Ocean Man
{{about||the First Nation in Canada|Ocean Man First Nation|the nickname|Victor Hugo}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Ocean Man
| cover = Ween - Ocean Man.jpg
| alt =
| type = promotional single
| artist = Ween
| album = The Mollusk
| A-side = "Mutilated Lips"
| released = October 6, 1997https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/97/Gavin-1997-08-29.pdf
| recorded = 1995–1996
| studio = The Flood Zone (Holgate, New Jersey)
| genre = Alternative rock
| length = 2:07
| label = Elektra
| writer = * Dean Ween
| producer = Andrew Weiss
| prev_title = Mutilated Lips
| prev_year = 1997
| next_title = Even If You Don't
| next_year = 2000
}}
"Ocean Man" is a song by the American alternative rock band Ween, the thirteenth track on their sixth studio album, The Mollusk (1997). It was released as a promotional CD single through Elektra Records in 1997, and also released as the B-side to the earlier single "Mutilated Lips" on June 24, 1997.{{cite web|url=http://sixappealmusic.com/?m=201107|title=Mutilated Lips b/w Ocean Man|date=July 27, 2011|publisher=Six Appeal Music}}
"Ocean Man" is one of Ween's best-known songs, and has appeared on various film soundtracks and commercials since its release, most notably with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in 2004. The song has been performed live at various occasions, most notably Live in Chicago and Live at Stubb's.
Composition
"Ocean Man" was recorded at a beach house in Jersey Shore during the off-season, which Gene and Dean Ween had rented for the recording sessions of The Mollusk.{{cite web |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1951136/weens-the-mollusk-turns-20-an-oral-history-by-mickey-melchiondo/interviews/ |title=Ween's The Mollusk Turns 20: An Oral History By Mickey Melchiondo |last=Fortune |first=Drew |date=11 July 2017 |website=Stereogum |publisher=Stereogum Media |access-date=27 November 2020 }} The first song recorded for the album was "Cold Blows the Wind", whose theme influenced the initial two weeks of recording. "The Mollusk," "Mutilated Lips," "The Golden Eel," "She Wanted to Leave," and "Ocean Man," were all recorded during these first two weeks. "Aaron [Gene Ween] had a mandolin, he was always playing it," Dean Ween wrote in a retrospective of the album in 2017, "and we discounted it. [...] when we wrote the lyrics, it was just magic, man. Everything just fell into place."
According to Sheet Music Boss, "Ocean Man" is composed in the key of E major.{{Cite web|last1=Aaron|first1=Freeman|last2=Michael|first2=Melchiondo|last3=Boss|first3=Sheet Music|date=2017-08-30|title=Ocean Man|url=https://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0177568|access-date=2021-03-05|website=Musicnotes.com}} However, according to Tunebat, when played live the song is transposed to the key of G major{{Cite web|title=Key & BPM for Ocean Man - Live by Ween {{!}} Tunebat|url=https://tunebat.com/Info/Ocean-Man-Live-Ween/4Xsj6cc571ZLR95z4i7TXr|access-date=2021-03-05|website=tunebat.com}} and is set in the time signature of common time with a tempo of 123 beats per minute.
Track listing
- Elektra — PRCD-9858-2 — Promotional CD single{{cite web | url=https://www.discogs.com/Ween-Ocean-Man/release/9145006 | title=Ween – Ocean Man (CD) | publisher=Discogs | access-date=October 15, 2016}}
{{Track listing
| title1 = Ocean Man
| length1 = 2:07
}}
Reception
AllMusic referred to this song as an example of how Ween's "array of silly jokes and musical parody is richer and more diverse than most of its alternative rock contemporaries".{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidedef00bogd | url-access=registration | page=[https://archive.org/details/allmusicguidedef00bogd/page/412 412] | quote=ocean man . | title=All Music Guide: The Definitive Guide to Popular Music| publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation | access-date=23 September 2013| isbn=9780879306274 | last1=Bogdanov | first1=Vladimir | last2=Woodstra | first2=Chris | last3=Erlewine | first3=Stephen Thomas | year=2001 }}
In popular culture
"Ocean Man" was most famously used as the end credits song for The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004),{{Cite web |last=Mello |first=David |date=April 28, 2020 |title=Spongebob Squarepants: 5 Ways The Movies Improved On The Popular Series (& 5 Things The Series Does Better) |url=https://screenrant.com/spongebob-squarepants-movies-series-improvements/ |access-date=December 22, 2020 |website=Screen Rant}} as well as a commercial for the Honda Civic coupe. In late 2015 and early 2016, "Ocean Man" became an Internet meme. During this time, the song began appearing in remix videos on video sharing platforms such as YouTube and Vine.{{Cite news|url=http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/ocean-man|title=Ocean Man|work=Know Your Meme|access-date=2018-05-13}}{{Better source needed|DATE=June 2021|date=June 2021}} Becoming a meme also helped the band gain more listeners, with "Ocean Man" being their most listened to song on Spotify{{Cite web|url=https://open.spotify.com/artist/3u1ulLq00Y3bfmq9FfjsPu|title=Ween|website=Spotify|language=en|access-date=2018-05-13}} and Apple Music.{{Cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/artist/ween/149256|title=Ween|website=Apple Music|language=en|access-date=2019-12-16}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{YouTube|vcaPiiFZu2o|Ocean Man}}
- {{YouTube|yUoFxpoXMrU|Ocean Man (The Mollusk Sessions Demo Version)}}
- {{YouTube|El6grEHSlJw|t=1h25m58s|Ocean Man (Live at Lollapalooza 2006)}}
{{Ween}}
Category:Songs written by Gene Ween
Category:Songs written by Dean Ween
Category:SpongeBob SquarePants (film series)
Category:Elektra Records singles