so surprised. I knew he was quite the performer back in his Oingo Boingo days, but that was about 40 years ago. But, he's still got it 100%. Towards the end of the show, he said he was leaving composing for awhile so he can get back into performing rock. I have no doubt he'll be just as awesome as he was back in the 80s.

John Avila is the bassist. Guy gets it done. Every one in the band was skilled. And Danny Elfman is a unique talent. Not a stretch to say musical genius. Elfman has gone on to compose over a hundred film scores. He done symphonies and released an album of sorta heavy speed metal a few years ago.

I saw Oingo Boingo several times and they never phoned it in. You left the show thinking you just saw the best performance they could ever give. The show at Red Rocks Amphitheater, CO in 1990 with the Red Hot Chili Peppers as the opener, was amazing.

I can watch this again and again. Been one of my favorites for years!

First of all, he’s Danny Elfman! So that. Second, a quality onstage monitor setup and monitor mixer are non-negotiable, iwoth n-ears or monitor speakers.

i have no idea how many times I've rewatched this specific concert, it's one of the best live shows I've seen. so happy more people are starting to discover boingo!

I saw them live in 1990. Most amazing show ever.

Boingo’s best stuff was their debut EP, their first three albums and Danny Elfman’s “So-Lo” album. They all were released before 1985. I saw them live in 1985 and it was one of the BEST concerts I ever attended.

2:38 No in-ear monitors, still in tune, hits high notes: You can see him checking his ear a couple of times through the performance (just closing it with a finger to hear his own voice in his skull). He simply knows how to sing and has practiced the part. What a sad state it is that today we have no expectation of singers to do this.

My first internet post ever was about having gone to see Oingo Boingo in 1996 or so. It was a great show, and after the gig I ran into some radio station DJs I knew and they (and I) ended up taking Danny around town looking for a good keg party. Unfortunately, every time we got to one the keg would have just floated and everybody was leaving. After three or four failures we gave up, and the last thing I remember was a tired, bored Danny Elfman lying down on this bemused college girl's driveway and letting several big dogs lick his face. (When the girl asked who the guy was that was getting doggie-molested in her front yard, and we told her, she said "Wow! I've never heard of Oingo Boingo, but just the fact that you're driving this guy around trying to keep him entertained says to me that he's famous enough that this is really cool!")

Please come back Danny

Do not fuck with Danny Elfman in re music. You will lose, he will devour you: he gets no respect.

saw them every year or more in the 80s. went to their farewell concert. they were HUGE in so cal. oddly, not so much even in no cal. i went to berkeley and people would be like "i know oingo boingo. dead man's party." and you just knew they didn't really know. OB were so connected to the audience. when danny elfman did nightmare before christmas at the hollywood bowl, we were going and i told my boyfriend they'd play an OB song and he didn't believe me. and sure enough, opened with dead man's party. worse sounding dead man's party but i didn't care. love them so much. a friend who worked at Sam Goody's told us that they'd have to pretend to have preorders for OB because corporate ordered and distributed evenly to all stores (mind boggling to me as i once worked in DVD allocating initial shipments for studios and that's a great way to waste money).

LOVE Oingo Boingo. I’ve seen them 17 times in concert. (Years ago, obviously. During my high school times) I was even have Elvis (the little skull guy w/the cowboy hat & smoke) tattooed on my calf. Massive fan. Obviously I haven’t seen them in concert since their farewell concert in ‘95. But I just bought tickets to Oingo Boingo Former Members. (It’s everyone but Danny) Can’t wait to see them play in Montclair, CA in May. It’ll being back so many memories. BTW. Danny says the reason he doesn’t do live concerts anymore and that there will never be a reunion tour is because he’s deaf from not wearing any ear monitors on stage all those years ago. And he refuses to wear them today. So sadly no concerts.

I live when people are blown away when rock musicians put on a show with theatrics and tight musicianship as if opera is something that hasn't existed for 400 years. I mean, you want to talk about "totally analogue"..

the oingo boingo live at the universal amphitheater was a phenomenal concert

Ive watched that Ritz concert more times than i can count, it's mesmerizing. I wish i could have been there ... happy to have been at several they might be giants concerts over the years. Their tight tight everything, manic unfathomable energy and exuberant horn section feels like a less malevolent version of Oingo Boingo.

