Evil Morty’s Theme: How Blonde Redhead Created “For the Damaged Coda”
This is the story of how Blonde Redhead created Evil Morty’s theme song, and how “Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons” and “For The Damaged Coda” went from a cult classic to a cultural phenomenon thanks to Rick & Morty.
OMISSION: In addition to the core trio of Blonde Redhead, Tobias Nathaniel also contributed to this piece, providing the haunting piano part that dominates the song.
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Story Behind Evil Morty’s Theme Song
2:18 How Blonde Redhead Created “For the Damaged Coda”
3:48 The Making of “Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons”
6:52 Why “Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons” Feels Like A Tragedy
8:29 How “For the Damaged Coda” Became Evil Morty’s Theme
10:26 The Cultural Impact and Meme Afterlife of “For the Damaged Coda”
11:42 The Evil Morty Theme – A Soundtrack for the Sad Genius
CLIP CREDITS:
Chopin “Nocturne in F Minor Opus 55 Number 1” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olFHFbijAjM
Blonde Redhead “For the Damaged” (Live in San Francisco):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZIgJsujBek
Blonde Redhead “For The Damaged” (Live):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2B2_c0YMeU
#blonderedhead #evilmorty #forthedamagedcoda #evilmortytheme #vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #andyfenstermaker #fensepost #vinylchannel #poeticwax #musicessay #musicstory #albumstory #musichistory #albumhistory #musicdocumentary
@AndyFenstermaker
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
ACCIDENTAL OMISSION: In addition to the core trio of Blonde Redhead, Tobias Nathaniel also contributed to this piece, providing the haunting piano part that dominates the song.
NEXT: If "Melody" was a shift in Blonde Redhead's sound, "Misery is a Butterfly" was an earthquake. Dit into the tragic story behind that album next: https://youtu.be/3M1E_wsYyHQ
@Ding420
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
U mad dragging it
@CorpsesInRegalia
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Risky?
@FabianCruzSegura
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Hola
@GMan-bn3tb
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
I like for the damaged coda, but for the damage speaks way more to me because it kind of reminds me of a relationship I had with a person that was kind of aligned with the lyrics of the song and the funny thing about it is I found this song After the person had committed suicide and it was kind of like this song was speaking to me, saying things i couldn't. Like "you'llknow we are equally damage", "signal when you can't breathe no more" and " you'll be a freak and I'll keep you company" just makes me think of them and how important we were to each other. I was the first to know they died, because I've know for years and i didn't say a thing, how much they talked about it, and how much they wanted it… i didn't stop nor encourage them, i, in my mind, watch them die and did nothing about it…. and this song makes me feel the grief and guilt i have about it.
@caseymckenzie8065
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Incredibly oversimplified and over stated 🤡
@gabimatzeu9879
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
I really enjoy your clever analysis thank you!
@aureliorubio7392
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
My depression grew in a good way once I read the lyrics. And I understood the words harder than any other song that I have ever heard… Thanks for making this video…
@joannarichoux7906
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
I remember running into Blonde Redhead back when I heard Elephant Woman on the movie Hard Candy and just searched as much music as I could and they were so obscure and good. Flash forward to 2017-2018 and I’m I falling asleep watching Rick and Morty and I hear it and jolt up because I could not believe it.
@form347
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Dude, Nucturne by "Choppin?" Choppin what, choppin wood? …And you're a music history podcaster? If you want to say it like an American say 'Show-Pan.' Or look up how it's correctly pronounced.
@MrDaigoRiki
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Great channel and reviews. Blonde Redhead is a little underrated.
@quack2thesequel
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Omg this is where that shitty meme song comes from.
@unjay1967
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Hi, just thought you should know- Chopin is not pronounced “choppin”: it’s said the French way, “Show-pahn”.
@JoeJohnSoundsandVisuals
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
quick story time. So when i was like 11 or 12, I was watching the skateboard video 411video magazine. There was a segement called controlled chaos, and featured multiple up and coming skaters, Joey Pulsifer being one of them. on the segment, they featured the Blonde Redhead song, "a cure', and was an instant fan of the band. The video was still vhs and didnt come with a cover, and didnt think of checking the music credits at the end of the tape. Boy was i silly for that. anyway I gave the tape back to my friend, and years go by. I wanted to remember that song, it was an absolute banger of a track, especially on a skate video. I spent years trying to track down that particular episode of that 411, websites, youtube, all my friends, forums..couldnt find shit. Im in my early 20s and was searching for new music, the sketchy way lol, and I remember that song from the video. Somehow, I finally come across some liner notes, find the song name, and search it up. booom found the whole discog, found the song, and remember just how happy i was to finally find it after all these years. then years later Rick and morty is a thing, and this BR song becomes a meme. I just thought it was funny, ironic and kinda like a tiny sick joke at the extent i went though to find it, only to become a meme later in life. haha cool stuff
@YourWifesBoyfriend
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
To be fair you have to have a high IQ to understand Rick And Morty and very low hygiene to like the show or its music
@popfortyfive
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
This completely left out Tobias Nathaniel, who wrote and played the piano part on "For The Damaged Coda".
@steelxeno
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
You have their most recent album in vinyl. Nice
@prime-mate
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
"In particular" from this album is one of my absolute favorite tunes.
@joshuamorganmusic
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
I got to see them at lollapalooza waaaay back in the late 90’s.
Have their first record on vinyl. They’ve never been obscure to anyone with good taste
@pangyre
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
This deserves way more likes than it has. Nice job, man.
@djqhkvfabsfasfgsa6946
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Dont you play guitar on mastodon?
@SkinnyEatWorld95
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
I actually got excited when I heard it in Rick and Morty. I was literally like "HEY I KNOW THIS SONG!!!"
@SingularityStar-o9u
August 27, 2025 at 1:10 pm
Im only unhappy about "Evil Morty" being in the title.
but anyways at least some people know that the song IS NOT from the show.
Comments are closed.