Spinal Tap A to Zed

Big Bottom: Classic tune from 1970 album "Brainhammer"; later included on 1984 soundtrack. The band wrote the lyrics in 20 minutes (DV) to what has become Tap's most covered song, most recently by Soundgarden. Within weeks after its 1984 rerelease, the poetic yet disturbing lyrics "My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo/I love to sink her with my pink torpedo" had become an anthem on elementary school playgrounds across the United States. Derek, on the song's effects on fans: "We got a lot of girls with big bottoms coming backstage. You get what you ask for in the world of rock 'n roll." (PE) Nigel, on the song's controversial lyrics: "It's not like we're saying women are this or women are that. We are merely making, if you like, a scientific study of the bun." David: "We do not consider the subject of this song a human being at all but merely part of one. That gives us license to be as free as we want." (SNL) In the exclusive "Talk With Tap" interview on the UK CD single of "The Majesty of Rock," the band went further, explaining that the song is "an ode to women." Nigel: "It's really our love of those creatures of the smaller version." David: "And the lower smaller version." Derek: "And the bigger, bottom part of their smaller version." David: "And just below the lower middle section of their person." Nigel: "Women will say 'Big Bottom' is sexist, but aside from women, who says it is what I'd like to know." In a 1996 interview, David explained the inspiration for the song: "I was dating a beautiful woman who went by the professional name of Lhasa Apso. Extraordinary beautiful...." Derek: "With one small exception." David: "But that exception was the inspiration. End of story." (AOL) Finally, here is why the song has so much bass. David: "All of us are great admirers of reggae music, and we all agreed that, you know, they all had this great kind of throbbing, pounding bass. It made the finest stereo equipment sound like it was broken, that's how great these bass parts were. So we just put as much bass as we could in this one, hopefully too much." See also Apso, Lhasa; Code; Philadelphia; Throats.