Was (Not Was)

Experimental pop/funk ensemble created by Don Was (Don Fagenson) and David Was (David Weiss).

"I went to my dentist and told him, "Take out my heart.""
 * Abusive Parents: "Knocked Down Made Small (Treated Like A Rubber Ball)"
 * Amoral Attorney: Bobby Maggot in "Out Come The Freaks".
 * Disappeared Dad: "Somewhere In America There's A Street Named After My Dad", the cover of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". "11 Miles An Hour" notes that Lee Harvey Oswald had a disappeared dad as well.
 * Elvis Has Left the Planet: And in an extra verse to "Walk Of Dinosaur" on Hello Dad... I'm In Jail, he comes back.
 * Everything's Better with Dinosaurs: "Walk The Dinosaur".
 * Funk and Funk Rock
 * I Have No Daughter: "(Return To The Valley Of) Out Come The Freaks"
 * List Song: "Shake Your Head (Let's Go To Bed)"
 * Nubile Savage: The video for "Walk The Dinosaur" includes four of them dancing to the song.
 * One Phone Call: "Dad I'm In Jail"
 * Open-Heart Dentistry: literally in "I Feel Better Than James Brown".


 * Rearrange the Song: Most obviously "Out Come The Freaks", but others get the treatment too. Their 1992 UK hit "Shake Your Head" was completely reworked from the original 1983 version.
 * Record of Loudness War: The greatest hits collection Pick Of The Litter has been criticized for this.
 * Ripped from the Headlines: "Maria Navarro"
 * Robot Girl: "Robot Girl", obviously.
 * Self-Titled Album: Their debut, though its expanded reissue was retitled Out Come The Freaks.
 * Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Tends strongly toward the cynical end.
 * Soprano and Gravel: the 1992 remake of "Shake Your Head" is a duet between Ozzy Osbourne and Kim Basinger.
 * Surreal Humor: One of the things they're particularly known for.
 * Unplugged Version: Their Greatest Hits album Hello Dad... I'm In Jail includes an acoustic demo of "How The Heart Behaves".
 * Who Shot JFK?: "11 Miles An Hour"