Fishbone - The Reality Of My Surroundings

In the late 1980s, Fishbone's blend of blend of punk, funk, ska and whatever else caught their ears was unlike anything else happening at the time.

The band spent the bulk of 1989 writing the songs for The Reality of My Surroundings just as Jane's Addiction spent the same period working on their 1990 classic, Ritual de lo Habitual, and Fishbone beat their buddies to the market by a good eight months. The album's Top 20 showing created buzz around L.A.'s alternative scene, further increasing expectations for Fishbone's next release.

There's no denying the significance of the band and the underrated complexity of their music. The singles on Reality are fantastic, but it's the deep cuts that made it Fishbone's masterpiece. "Naz-Tee May'En" is the missing link between Prince and Outkast. "Behavior Control Technician" remains the thickest slice of funk rock this side of Primus. And if the rock-reggae vibe of "Pray to the Junkiemaker" didn't directly inspire Sublime, it at least paved their way.