Fishbone Call Use of Song on Fallon Show 'Masterful'

By: Reyhan Harmanci

Updated, 11:07 a.m., 11/24. On Monday's Jimmy Fallon show, house band The Roots, led by Questlove, played a song by iconic Southern Californian band Fishbone, subjects of a documentary made by San Francisco filmmaker Chris Metzler that was released earlier this year, to introduce Michele Bachmann.

No, it wasn't "Ugly," originally written about Ronald Reagan. They chose "Lyin' Ass Bitch," provoking commentary from all over the internet (and Glenn Beck) and forcing an apology tweet from Fallon himself.

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But while the conversation continues about the appropriateness of the song choice, that song itself is a uniquely apolitical tune from a band known for its sharp social commentary. According to Metzler, reached by phone in the midst of Thanksgiving preparations, "Lyin' Ass Bitch" came about after the most dramatic of all of love stories —"this was a teenage romance gone afoul." 

The basic gist is that one bandmember, Angelo Moore, was dating a girl in high school widely known to be cheating on him. To prove her infidelity, Angelo's friend and fellow musician John "Norwood" Fisher saw her "making googly eyes" at him and had a liason with her —immediately informing Moore of the situation. ("We were 15, 16, at most 17, at the time," Fisher said, "I told him what I was going to do.") Out of this juvenile love triangle, the song was written, and it appeared on Fishbone's first EP.

"It's still causing tension to this day," Metzler said of the incident.

The band, though, according to Fisher, had no idea that it would be played on Fallon for Bachmann. 

"I generally don't watch TV so I totally missed it," said Fisher, "I woke up the next morning and started getting emails, people calling —the next thing, I get a link (to the incident) and I'm like, 'Whoa!'"

This flap is not the first time the song has been used to criticize a public figure —Fisher said that the band has employed it for that purpose on a few occasions — and he himself had no problem with it being used to introduce Bachmann.

"We thought it was very masterful," said Fisher, "Really, what it was was political satire. Jimmy Fallon is a comedian, not a newscaster."

Even if the song is used to introduce a female Presidential candidate?

"When you're running for president, you become a target for all manner of things," said Fisher, noting the variety of insults hurled at President Obama, "I honestly think, in that context, if you want to be a presidential candidate, you better be able to take a joke."

Bachmann disagreed, stating on Wednesday that "This wouldn't be tolerated if this was Michelle Obama. It shouldn't be tolerated if it's a conservative woman, either."

Viewers will get to see members of Fishbone interact with Fallon directly, as Angelo Moore is slated to appear on the show in early 2012 to promote the documentary's release on DVD in February and on public television in January. And the internet has obviously taken things into its own hands, as the previously personal song has been mashed up with Bachmann images.

Embed:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChXk4R0mGNw