Neighbor Ugly Kid Joe

Neighbor Album: America's Least Wanted (1992)
by Ugly Kid Joe

In this song, Ugly Kid Joe frontman Whitfield Crane sings from the perspective of a southerner who moves into an idyllic suburban Jewish community. The song was written by the band's guitarist, Klaus Eichstadt, who after the song was released told Crane that the song was really about him.

Connecting Crane to the character isn't much of a stretch: He and Eichstadt grew up in upper-class Palo Alto, California, where they were rather disruptive in their youth.

In our interview with Whitfield Crane, he said: "I think about that as that's 1992, we were blowing up. Lyrically, it's this family that moves into the suburbs - somewhere like Palo Alto where Klaus and I grew up - and torture their neighbors through wine, women, and song. It reminds me of good times."

The video made an episode of MTV's Beavis and Butt-head.

Beavis: "How come he calls himself Ugly Kid? He's not even that ugly."

Butt-head: "Do you find him attractive, Beavis?"