I've always admired this performance, they are obviously brilliant, but have always wondered too if there was some post-processing/overdubs on it, that was done in the 80s on occasion for live footage moved over to video, Journey comes to mind, for example, the echo effect at 4:29, how would something like that be done within a live performance?

OB played to midi backing tracks constantly and possibly backing vocals on tape Still genius though

I saw Death Grips play live last year. Basically all it was was colored lights, a drum set, a mic, a guitar and a keyboard. All the vocals were amazing, and the instrumentalists killed it. I think they are definitely one of the best modern bands for live performances, amazing.

I've never been a groupie of musicians for reasons of principle. But when I saw the concert at the Ritz, I was mesmerised. That's when I started to have a crush on him. Such confidence, such energy. Nothing is empty with Oingo Boingo. Every note has its place thanks to the talented musicians

Oingo Boingo got their start as an avant-garde performance troupe with a performance that took a lot of its cues from Cab Calloway and other swing groups, then segued into New Wave in the late 70's. So they were always a live performance band.

Even with todays tech , NO Band can compete with 80's Bands especially Oingo Boingo.

He and Oingo Boingo had a quick cameo doing Dead's Man's party in the movie Back to School.

ah so thts how they killed ai

Ween doesn't use backing tracks or autotune in 2023.

I went to that show at the Ritz. It was awesome.

This band is what pop music should be...amazing songwriting and performance Ai might take over just like autotune did...the mainstream ppl are just eating up everything corporations feed them and i have no problem with that ,but yeah it is what it is i guess

I think only dale Turner the trumpet/trombone player really did the backing vocals in the horn section. Though the big guy Sam talksang on a handful of songs.

Nobody used in-ear monitors back then. Boingo was my first concert and still one of the best all these years later.

They kept us coming back time after time with their amazing musicianship and well, you know the rest. I will cherish all those shows especially Halloween at Irvine Meadows forever. Love these guys.

john avila goes crazy

Saw them at a community college in the San Fernando Valley so long ago, maybe 40 years ago or so. My wife and I were right at the lip of the stage. Terrific performance except some girl in high heels spiked my wife's foot, but she soldiered on and would not leave the front of the crowd.

The little bot was just too little.

Interesting (mostly accurate) commentary. There’s one huge caveat that applies to most everything we see and hear in videos especially on sites like You Tube. This specific performance was broadcast on a LI radio station WLIR. What we are hearing is likely from the mixing board. Not the venue sound system. (room sounds/live audio of the room may be mixed in). The video was professionally done. I believe MTV was involved. There was/is a “live” record. All likely expertly mixed and mastered. The truth is we do not really know if anything was added (or subtracted) involving the FOH mix, or later. Oingo Boingo were, as many eighties bands using a lot of technology mostly via synthesizers. Backing tracks were used. They got some bass sound on records using a traditional bass mic’d or DI adding a Moog. In the late sixties, The Moody Blues used a melotron to replicate massed strings. The Beatles used a melotron as well. Those flutes opening “Strawberry Fields”? Melotron. Later the Fairlight entered the recording scene. The Linn drum machine was used pretty extensively. Hit “Jack and Diane” uses a Linn. Jeff Porcaro put drums and percussion for “Africa” on a loop. My point is, there’s a meme developing dividing music into good…no effects no gimmicks just a pristine live and recorded world and “evil”…faked, auto tuned, trickery in live and recorded performances. Danny Elfman is a terrific singer. Oingo Boingo is a superb band. I wasn’t there that night but what we are hearing on the video is suspiciously a bit too perfect. The Ritz (Webster Hall) has an excellent sound system. I have no doubt Oingo Boingo sounded great there. Simple question? Was the delay on his voice added “on the spot” at the board FOH or later when the sound was mixed in preparation for release via record or MTV? Likely, it was applied that night. Steve Lukather had a great quote to the effect that technology is great as another “tool” for musicians when used by creative people who know what they are doing.

About the only band that had this much chaos going on in their shows was Spike Jones. Was this the show where Urban Blight opened for them?

One point: Johnny Hernandez is playing what look like real drums - but they're rigged with triggers and are playing samples, which might have helped the onstage clarity.

