Burger Rain

Background

Composed by Aquabats drummer Richard Falomir (Ricky Fitness) and collaborator Matthew Gorney^[2], "Burger Rain" was initially written for The Aquabats' 2012 television series The Aquabats! Super Show!, where it was featured in the series' premiere episode "ManAnt!". Within the context of the episode, the villain ManAnt and his minions attack the city's burger restaurants to draw the attention of The Aquabats as part of a ploy to capture bassist Crash McLarson - who has the superpower of growing to enormous size - and harnessing his growth powers to create an army of giant ants. Following ManAnt's defeat, an enlarged McLarson tears open a giant anthill, revealing a massive stash of burgers which he proceeds to shower over his hungry and regular-sized bandmates as they sing the song.

Recording, reception and release

The version of "Burger Rain" performed in Super Show! runs for approximately one and a half minutes. In a 2012 interview, series co-creator and lead singer Christian Jacobs (MC Bat Commander) revealed that "Burger Rain", among other songs written for the show, had been recorded in both full and abbreviated versions in the hope of eventually releasing a soundtrack album.^[3]

Critical reception to "Burger Rain"'s performance on Super Show! was largely positive, with Wired magazine calling the "borderline erotic spoof of Prince's 'Purple Rain'" as "wonderfully strange" and ToonZone noting it was "exactly as weird and funny as it sounds".^[4][5] Almost immediately, "Burger Rain" became a staple of The Aquabats' live shows, most often performed near the end of their set and often accompanied by the release of large inflatable cheeseburgers.

Although The Aquabats' intentions of a full soundtrack had not come to fruition by 2017, on May 11, 2017, the band announced plans to release "Burger Rain" and "Beat Fishin'" as a 7" single as part of a fan ticket package for an upcoming tour which commenced on July 12 in St. Louis, Missouri.^[6] The single version of "Burger Rain" is an alternate recording, featuring a second and third verse and running three and a half minutes in length.

As of September 2017, The Aquabats have yet to finish the second leg of their American tour, and as such there has been no confirmation as to whether "Burger Rain" will be made commercially available on any format.