Danny is a genius. That is why he entered film industry....besides all that....his teatrical moves are just awesome!!!!!😊😊😊😊

"The guy...". THE GUY?!?! A goddam genius and you call him "the guy." Good lord man. One of the top 3 live acts of all time. Welcome to the rabbit hole man.

woah, young Danny Elfman is a HOTTIE!

Danny Elfman is the most important person in music of the past century. He has touched more souls than anyone could have ever dreamed. He is everywhere. he did it all in stealth. There is nobody that is more music. AI will never capture the soul of danny elfman. Congratulations for trying. Danny didn't break the rules - he made them.

Boingo was an anomaly even back then. No one did a show like theirs. We would get tickets way in advance to go because everyone knew that was going to be a party. The halloween shows were almost impossible to get into with out extreme planning. Danny's farewell show was amazing too. Extremely prolific, he could have continued. They were popular, their music was still great.. Danny wanted to write film scores.

Ah, my favorite band. Happy to see them gaining recognition.

I saw them on Earth Day at CMU La cross field in 1990. At the time, it was the best moments of my life. I got to meet the band after the show and drank an MGD with John Avila and Leon.

As a matter of fact, the majority of 80’s bands didn’t wear earpieces. SoftCell, Human League, haircut 100, Fear, Gary Numan… the greats. They didn’t need extra stuff, voice enhancements, a lap top with all the beats and sounds, etc. All of us growing up in the 80’s are still loyal to their good music…. Bop till ya drop and shank till ya ranks… KEEP SKA ALIVE!!!

You are not- by any stretch of the imagination - a young man. How is all of this so amazing to you? This is how live music was for decades - DURING your lifetime. Having said that, it's adorable when folks discover the wonders of Oingo Boingo for the first time.

This is a really great commentary video. Love Oingo Boingo

I don't know how I feel about referring to Danny Elfman as "the guy".

Don't use that word for a tank top

I just put a comment up here without realizing that I had put another comment up here a month ago saying basically the same thing. So I deleted the new one. My memory sucks.

Johnny Vatos is a tight drummer. He'd screw with Danny by obviously slowing down songs. Most of the time he was probably a bit fast. So much they would run through their playlist on New Year's Eve and have to play a few songs to fill time before midnight. I heard 'Heard It Through the Grapevine' a few times. The horn section played other percussion instruments throughout concerts. Steve Bartek is always tight on guitar. His solos are so eclectic. He does the arranging for Danny's movie scores. Yes, I'm a fan.

There are a lot of important qualities to being an artist; you don't have to be a good performer to have good music, so long as you are good with composing. You don't need to be a good singer; Bob Dylan isn't much of a singer, he's a songwriter, he has good lyrics and that's enough. Being a sick performer like Oingo Boingo is a skill. Turns out they also have amazing writing behind them too. The problem comes when there is no performance value, no compositional value, no lyrical value. There's nothing there. Before digital music took off, everyone was at least held to the standard of performing live. New artists who make music digitally and aren't performers (myself included) can have good music, but it's not required. There is no safety net.

Personally having the privilege of seeing groups like OB and so many others in the 80’s for $13, in most cases, makes the prices charged today for C and D grade performers a crime against humanity.

Goodbye is from Fast times at Ridge Mount high

Just give the Bingo Alive album. Instead of a live show, they went into a studio and just played all the songs live. All so much better than the clean tracks.

Boingo was great to see live.

And not to forget, no fckn phones in audience👏🏻👍🏻✌🏻

Oingo Boingo IS the greatest and best band in the world

OINGO BOINGO is one of the best bands on the planet.

Danny Elfman hits always been a freak . An immensely talented... freak

how is someone gen x without deeply knowing oingo boingo?

"Nobody plays the Keytar anymore" See: Tupperware Remix Party. Their song Bright blue Sky is awesome. Even check out their collaborations with Ninja Sex Party

No in ear monitors, but like most bands back then, they have the floor monitor speakers at stage front

Clickbait ahh title

AAAAAAHHHP that concert was performed on 12/20/1985 I shouldn't know that but I do

Very good video.

Big mess is a total masterpiece. Every note. End of Story. Let's hear taylor's version of that.

Weird Science is free this month on RU-vid.